The discovery of a river boat in 1990 spurred a period of research into the Shenandoah Valley’s elusive single use boat, but 30 years later we find ourselves questioning the boat's identity… with Science!

Join Ariel, one of our summer interns, as she explains what happens to wood when it has been sitting underwater or in the ground for years and how they are stabilized to preserve for future generations.

Ships? Princesses? Dental Picks? Conservation has a lot going on this summer with the documentation, cleaning, and relocation of over 300 ship timbers for future research and treatment.

Have you noticed our Conservation crew treating the Leifr Eiriksson statue this summer? Work is now complete, so read along with us as we share how we cleaned and recoated him!

By building on existing research and conducting new experiments, the team aims to find a way to extract sulfur from waterlogged archaeological wood to prevent future damage.

Learn more about what the Monitor Conservation team was up to in the spring, detailing the process we go through when working in the tank farm and treating larger objects!