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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology pp 2764–2772Cite as

Field Stabilization of Immovable Heritage

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Introduction

In recent decades, conservation professionals have been increasingly involved in field excavations in order to stabilize materials during the critical moment when they are most susceptible to rapid and severe deterioration due to the radical change in environment from buried to exposed states. While it is more common for archaeological objects removed from a site to be subject to stabilization treatments during the excavation process, similar measures are now more frequently being planned and carried out in the field also on immovable heritage, namely, the architectural remains of a site, and the site itself, to prevent their deterioration or loss. Both preventive conservation measures and remedial interventions to stabilize sites during excavation, followed by monitoring and maintenance programs, are essential components of conservation and management planning for archaeological sites (Fig. 1).

Definition

In situ stabilization interventions, whether they are remedial...

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Acknowledgments

Copyright 2014 The J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Thomas Roby

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  1. Thomas Roby
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Correspondence to Thomas Roby .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Roby, T. (2014). Field Stabilization of Immovable Heritage. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_430

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_430

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2

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