The conservation of artefacts and architectural remains has been an integral part of research at the OeAI for decades. At the same time, however, the profession of conservator itself has changed from a primarily manual to an academic research activity, the aim of which today is to develop new procedures to ensure the best possible care of the objects.
In addition, the planning, coordination and documentation of conservation and restoration strategies, the implementation and ongoing advice on preventive conservation, the recovery of sensitive objects during excavations for further treatment in the (field) laboratory and the conservation of small finds during or after the excavation season continue to be the main tasks of conservation science, which is located in the »Heritage Science« unit at the OeAI.
The conservation team accompanies a large number of field projects in Austria and abroad. Archaeological sites that are exposed to the elements are regularly checked for damage. The systematic documentation of the original condition of the artefacts or building structures to be protected as well as the conservation materials and techniques used is a matter of course at all sites. For this purpose, the OeAI also maintains conservation facilities at its long-standing research locations in Turkey, Egypt and Greece, which can only be operated with the support of freelance conservators due to the amount of work required. If necessary, conservation work can also be carried out at all of the OeAI's other archaeological sites with the help of mobile equipment.
The OeAI places particular emphasis on state-of-the-art equipment. Conservators have a wide range of stationary and portable analysers at their disposal, and conservation planning and documentation using imaging techniques such as UV and infrared photography, high-resolution X-rays and 4K digital microscopy are now standard. In view of the multidisciplinary networking of conservation science and natural science disciplines, the merging of different approaches will not only provide new insights into culture and history in the future, but will also have a significant influence on conservation science.