A short history of archaeological conservation

Abstract

The earliest written evidence for the conservation of antiquities comes from Pliny the Elder in the first century AD, although the actual techniques used are not known. The foundations for modem conservation were established during the Renaissance and the following centuries with the rise of antiquarianism. Restoration developed rapidly, dictated by the taste and aesthetics of the time. Cellini gives the first written account of the methods and thoughts of one of these Renaissance restorers. Subsequent excavations at sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum led to the need for techniques to preserve, rather than restore, the material unearthed. At the end of the eighteenth and in the early nineteenth century, scientists became increasingly interested in problems concerning archaeological materials. The contributions of these scientists along with the field techniques developed by nineteenth- and twentieth-century archaeologists, such as Schliemann, Petrie and Carter, coalesced to form the discipline of modem archaeological conservation.