Conservators in the Objects labs are currently working on a glass goblet (pictured above) dating to the Medieval period. The goblet was found at Ludgershall Castle which comes under the collecting remit of Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes.

The vessel is in several pieces at the moment and will require careful cleaning before it can be reconstructed. Glass is notoriously fragile and can deteriorate very quickly in a burial environment so it is not often that whole objects are found. Conservators are hoping that analysis can be done to discover what the goblet may have been used for. Organic residues can sometimes be detected on the surface of objects which can indicate that they may have been used for eating and drinking in the past. This goblet is quite ornate so it may in fact have been a decorative piece with no other use.

A conservator working on the fragments of a glass goblet

The museum is hoping to display the goblet once the treatment is complete and the conservators will be putting up a display about the treatment at this year's British Archaeology Festival events at Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum on July 18^th and Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes on August 2^nd. Come along if you'd like to find out more.

The Archives Conservators are just about to start work on Inland Revenue Ordinance Survey maps of the Chippenham area. These need to be cleaned and re-backed, necessitating the use of their large wall-mounted paste board - a new and improved feature in the Archives labs at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre.

A paper conservator repairing large maps 

The conservators have also received a linen backed map of Chippenham dating to 1820 which has come into the archives as a result of the amalgamation of the district councils with Wiltshire County Council.

It was received in a very dirty state and disfigured by being rolled up. The appearance of the map has already been vastly improved by simple cleaning. The backing will now be removed and repairs carried out to stabilise it further.