National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice

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AE7 Develop and implement remedial conservation procedures for archaeological items

AE7.3 Physically intervene to aid interpretation of items

Performance Required

This will involve:

1. Treating the items as specified in the selected conservation plan, without compromising their integrity
2. Checking the professional interventions are designed to enable the items to fulfil their agreed role and use
3. Removing or reducing material that inhibits interpretation of the items
4. Adding materials which are, wherever possible, reversible, appropriate and identifiable
5. Evaluating continually the application and effect of the interventions, and modifying them as necessary
6. Evaluating what is required in the future in terms of conservation to maintain the condition of the items and specifying a program of actions
7. Recording the data generated by the treatment procedures accurately and correctly in the appropriate format
8. Complying at all times with health and safety procedures
9. Communicating with the appropriate people any new information revealed about the item during the above procedures
10. Ensuring that any samples of material removed are recorded in the correct format, and correctly packed

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. Professional Interventions
   • Minor consolidation
   • Major reconstruction
   • Removal of accretions
3. Materials
   • Chemical / structural
   • Altering / supportive
   • Additional / replacement
4. Program of actions
   • Strategic monitoring
   • Planned intervention inspections
   • Observation and measurement
   • Ordering and administering intervention materials
   • Management and supervision
5. New information
   • Concerning composition
   • Concerning environmental origin
   • Concerning status: ownership / stability / vulnerability
6. Correctly packed
   • For its identification
   • For its protection
   • For reference
   • For its potential later use

Knowledge Requirements

You need to know and understand how to:

• Ensure that additions to the item can be reversed
• Evaluate the effect of the treatment

You need to know about:

The Item

• Its conservational needs
• Its sample's packaging requirements
• Future additional information about it

Planning Professional Intervention

• What is in the conservation plan
• What material can be removed from the item, and from where on the item
• The methods that should be used for removing or reducing materials and accretions on the item
• How the item's treatment should be monitored
• The sort of data that should be recorded, and how it should be recorded

The health and safety implications of the available treatments

Required Skills

You should demonstrate:

• Dexterity in handling, sampling, packaging, applying materials.
• Observation and attention to detail
• Accurate data recording

Evidence Required

You should provide evidence that you can physically and professionally intervene to aid interpretation of items

The candidate should be questioned, based upon the documentation provided, which will include

• evidence of the treatment of a number of items (in the form of records)
• graphical and statistical depictions of change
• strategic plans for professional intervention

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: 31/7/2010
This page last updated: 6/8/2007 11:58