Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015 at 6pm in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall in the Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center at Macalester College
Wood from archaeological and historic sites holds great
potential for providing information from the past. It is important for precise
dating of sites, determining the origin of objects and learning more about how
cultural materials were utilized in the past. Archaeological wood, however, is
rarely found free of deterioration and of great concern is the preservation of these
historically significant wooden objects and structures. This presentation will discuss investigations
at some of the world’s most important heritage sites to better understand the
wooden cultural resources found, elucidate the current condition of the wood
and identify degradation processes that have taken place so that appropriate
methods of preservation can be developed. Examples will include information on
the wooden structures and ancient furniture from the ‘King Midas’ tomb in
Turkey, ancient Egyptian wood, the expedition huts built by early explorers of
Antarctica Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott, and sunken ships including the
‘Manhattan ship’ found during excavations at ground zero in New York City.
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| furniture from the "Midas Tomb" at Gordion, Turkey |
About the Speaker: Robert A. Blanchette is a Professor in the Department of
Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota. His major interests
are in the area of forest pathology and wood microbiology
with research in tree defense mechanisms, deterioration
processes of wood, biotechnological uses of forest fungi,
biological control of forest pathogens, and the conservation
of archaeological wood and wood of historic value. Projects
involve novel, interdisciplinary approaches to solving tree
disease problems and understanding the biology and ecology
of forest microbes.
Professor Blanchette has received numerous honors and published on a wide range of topics. More about his work is here.
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