Oak wood degradation processes induced by the burial environment in the archaeological site of Biskupin (Poland)

Heritage Science

Francesca Modugno¹  Diego Tamburini¹  Jeannette Jacqueline Lucejko¹  Maria Perla Colombini¹  Leszek Babiński²  Magdalena Zborowska³ 

[1] Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa;Department of Conservation, Archaeological Museum in Biskupin;Institute of Chemical Wood Technology, Faculty of Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences;

关键词: Natural ageing;    Wood degradation;    Depolymerisation;    Monitoring program;    Biskupin;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40494-020-00390-3

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract The open-air Archaeological Museum in Biskupin (Poland) preserves and shows to the public a prehistoric settlement of Lusatian culture dating back to Early Iron Age (eighth century BC). The monitoring of the environment and dynamics of the wood degradation in the burial conditions at the site is fundamental for the in situ preservation of archaeological wooden materials. A monitoring program thus started in 2003 at the Biskupin site, using contemporary sound oak wood that was placed in two wet burial environments, characterised by different conditions. A multi-analytical protocol was exploited to obtain information on the structural, physical and chemical conditions of the buried wood. The study involved the application of gravimetric and wet chemical analysis, and instrumental techniques, including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and analytical pyrolysis (Py–GC/MS) to evaluate alterations in the buried oak wood over a 10-year period. The results showed that, during the burial period in both monitoring stations, there was only limited chemical transformation of the polysaccharide component, mostly involving hemicelluloses. The differences observed might be due to the natural compositional variability and inhomogeneity of oak wood. The final condition of the wood was very similar in the two burial environments. It is therefore suggested that the wet burial conditions in the Biskupin site represent a safe conservation environment for the in situ preservation of the wood remains, at least those presenting a good initial preservation state. This supports the conservation strategy adopted in the Biskupin Museum site.

【 授权许可】

Unknown