The Objects Conservation team have got a particularly large challenge in the labs at the moment in the form of a Roman ceramic vessel measuring approximately 33 inches high (approximately hip height).

The vessel was found at Highworth Farm in Swindon and originally came into the conservation labs in 2008 for assessment. Since then Swindon Museum & Art Gallery has been working hard on securing funding for the conservation work and hope to put the object on display later in the year.

 
Discovering the vessel

The vessel has suffered from a lot of damage resulting in a large section coming away from one side but, interestingly, it has also been repaired in antiquity. Two large cracks running down the length of the ceramic have a series of staples visible running horizontally across both on the outside and the inside of the vessel, looking much like large stitches.

The conservation team have been able to secure the help of Phil Parkes at Cardiff University in identifying what the staples were made of using XRF analysis (x-ray fluorescence).

 
Conducting X-ray Fluorescence

This works on the basis that different inorganic materials, such as metals, emit recognisable levels of energy when exposed to a beam of x-rays. This is shown as a series of peaks which can be compared to existing standards in order to identify different materials that may be present.

In the case of the Highworth ceramic vessel, the staples have been identified as being made of lead.

Analysing the results

The next challenge is to try and find out what the vessel may have been used for. Its size and weight suggests that it may well have been a storage vessel – it took three people to move it from storage into a van for transport to the conservation labs so it definitely wouldn’t have been carried around!

Conservators have identified a black residue visible on the inside of the vessel as a source of material for analysis and specialists will also be taking samples of the ceramic itself to try and find out if anything has been absorbed into the fabric of the ceramic in antiquity.

The fact that the vessel has been repaired in ancient times may indicate that it was used for a number of purposes and may give us further information about the types of products being used and traded in the area at the time.




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