National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice

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AE7 Develop and implement remedial conservation procedures for archaeological items

AE7.2 Minimise the deterioration of items

Performance Required

This will involve:

1. Treating the items as specified in the selected conservation plan, without compromising their integrity
2. Removing, reducing or neutralising potential and active agents of deterioration
3. Minimising any potential or actual physical weakness, and countering its cause
4. Minimising further deterioration by the application of the appropriate materials
5. Evaluating the application and effect of the treatments and modifying them as necessary
6. Evaluating what is required in the future to maintain the condition of the treated items and specifying a program of actions
7. Recording the data generated by the treatment procedures and materials accurately and correctly in the appropriate format
8. Complying at all times with health and safety procedures

Occupational Context

1. Integrity
   • As an item from a different time/ culture
   • As a representation of its origins
   • As an archaeological resource for interpretation
2. Deterioration
   • Biological / physical / chemical
   • Due to time / change in conditions / environment
   • Preventable / inevitable
   • Irregular / steady
   • Gradual / rapid
   • Overtly visible / hard to detect
3. Evaluating
   • In terms of efficacy
   • In terms of cost efficiency
   • In terms of reliability / sustainability
   • In terms of ease and ability
4. Data generated by the treatment procedures
   • Qualitative change: visual, tactile
   • Quantitative / measurable change: compositional, chemical

Knowledge Requirements

You need to know and understand how to:

• How to evaluate the effect of a treatment

You need to know about:

Conservation planning

• What is in the conservation plan, and the parameters for action
• The agents of deterioration likely to be found in the item

Evaluation and Assessment

• The weaknesses likely to be found in the item
• How the item's treatment should be monitored and measured
• The sort of data that should be recorded, and how it should be recorded

The health and safety procedures for the available treatments

The types of intervention that could be considered unethical and why

Required Skills

You should demonstrate:

• How to remove, reduce or neutralise potential and active agents of deterioration
• How to minimise weaknesses and their causes
• How to minimise deterioration by treating items with appropriate materials
• How to evaluate and modify treatments as necessary
• How to record data generated by treatments accurately and in the appropriate format

Evidence Required

You should provide evidence that you can minimise the deterioration of items

The candidate should be questioned, based upon the documentation provided, to explore how they

• minimise the deterioration of items that are moderately or seriously degraded and at least one unstable item

Evidence Rules

The candidate should have been developed and implemented a range of remedial conservation procedures typical to their work area

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Today's date: 4/2/2012
This page last updated: 6/8/2007 10:58