Saturation with Sugar of Wet Wood from the Late Mesolithic Site Zamostye 2: preservation and scientific potential

Abstract

Wooden artifacts more than 8 thousand years old (7th millennium BC), preserved in the waterlogged horizons of peatland settlements, represent an extremely valuable source of information on both human behavior and paleoecology, and at the same time they are a great challenge for archaeologists who are obliged to ensure further preservation of these rapidly decaying finds. Various conservation techniques have been applied to wet wooden artifacts of Mesolithic age from the Zamostye 2 site (Volga-Oka interfluve), affecting a limited number of items. Since 1997, the method of sugar saturation has been actively used by the author (archaeologist) to preserve mass collections. During 5 years (1997–2002), 211 objects of various shapes and purposes were processed. The results and problems received are discussed 20 years after the end of conservation, that allows an objective assessment of all the methods used and their influence on the scientific potential of wooden artifacts.