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Pumped Up About Metals Conservation

Howdy!

I’m Amelia, a summer conservation intern at The Mariner’s Museum and Park! Though I’m originally from Texas, where I trained in archaeology at Texas A&M University, I earned my Master’s degree in conservation from the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) Conservation and Restoration Program, and I am currently enrolled in the UvA’s conservation Postgraduate program. Throughout both degrees in Amsterdam, I have specialized in the conservation of metallic objects.

A person in a lab wearing gloves and a mask works on a rusted artifact.
Figure 1. Amelia Hammond working on the water end of the Starboard Worthington pump from The Mariners’ Museum’s Collection. Lauren Gottschlich/The Mariners’ Museum and Park.

Why Specialize In Metallic Objects?

In my pre-program experience at Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory, I worked with a wide range of materials including glass, bone, wood, and leather. While each of these materials is complex and challenging in their own way, metallic objects always stood out to me as particularly unique. Each alloy (for example, brass or bronze) exhibits radically different degradation processes. Even two bronze objects in similar conditions can react to time and to the elements in very distinct ways. This makes the treatment of metallic objects very challenging, but also very interesting!

A person kneels next to a small cannon, holding the nozzle to a dry ice blasting apparatus shaped like a long, thin tapering rectangle with a hose that extends off-screen. A tarp covers the background, with a sawhorse to the side of the person.
Figure 2. Amelia Hammond dry ice blasting a 16th Century cannon. Lesley Haines/The Mariners’ Museum and Park.

Why Choose The Mariners’ Museum and Park?

As a conservator with a passion for archaeological conservation and specialized training in metals conservation, The Mariner’s Museum and Park was the obvious choice for an internship. The Batten Conservation Complex is the largest laboratory that works with marine archaeological metals, with around 210 tons of metal in treatment. 

Not only is it the biggest laboratory, but the conservators here also conduct state-of-the-art research, establishing evidence-based protocols for methods like dry ice blasting, and boldly exploring new frontiers in the conservation field, including developing methods to treat acidified timbers using nanoparticles.

What Will I Do?

Throughout the course of my internship, I will work on metallic objects while learning more about the other materials treated by the Conservation team. You can come see us working in the Batten Conservation Complex’s clean laboratory space, where I’ll be working on a part of a Worthington pump from the USS Monitor shipwreck. This part of the pump is called the water end and includes both cast iron and copper alloy elements.

A rust-covered component of a pump sits at the center of the image with a black background, on A blue table covered in white foam. A scale bar, label, and color card sit in the foreground.
Figure 3. Worthington pump water end.
Amelia Hammond/The Mariners’ Museum and Park.

Two people on the outside of a rope speak to a person on the other side of the rope, standing next to a table that holds a rusted artifact
Figure 4. Amelia Hammond speaks to guests about the Worthington pump during the 2024 Sips & Trips event. Amanda Shields/The Mariners’ Museum and Park.

The Worthington pumps were used to pump water into the boiler and out of places where water shouldn’t be. The pumps even pumped water out of the ship for almost six hours as it sank, helping to give sailors time to escape. During the summer, I will be performing the next stages of treatment on this object, which can include mechanical cleaning, chemical cleaning, and coating on this component of one of the Worthington pumps. This treatment will help to ensure the long-term stability of the object.

Click here to download a brochure that explains more about the Worthington pump and stay tuned for an update on this fascinating object!

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