Premium
EVALUATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF CONVENTIONAL METHODS FOR THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WATERLOGGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD
Author(s) -
PIZZO BENEDETTO,
GIACHI GIANNA,
FIORENTINO LUIGI
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00490.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , pulp (tooth) , reliability (semiconductor) , pulp and paper industry , archaeology , engineering , geography , physics , medicine , power (physics) , pathology , quantum mechanics
A series of 112 waterlogged archaeological wood samples of different provenances, wood species, burial times and states of preservation were analysed with the aim of assessing the validity (in terms of limits and reliability) of procedures conventionally used in the pulp and paper industry, to evaluate the state of preservation of decayed wood. In particular, the extent of any damage wrought on decayed wood tissue by the repetitive cycles that characterize these procedures was evaluated as a function of the degradation of the samples. The results indicated that standard methodologies give reliable measurements regardless of the extent of wood decay. However, it is essential to compare these data with those of non‐decayed wood that has been measured using the same procedures to take account of the errors that are inherent in these methodologies and that affect measurements.