Methods of Conservation of Archaeological Leather Artefacts on the Example of Fragments of Shoes from The Archaeological Excavations in Perm in 2020.

Abstract

The article presents an overview of the methods of conservation of archaeological leather artefacts based on national publications. The overview covers the methods of the mid XX - early XXI centuries, among which there are both outdated methods which currently are not recommended in the scientific restoration of archaeo­logical leather artefacts and methods used in our time including methods using combinations of polyethylene glycols of different molecular weights. Using the example of the preservation of parts of leather shoes found during archaeological excavations in the historical center of Perm in 2020, the method of conservation archae­ological leather with prolonged immersion in a solution of high-molecular and low-molecular polyethylene glycol, followed by freezing drying, is considered in more detail.

Keywords

• archeology
• leather artefacts
• conservation
• polyethylene glycol
• archaeological excavations in perm