Conservation Update -- 5/18/04

Greetings! The winter season is long gone and our team of archaeologists and conservators are back in action. Below is a message from our Chief Conservator, Marcie Renner, outlining our conservation goals for this summer. If you are planning a visit to The Mariners’ Museum, now is the time to do it. You will witness conservation in action and see a number of artifacts that have completed the conservation process and are now on display in the new exhibition, Ironclad Evidence: Stories of the CSS Virginia & the USS Monitor. We will continue to keep you posted on our progress. All the best, Kimberly

A Message from Marcie Renner, Chief Conservator, The Mariners’ Museum

For the next several months, Monitor conservation activities will focus on the removal of the Dahlgren guns and carriages from the turret. Because the ship turned over during sinking, the turret is upside down; thus the guns are under the carriages and the original support pieces in the floor are now on top. These support pieces include a large transverse beam, horizontal plates, and the four gun slides on which the carriages moved.

Documentation is an essential component of conservation. As we prepare to remove the support components to gain access to the guns and carriages, NOAA archaeologists and Museum conservation staff will prepare detailed drawings and photographs. Additionally, staff from the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) program will undertake laser documentation of the turret. HABS/HAER is an arm of the National Park Service and is an integral component of the federal government’s commitment to historic preservation documenting significant architectural, engineering, and industrial sites throughout the United States and its territories.

Once the initial documentation is complete, removal of components will begin. Riggers from Northrop Grumman Newport News will provide expertise and lifting equipment when necessary. The port gun slide and a forward support plate will be removed first, followed by the removal of the port carriage, then the nine-ton gun itself. The sequence will be repeated for the starboard side of the turret: documentation, then removal of support pieces, the carriage, and the gun. By the end of August, we hope to have each component removed and ready for individual treatment.