Identification and valuation of archaeological artefacts :developments using digital x-radiography.

AbstractThis article outlines a cost-effective proposal for the effective identification of potential iron artefacts from the range of iron concretions recovered from archaeological sites. The high cost of film-based X-radiography has biased archaeologists to pre-select objects, rather than X-radiograph all ironwork, and consequently inevitably discard potential artefacts in need of preservation. Recent improvements in digital X-radiography provide a quick and potentially cheaper alternative to film. The article introduces valuation processes, usually only discussed in relation to large building conservation projects, and applies them to evaluate the conservation potential of individual iron concretions. Factors such as form, completeness and archaeological context are seen to be crucial and exploring this as an analytic-deliberative decision-making process is beneficial to both those practising and learning archaeological conservation. The extent of conservation and research applied to iron objects is in...