Från utfällning till utställning : Konservering av järnföremål från Svarta jordens hamnområde, Birka RAÄ 119. L.23:II

The main purpose for this paper is to study iron artefacts excavated in the Black Earth harbour district of Birka. This locale, positioned on the island Björkö in Adelsö par. Sweden, is one of the mayor sites in regard to the Scandinavian Viking age. The how and why of the corrosive process will be touched upon. Specifically how archaeological iron interacts with the soil in which it is found, and what can be done to prevent unnecessary decay after excavation. This, in turn, leads to an observation of how methods have changed in regard to the conservation of archaeological iron, from the processes used in the early days of the field, to the more present day with the method utilized in this study. The conservation of said artefacts is for this study accomplished through the use of a conventional chemical method called EDTA. The usability of this method with waterlogged metallic artefacts is tested. The product of the conservation work revealed the objects to be mostly, iron rivets, bolts or nails. Not too surprising when the articles came from an area widely believed to be a harbour. This specific chemical solution proved not to be a sufficient conservation method for the waterlogged metal objects examined in this paper. This was due to the notably hard crust that covered the objects and the structural fragility of the artefacts. Specific analyses of some of the artefacts were undertaken due to the emergence of substantial amounts of depositions in the final steps of the process. Using XRD, XRF and IR-spectroscopy, the depositions were analysed and the result showed that the depositions most likely consists of a blend of non-water-soluble iron phosphates