Heather Berry
PhD
Cultural Materials Conservation
Heather Berry is a PhD candidate at the Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation. She is studying conservation methods for Australian species of archaeological waterlogged wood, comparing polyethylene glycol impregnation, sucrose impregnation, and air drying methods and their efficacy. She is a maritime conservator and has worked on in situ and ex situ shipwrecks and their contents.
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Thesis
Understanding the Barangaroo Boat: An Investigation into Australian Waterlogged Wood, its Degradation and Conservation
The aim of this project is to assess the efficacy of established conservation treatments on waterlogged Australian archaeological timber, and to a lesser extent to characterise the degradation process during the pre-treatment and treatment phases of conservation. This research will use the Barangaroo Boat as a case study. It is believed to be one of the earliest European style watercraft constructed from Australian timbers, to be excavated, recorded and conserved. Polyethylene glycol impregnation, sucrose, and air drying are methods of conservation treatment of waterlogged archaeological timbers, though thus far most studies focus on Northern Hemisphere timbers. This study will assess the efficacy of these methods in relation to Australian timbers.
Research interests
- Maritime conservation
- Archaeological conservation