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Conserving Viking Archaeology Part 2: Treating the ‘Special Finds’ from the Site of the Great Army Encampment at St Wystan’s Church, Repton

Posted on 11 January 2023 by Sorcha Riby

In 865, The Great Army, a 3000-strong pan-Viking force, arrived on the Kent coast. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the force reached Repton, Derbyshire in 874, and established a long-term […]

Conserving Viking Archaeology Part 1: The Batch Treatment of Iron Finds from the Site of the Great Army Encampment at St Wystan’s Church, Repton

Posted on 4 January 2023 by Sorcha Riby

In 865, The Great Army, a 3000-strong pan-Viking force, arrived on the Kent coast. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the force reached Repton, Derbyshire in 874, and established a long-term […]

Paraloid B72 is not the only adhesive or how many adhesive puns can I use before it gets tacky?

Posted on 18 November 2022 by Tessa Corton

    Paraloid B72. Or Acryloid B72, if you’re American, or even ethyl methacrylate and methacrylate if you’re feeling fancy (Preservation Equipment Ltd, 2021). By whatever name, you’re bound to […]

Welcome to a new year in the CUConservation labs: Handy blog posts to read

Posted on 3 October 2022 by Courtney Lyons

Welcome to a new academic year in the CU Conservation labs!! If you are a new student looking for what to expect in the lab, with object treatments or you […]

In Defence of Collections Part 1: An Introduction to the Collections Debate

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Concerns relating to the colonial motivations and attitudes behind museum collections have caused many industry professionals, especially those based in the West, to question whether collections are, and if they […]

In Defence of Collections Part 6: The Role of Museum Collections- A Summary

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The museums sector is committed to education, a commitment we saw renewed at ICOM. Commitment to education means a commitment to people and society, and therefore also to collections. The […]

In Defence of Collections Part 5: Collections- The Colonial Issue

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

Recent anxieties around colonial collections and the need to confront their social legacy is the main force behind challenges to collections’ centrality to museums. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums […]

In Defence of Collections Part 4: Collections- The Key to Quality Public Education

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The Museums Association report’s results suggest that the only thing the British public are more interested in than learning is the collections themselves. Jones (2018, p.15), Ambrose and Paine (2018, […]

In Defence of Collections Part 3: Access, Education, and Public Appeal- One in the Same?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

The public education provided by museums has been the primary concern of museology of the last three decades, and therefore remains the ideal outcome of museum engagement, despite being branded […]

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

In Defence of Collections Part 2: What Does a Museum Do?

Posted on 8 June 2022 by Sorcha Riby

What does it mean for a museum to ‘do’ something? The primary challenge to ICOM’s revised museum definition is that it is an aspiration, rather than a description of what […]