Reaching into the muck, the words “Is it a snaphaunce, a matchlock? It’s mostly brass covered in mud!” rang out amongst the crowd of local, national and international visitors, cameras, and microphones on site that day in 2006. A pistol had been recovered from the bottom of the 1611 well at Jamestown from which other fabulous artifacts had been removed including a halberd, a pike, and a shipping tag with the destination of “Yamestowne” stamped into the surface. The pistol was an amazing find and continued investigation would reveal it to be composed of a mix of materials including a copper alloy barrel, an iron Roman lock plate and machinery, and a wood stock. Further analysis including the use of X-radiographs (X-rays) and probes revealed the pistol to be double-loaded, with two large lead shot positioned in front of a charge of waterlogged black powder.

The pistol was in fairly good condition despite resting in mud at the bottom of the well for nearly 400 years. Certainly the anaerobic environment had a positive effect on the pistol by limiting access to oxygen, which is responsible for much degradation. While there was corrosion on the iron bits, the barrel was nearly brassy, and the wood, while waterlogged, was intact. Subsequent exposure to oxygen in the air would turn the copper alloy barrel green and the iron lock plate and machinery slightly more red due to corrosion of the metal components, yet this was expected. The wood, however, was in great condition and would remain so as long as the pistol was immersed in water. But it could not remain submerged forever. It would have to be dried not only to arrest the corrosion of the metal components, but to enable the pistol to be placed in storage, put on exhibit, and to be handled by researchers. The goals of the pistol conservation were set: to remove deposits on the surface of the pistol, to stop the active corrosion of the metal components, and to dry the waterlogged wood components of the pistol while retaining its shape and color.

The conservation of the pistol required several steps to reach these goals and to ensure the pistol’s future structural integrity. Firstly, the pistol was cleaned, having just been recovered from the mud at the bottom of a well. A crust composed of cemented iron corrosion and other materials, which were covering the lock plate and portions of the wood stock, were removed using an air scribe (similar to a small handheld jackhammer) to reveal the pistol surface. The two lead shot in the barrel were extracted by unplugging the muzzle and removing any additional corrosion in the barrel that was impeding the removal of the shot. This was easier than previously thought and the two shot merely rolled out the muzzle after a little cleaning. Currently, we are preparing to remove iron staining from the wood to reveal the color and to limit potential problems that could occur later if the staining were to be retained. Afterwards, polyethylene glycol (PEG) will be used to bulk the wood, this being followed by freeze-drying to remove the water. Without bulking the wood cell structure would collapse leading to distortion of the wood stock and handle in the form of shrinkage, cracking, and fragmentation.

As mentioned above, we found black powder in the barrel. Black powder is composed of three main ingredients: charcoal, potassium nitrate, and sulfur. Sulfur can cause problems in the wood years after conservation is completed, not only by producing a yellow bloom on the surface but by potentially combining with humidity in the air to produce sulfuric acid which will attack the wood and metal parts. Therefore, sulfur needs to be removed from the pistol. Much of the powder has been removed (and mostly collected) by mechanically breaking it up with a long wood skewer. In this video, an endoscope is being used to determine if there is sulfur-containing powder remaining in the barrel. From the darkness what at first appears to be a round shot within the barrel is actually the concave breech plug (i.e. the back of the barrel). The darker areas immediately surrounding this is caked black powder remaining within the barrel. Sometimes conservation can seem like a crime scene investigation and two additional sites of interest were noted while moving the endoscope down the barrel. A whitish residue on one side of the barrel interior most likely represents where the lead shot rested for the last four centuries. Lead corrosion is white and some of this corrosion material has been deposited on the barrel interior in the vicinity of the shot. Slightly more difficult to see is a red staining between the white residue and the breech plug. This is iron staining but how did that make its way into the interior of the copper alloy barrel when the muzzle was plugged with mud? It could not be the shot which is composed of lead and no other objects were identified within the barrel. The source had to be from outside of the barrel. The only other possibility is that the reddish stain is caused by iron salts from the lock plate and machinery entering through the touch hole, the hole that provides ignition from the flash pan to the black powder charge within the barrel. Mystery solved.

Removal of the remaining powder with the barrel will enable us to continue with the conservation of the pistol. This treatment will continue for the next several months and will hopefully be completed by December 2021. We will continue to post on the progress of the pistol conservation.

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After investigating the artifact in situ, conservators determined that the vest should be kept intact. A plan was made for how to best remove the artifact from the ground in order to continue treatment in the lab. A hardener was sprayed onto the piece and a layer of cheesecloth was laid on top, which kept the many plates intact. The artifact was pedestaled, or excavated so that the surrounding dirt helped to provide stability. Once dry, the armor, along with the pedestal of soil, was undercut and a steel plate slid underneath. Once the intact jack of plates were stable on the steel plate, it was carried into the lab for further excavation and stabilization.

Once in the lab, as much soil as possible was removed. The next step in the conservation process was to x-ray the piece. The artifact’s large size meant that this could not be done with equipment at Jamestown, so the mass of metal and soil was transported to the Colonial Williamsburg Archaeological Conservation Lab. The resulting x-ray provided a clearer image of the piece, allowing conservators to formulate a plan for continued cleaning and stabilization. 

This process required the removal of the soil and corrosion that had adhered to the jack of plate over the past 400 years—all while maintaining the artifact’s intactness. This process took almost a year to complete. Today, the armor is stable and is stored in the controlled environment at the Jamestown lab. There are plans to display this important artifact in the Archaearium museum in the future so its history and uniqueness can be shared with the public.  

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One this process was completed, conservation could begin. The first step in the conservation process was to remove the grit and heavy rust affixed to the piece. This was accomplished with air-abrasion, essentially a small sand blaster, although this equipment is a little more delicate. Dentists use the same equipment to create dentures. Instead of sand, aluminum oxide is used, which is about the same consistency of baking soda.  

Air abrasion is a very delicate process and requires a lot of skill. This portion of the conservation process will take 3-4 months to complete. Senior Conservator Dan Gamble has been working on the piece for three weeks and about a quarter of the corrosion product has been removed.

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The stone was broken when discovered and was repaired with Portland cement, which is now known to be a destructive method. In 2010, the decision was made move and repair the stone. This process would take two years to complete. First, the stone was removed from its position by the southern entrance of the Memorial Church. This was accomplished using ramps and rollers. The stone came apart in the spots previously repaired. The Portland cement was gently removed using a hammer and chisels. Once all the cement was removed, the stone was then mended using a mix of epoxy and slate powder for color.

Once mended, the work of removing a lacquer which was used as a coating over the stone could be removed. This was a long process which required the use of scalpels and steam. Finally, the stone was mended, cleaned, and placed in the spot determined by excavations within the church. The stone now lays within the Memorial Church in a prominent position above where the remains of its owner Sir George Yeardley would have lain.

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Dice were frequently used in games and gambling during colonial times and could be made of wood, bone, ivory, or lead. Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists have, to date, found approximately 70 dice in and around the fort. Nearly all of these are made of bone and a few of ivory, but this is the fourth lead one to be recovered. The colonists may also have used wooden dice, which would not survive in the acidic tidewater soil.

The soft, malleable nature of lead gave it many functions in the 17th century, including use in children’s toys, pewter tableware, and lids for drinking vessels. Today lead is recognized as a poisonous neurotoxin and conservation is done in such a way as to minimize the production of and exposure to lead dust. Lead corrosion can consist of various oxide and carbonate minerals, some of which can be dissolved in weak acid and others must be mechanically removed.

This die exhibited both oxides and carbonates, so both treatments were used. First conservators mechanically cleaned the die using wooden tools under a microscope to carefully control what was removed from the surface. After mechanical cleaning, the die was soaked in Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, also known as EDTA. EDTA forms chemical bonds with certain metal ions in the corrosion, removing them from the surface. However the soaking process must be carefully monitored in order to halt it before the acid begins to etch the metal core. The die was then rinsed thoroughly with water to remove any residual acid. Finally it was soaked in a degreasing solution and coated with Acryloid B72 to protect it from further corrosion.

Lead is unique among the metals as it is very susceptible to VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the atmosphere. VOCs, which are produced by plastics, wood, paint, and other common materials, catalyze lead corrosion, often resulting in damaging, whisker-like minerals that grow on the surface of the artifact. This die, along with the rest of the collection, is stored in archival material to minimize VOC off-gassing.

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The wooden cover decorated with tacks that archaeologists excavated in May 2015 may be the cover to a treasure box called a casket.

“It would hold someone’s personal, important, or valuable items. In some cases they could hold documents because these caskets had locks on them,” said Jamestown Rediscovery Senior Conservator Dan Gamble.

Gamble spent three weeks carefully cleaning the object after it came out of the ground. The artifact came from a cellar at the corner of the 1608 James Fort extension, just north of the 1907 Memorial Church. The team found about 20 loose copper alloy tacks in the cellar fill, and then Staff Archaeologist Mary Anna Richardson found a grouping of tacks attached to the remnants of a flat piece of wood.

Wood usually does not survive in the acidic soil, but the copper tacks contain salts which kill the bacteria in the soil that would normally eat up the wood. The archaeologists pedestaled the find, which means they wrapped it with about two inches of its supporting soil to transport it into the lab for more careful excavation. Conservators sprayed the wood and tacks with Rhoplex to protect the artifact from further deterioration in the air, then wrapped the artifact in cheesecloth.

“When we went into it, we know what we were up against because we could see the ends of the tacks through the cheesecloth that we wrapped the artifact in. What we didn’t know was how much wood was present,” Gamble said.

After Gamble removed the artifact from the section of soil, what remained was a section 4 inches wide and 6 inches long that has a pyramid pattern of nine tacks at the top and a circular pattern of 57 tacks at the bottom. Beyond the tacks, the section includes fragments of wood, leather, and iron.

“The exciting thing is the fact that we were able to keep it all intact. That’s what drives you: that we can excavate something so fragile and help it to survive,” Gamble said.

The leather on the section of soil could be from a strap used to hold the box closed, and the tiny iron fragment could be from a latch. There was thought that this artifact could be a book cover because some books of the era did have wooden covers and ornate hardware to protect the pages from damage. Book hardware came into use during the 14th century in Europe and was still in use in the early 17th century when the colonists arrived at Jamestown. Twenty years of excavations at the James Fort site have yielded more than 100 pieces of book hardware. But they are just that: artifacts made from copper alloy that were both functional and ornamental components once attached to books. The paper and other book parts long ago disintegrated in the soil.

Gamble said, “It could still be a book cover, but there’s nothing in there that says it’s a book. There was no latch mechanism or cloth or leather under the tacks.”

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After artifacts are removed from the soil by the archaeologist, they go to the lab located on Jamestown Island to be processed and preserved. This is the job of the conservator.

Artifacts are made up of many different materials such as: ceramics, glass, lead, copper, iron, and organics such as cloth and bone. The treatment method must match the particular material of the artifact. The conservator must be knowledgeable in all treatment methods so that nothing is lost during conservation. Among the many guidelines to follow, the most essential is “do no harm.” Every detail associated with that artifact is important.

There are many different tools available to the conservator. Microscopes, brushes, and even scalpels can be used on tiny, delicate artifacts. Digital x-rays give the conservator a view of an artifact not visible to the natural eye because corrosion may be covering the material and its details. Corrosion removal can be accomplished with electrolytic cleaning, which uses an electrical current to strip layers of corrosion off iron artifacts. Air abrasion also removes corrosion with powders of varying hardness that are directed in a fine jet of air at the artifact. In some cases, removing the corrosion is just the beginning of the process; further steps are required to stabilize the artifact and ready it for either storage or display in the Archaearium museum on the island.

After the conservation process, the artifact needs an environment that does not promote the growth of corrosion. Artifact cases in our Archaearium and our storage area within our vault, called the “dry room,” limit the impact of humidity, heat, oxygen, and light on the artifacts.

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