This past week the 30,000 gallon tank containing Monitor’s steam engine was drained for a key milestone in the conservation of this unique artifact. The purpose for the tank drain was the installation of a new support system under the engine that will enable the eventual disassembly of  the object.  Up to this week, the engine which [...]

As concretion removal on the turret has continued, a host of new finds have been discovered!!! The focus of concretion removal has shifted around a bit during the last several weeks (look at previous blog posts). We began work with the documentation and removal of the roof stanchions, which then moved to the excavation of [...]

Last week, treatment began on a large fragment of cast iron flooring from  Monitor‘s engine room. The fragment was discovered in situ during large scale deconcretion efforts on the engine in December 2010.  In the images below, you can see the fragment in place on the engine being supported with straps while concretion was removed to separate it from [...]

The Monitor’s engine room was equipped with two steam powered Worthington pumps for clearing bilges and acting as boiler water feed pumps. Both pumps were recovered from the wrecksite and have been undergoing conservation at The Mariners’ Museum. When they first entered the lab these pumps were covered with a hard, thick calcareous marine crust [...]