The excavation of Sieur de la Salle's ship, La Belle, yielded a large amount of
waterlogged rope requiring conservation. A history of hemp and rope manufacture is
reviewed to assist in the identification of the materials and rope-work recovered from the
La Belle, as well as to assist in selecting an appropriate conservation treatment.
A summary of several methods used to conserve cordage is presented. Time has
shown that not all of these treatment methods have remained viable options, and that
continued study and experimentation are needed so that the conservator has the tools to
develop an appropriate conservation plan for each artifact.
The majority of La Belle's cordage was conserved using the passivation
polymers method developed by Dr. C. Wayne Smith and Dr. Donny L. Hamilton, both
of Texas A&M University, in conjunction with Dow Corning Corporation, Midland,
Michigan. An experiment applying knowledge gleaned from the passivation polymers
process to polyethylene glycol (PEG) impregnation was conducted in an attempt to
stabilize the PEG within the rope. The results were good; the rope retained some
flexibility and appears stable with a slightly darker color than with silicone oil.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-05-571 |
| Date | 16 January 2010 |
| Creators | McCaskill, Jennifer R. |
| Contributors | Smith, Charles W. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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