Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. PhD Opportunity at the Mary Rose Trust 2. RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes 3. RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes 4. Survey on the filling of losses on porous ceramics 5. RE: Non-Aqueous Deacidification Prior to Encapsulation? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Sarah Coggins Posted: Tuesday November 25, 2025 8:09 AM Subject: PhD Opportunity at the Mary Rose Trust Message: PhD Opportunity at the Mary Rose Trust Bridging Past and Present: Correlative Multimodal Materials Analysis of the Mary Rose Hull Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in April 2026. The PhD will be based at the University of Portsmouth and carried out in collaboration with the University of Southampton. The supervisory team at Portsmouth (Dr Charles Wood, Dr Tarek Teba and Dr Jovana Radulovic ) will work alongside academic collaborators at Southampton, drawing on their strengths in maritime archaeology, geomatics and digital heritage data to ensure the project benefits from the wider interdisciplinary context of the partnership. External supervision will be provided by Eleanor Schofield at the Mary Rose Museum. Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (20,780 for 2025/26).Bursary recipients will also receive 1,500 p.a. for project costs/consumables. Costs for student visa and immigration health surcharge are not covered by this bursary. For further guidance and advice visit our international and EU students 'Visa FAQs' page <https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=191967&type=184&DID=7873&url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.port.ac.uk%2fstudy%2finternational-students%2fvisa-advice%2fvisa-faqs>. This funded PhD is only open to new students who do not hold a previous doctoral level qualification. The work on this project could involve: Apply advanced multimodal imaging (micro-CT, XRF, spectroscopy and EM) to one of the world's most iconic archaeological artefacts - the hull of the Mary Rose Integrate structural, chemical and historical datasets to reveal how a 16th-century warship has changed over five centuries of burial, recovery and conservation Work directly with the Mary Rose Museum's conservation scientists, gaining rare access to physical samples, historical records and long-term environmental monitoring data Generate evidence that directly shapes conservation decisions for the Mary Rose Trust and establishes transferable methods for protecting other heritage collections Project description The Mary Rose hull has undergone extensive conservation following centuries of submersion and subsequent exposure in a controlled museum environment. A range of techniques (micro-CT, XRF, XANES and physical monitoring of movement and moisture content) have been used at different stages, but these datasets have largely been analysed separately. A key challenge now is to correlate structural, chemical and environmental information across scales and over time, to better understand ongoing risks and optimise conservation strategies. This project will address that challenge by combining new microscopy and imaging experiments with the integration of existing datasets. You will acquire and analyse micro-CT, XRF and complementary spectroscopic and electron microscopy data on selected regions of the hull or associated material and will develop workflows for registering and visualising multimodal datasets in a common spatial framework. By comparing these integrated datasets with historical measurements, the project will provide new insight into degradation mechanisms, the effects of past treatments, and the current stability of the hull. You will receive training in advanced X-ray imaging, electron microscopy and data analysis, and will work closely with both the University of Portsmouth's Future Technology Centre and the Mary Rose's conservation team. The methodologies developed will be directly relevant to other maritime and wooden heritage collections, providing broader impact within heritage science. General admissions criteria You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master's degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0. Specific candidate requirements We welcome applications from candidates with a background in one or more of: physics, materials science, mechanical or civil engineering, conservation science, heritage science, chemistry or a closely related discipline. Experience in at least one of the following will be advantageous: X-ray imaging (e.g. micro-CT), electron microscopy, or related microscopy/characterisation techniques. Analytical spectroscopy (e.g. XRF, XANES, FTIR) or materials characterisation. Scientific computing, image analysis or data visualisation (e.g. Python, MATLAB, or similar tools). An interest in heritage science and working at the interface between experimental measurement, data integration and real-world conservation problems is essential. Prior experience with heritage materials is desirable but not essential; full training will be provided How to Apply We'd encourage you to contact Dr Charles Wood ([email protected]) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code SEM50780126. When you are ready to apply, you can apply at the link below. Please note that email applications are not accepted. https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bridging-past-and-present-correlative-multimodal-materials-analysis-of-the-mary-rose-hull/?p191967 <https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bridging-past-and-present-correlative-multimodal-materials-analysis-of-the-mary-rose-hull/?p191967> 2.From: Claire Fraser Posted: Tuesday November 25, 2025 8:10 AM Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Message: Hallo Emily, We have a few boxes with similar holes and I've worked at other Archives with variations on the same theme. They're not the greatest but we haven't got the funds to replace them en masse so they get 'retired' as and when we can (or recycled as storage for non-archival things). We have a whole array of fifty years of box styles in our storage areas, some considerably better than others! I do, mainly, hope that the measures we take to keep the storage areas in the correct conditions will mitigate any problems caused by the holes. Hope that helps a bit :-) Claire Fraser ------------------------------ Claire Fraser Conservator Grimsby United Kingdom ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-24-2025 08:05 From: Emily Mullin Subject: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Hi all! I have just started a new job as conservator at a county archive in the UK. All the archive boxes they are using here have 'ventilation holes' in them, please see images attached. I had never seen this before coming here and was told it was to stop a microclimate from forming. The holes in my option defeats many of the benefits boxes give in protecting the archival material within. My plan therefore going forward is to be ordering boxes without holes in them. I was wondering if anyone else had ever come across this as an archival practice before or can think of any positives? ------------------------------ Emily Mullin Book and Paper Conservation Student City & Guilds of London Art School London United Kingdom ------------------------------ 3.From: Wilma Bouwmeester Posted: Tuesday November 25, 2025 8:11 AM Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Message: Dear Emily, They are correct that holes in boxes prevent a microclimate from forming. The question is why this should be desirable: is there a misunderstanding that having a 'microclimate' is a bad thing? Are there undesirable microclimates forming because of the condition/state of the items in the box that require them to be ventilated (e.g. an archive that came from a damp space and was boxed up in that damp state)? Generally, boxes are used because of the beneficial effect of a microclimate, i.e. they are able to act as a barrier against undesirable fluctuations in RH and maintain a more stable RH inside the box. A box cannot alter the RH inside however without additional measures inside the box (like silica gel or similar) so if the RH in the room is high, then it is possible that high RH in the boxes has become a problem for the items inside (e.g. because of the formation of mould). This may have been incorrectly ascribed to the formation of a microclimate whereas it was actually the result of the room RH. High room RH may not have been obvious if the boxes were stored against a damp wall and the RH is therefore mainly coming from behind the racking with boxes (i.e. a microclimate behind the racking). I can only think of a 'positive' for holes in boxes if the room in which the boxes are kept is maintained at a precise environment (i.e. a very narrow RH/T control band) and it is considered desirable for the environment in the boxes to be able to interact freely with this room environment. This might be perceived as positive for the contents of the boxes, but would no longer be considered positive in the context of sustainability, as the maintenance of very precise environmental conditions in the space is likely to require more energy than would be needed if the environmental buffering effect (i.e. the microclimate) of the boxes was taken into account. You may be able to help them reduce their energy bills for the environmental control in the space by (gradually) replacing the boxes that have holes with boxes that don't. It is important to also look into any causes of negative microclimates (such as a damp wall or generally poor RH). Wilma Bouwmeester ACR Sustainable Heritage Conservation ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11/24/2025 8:05:00 AM From: Emily Mullin Subject: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Hi all! I have just started a new job as conservator at a county archive in the UK. All the archive boxes they are using here have 'ventilation holes' in them, please see images attached. I had never seen this before coming here and was told it was to stop a microclimate from forming. The holes in my option defeats many of the benefits boxes give in protecting the archival material within. My plan therefore going forward is to be ordering boxes without holes in them. I was wondering if anyone else had ever come across this as an archival practice before or can think of any positives? ------------------------------ Emily Mullin Book and Paper Conservation Student City & Guilds of London Art School London United Kingdom ------------------------------ 4.From: Sarah Degrenne Posted: Tuesday November 25, 2025 2:15 PM Subject: Survey on the filling of losses on porous ceramics Message: Dear all, Currently a final year Master's student in Conservation-Restoration of Works of Art, specialising in ceramics and glass, at ENSAV La Cambre (Brussels), I am writing a thesis on 'non-structural' or 'surface' fillers/putties suitable for porous ceramics mainly. My research focuses on a comparative study of several studio formulation fillers (using bulked synthetic dispersions) as alternatives to ready-to-use fillers/putties, taking the latter as a reference to interpret my results. I would like to gather information on the current practices of objects and ceramics restorers for the step of surface filling. Indeed, I am trying to gain better understanding of why and how restorers select such filling materials, whether handmade or ready-to-use. I hope to achieve this through the following survey, hence I would be very grateful if you could take some time to answer it. This survey will help me apprehend the decision-making regarding the choice of materials used to fill losses on porous objects, and to see if there are divergent tendencies according to the country, continent or educational establishment. Each response will be very useful for the purpose of my study. Thus if you have time (less than 6 minutes), the link below drives you to the aforesaid survey in English, composed of 23 check boxes questions : Habits concerning surface fillers for non-structural losses on porous ceramics. <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDH_eDDh4KPDeiZ06V4pNPsb-RXAg2JflsVvOMp9F9pYtu5A/viewform?usp=header> Here is the same survey for potential French speakers : Habitudes concernant les mastics pour le comblement de surface des céramiques. <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccnvPtysveUdEidE5cuptiROgfJwaaJw2njOzC14kKHye79w/viewform?usp=header> Thank you all for your time and precious participation. Kind regards, Sarah Degrenne 2nd year of Master's degree ENSAV La Cambre | Brussels, Belgium ------------------------------ Sarah Degrenne ------------------------------ 5.From: Adrienne Bell Posted: Tuesday November 25, 2025 3:54 PM Subject: RE: Non-Aqueous Deacidification Prior to Encapsulation? Message: Many thanks to everyone who responded, both on and off line. I appreciate the insights offered, the procedures discussed, and the references provided. ------------------------------ Adrienne Bell Senior Conservator UNC Chapel Hill Libraries Chapel Hill NC ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-24-2025 05:07 From: Ute Henniges Subject: Non-Aqueous Deacidification Prior to Encapsulation? Hi Adrienne, regarding your question whether institutions are non-aqueously deacidifying materials prior to encapsulation, this recent survey (open access) might be of interest: Gates, Glenn A. and McGuiggan, Patricia Marie. "Encapsulation at Fifty Years: Results from a Survey of United States Paper Collections" Restaurator. International Journal for the Preservation of Library and Archival Material, vol. 46, no. 3, 2025, pp. 187-210. https://doi.org/10.1515/res-2024- <https://doi.org/10.1515/res-2024-0013> According to this survey, deacidification prior to encapsulation is rare and the use of sorbing pollution sinks is also a rare event. ------------------------------ Ute Henniges Assistant Professor, Conservation Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart Germany ------------------------------ Original Message: Sent: 11-18-2025 11:34 From: Adrienne Bell Subject: Non-Aqueous Deacidification Prior to Encapsulation? The Department of Preservation and Conservation Services, University Libraries, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is interested in whether institutions are non-aqueously deacidifying materials prior to encapsulation or not. Any research, protocols, or thoughts supporting the decision would be appreciated. Responses can be sent directly to [email protected] <[email protected]>; if there is any interest from other institutions, responses can be compiled for anonymity and shared. ------------------------------ Adrienne Bell Senior Conservator UNC Chapel Hill Libraries Chapel Hill NC ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
