The Mechanism and Kinetics of In Situ Conservation of Iron Cannon on Shipwreck Sites

Abstract

Analysis of the pre‐disturbance values of the in situ corrosion parameters on historic iron shipwrecks and artefacts has established that the arithmetic product of the pH and corrosion potential is dependent on the burial environment and provides a unique insight into the objects' state of decay. The value of the product changes during in situ conservation treatment with sacrificial anodes, and reaches a minimum at which point the treatment is completed. Treatment times vary with water‐depth, being faster on shallower sites and shorter for more extensively corroded artefacts. The model was Duart Point wreck (1653), the Monitor‐styled warship HMVS Cerberus (1926) and a series of wrecks in Australia and the USA.

Key words:

• Duart Point wreck
• HMVS-Cerberus
• predicted treatment times
• sacrificial anodes

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to Colin Martin and his family and the MacLean of Duart for their continuing support and encouragement for my work on the Duart Point wreck. Peter Harvey at Heritage Victoria and his team have provided long‐term support and commitment. Assistance from the J Paul Getty Trust enabled the author to prepare this work during a fellowship at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.