Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites
Abstract Ensuring the preservation of fragile artifacts from waterlogged archaeological sites demands the advancement of extraction techniques that uphold both safety and the integrity of historical data. Conventionally employed extraction materials are predominantly applicable to sites exhibiting h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95458-0 |
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| author | Xue-Qiang Chen Lina Xie Shiqiang Fang Wenjing Hu Ming Cao |
| author_facet | Xue-Qiang Chen Lina Xie Shiqiang Fang Wenjing Hu Ming Cao |
| author_sort | Xue-Qiang Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ensuring the preservation of fragile artifacts from waterlogged archaeological sites demands the advancement of extraction techniques that uphold both safety and the integrity of historical data. Conventionally employed extraction materials are predominantly applicable to sites exhibiting high soil stability and low moisture content, whereas the recovery of artifacts from waterlogged contexts remains technically challenging. This study explores low-acyl gellan gum as a temporary solidification material for waterlogged archaeological relics, enhancing its efficacy through ionic cross-linking methodologies. The results show that by meticulously regulating the species and concentration of cations—specifically Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, or Al3+— an improvement in gelling strength can be attained within an optimum range. The gel strength improved with the increase of ion valence, but adding Al3+ results in local gel aggregation. By adding 3.0 wt% of CaCl2, low-acyl gellan gum can form a transparent, stable gel with a compressive strength amplified to 0.11 MPa. In addition, the temporary consolidation and extraction experiment under laboratory conditions shows that Ca2+ cross-linked gellan gum can effectively carry out temporary solidification and safe extraction of multiple artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites. This innovation presents a simplified yet potent strategy for excavating fragile artifacts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0525a007bba41e5bb74e8aa899c4f91 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0525a007bba41e5bb74e8aa899c4f912025-08-20T03:40:50ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-95458-0Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sitesXue-Qiang Chen0Lina Xie1Shiqiang Fang2Wenjing Hu3Ming Cao4Centre for the Protection of Cultural Property, Ningbo University of Finance and EconomicsCentre for the Protection of Cultural Property, Ningbo University of Finance and EconomicsCentre for the Protection of Cultural Property, Ningbo University of Finance and EconomicsCentre for the Protection of Cultural Property, Ningbo University of Finance and EconomicsCentre for the Protection of Cultural Property, Ningbo University of Finance and EconomicsAbstract Ensuring the preservation of fragile artifacts from waterlogged archaeological sites demands the advancement of extraction techniques that uphold both safety and the integrity of historical data. Conventionally employed extraction materials are predominantly applicable to sites exhibiting high soil stability and low moisture content, whereas the recovery of artifacts from waterlogged contexts remains technically challenging. This study explores low-acyl gellan gum as a temporary solidification material for waterlogged archaeological relics, enhancing its efficacy through ionic cross-linking methodologies. The results show that by meticulously regulating the species and concentration of cations—specifically Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, or Al3+— an improvement in gelling strength can be attained within an optimum range. The gel strength improved with the increase of ion valence, but adding Al3+ results in local gel aggregation. By adding 3.0 wt% of CaCl2, low-acyl gellan gum can form a transparent, stable gel with a compressive strength amplified to 0.11 MPa. In addition, the temporary consolidation and extraction experiment under laboratory conditions shows that Ca2+ cross-linked gellan gum can effectively carry out temporary solidification and safe extraction of multiple artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites. This innovation presents a simplified yet potent strategy for excavating fragile artifacts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95458-0Waterlogged archaeological sitesLow-acyl gellan gumCrosslinkingTemporary consolidationExcavation of artifacts |
| spellingShingle | Xue-Qiang Chen Lina Xie Shiqiang Fang Wenjing Hu Ming Cao Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites Scientific Reports Waterlogged archaeological sites Low-acyl gellan gum Crosslinking Temporary consolidation Excavation of artifacts |
| title | Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| title_full | Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| title_fullStr | Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| title_short | Temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| title_sort | temporary consolidation and excavation of artifacts at waterlogged archaeological sites |
| topic | Waterlogged archaeological sites Low-acyl gellan gum Crosslinking Temporary consolidation Excavation of artifacts |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95458-0 |
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