Environmental threats to buried archaeological remains.
The last century's environmental pollution has created health problems, acidification of ground and lakes, and serious damage to our cultural heritage. Outdoor monuments suffer from this pollution, but so do buried archaeological remains. However, research on the deterioration of archaeological artifacts underground has so far been limited, and it is important to draw attention to this neglected field. This article presents results obtained at the Swedish National Heritage Board on the degradation of archaeological objects of bronze and iron and of bones from prehistoric graves, materials of which seem to be most affected by pollutants. The investigation methods, which were employed, are described. Other relevant studies are briefly reviewed. It is obvious that the deterioration rate of archaeological artifacts, especially of inorganic materials, has accelerated in recent years, and that this increased deterioration to a large part can be attributed to anthropogenic pollution. Regions that might be endangered are exemplified.
Nord
Anders G
AG
National Heritage Board of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden. ander.nord@raa.se
Tronner
Kate
K
Mattsson
Einar
E
Borg
Gunnar Ch
GCh
Ullén
Inga
I
D001106:Archaeology; D001842:Bone and Bones; D003300:Copper; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013548:Sweden
D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron