I have been researching about how to preserve artifacts from humidity… Zaynab (12)

I have been researching about how to preserve artifacts from humidity and wanted to identify natural materials that can be used to stabilize the relative humidty and protect artifacts. I have identified materials like diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, rice, cotton and charcoal. I am running an experiment with a combination of these materials to see what works best. I wanted your expert opinion on this and also understand if there is any other materials that works good to stabilize the relative humidity.

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Dear Zaynab,

It’s a fantastic interest you have there and it’s great to see how much work you are putting into it, conducting different experiments and tests.

I work in commercial archaeology and the few times we have to use conservation techniques on site are when we find metal objects (jewellery, weapons, tools…) or when we find organic materials (wooden objects, textiles…). To preserve metal and prevent corrosion, we usually use plastic containers with some silica gel inside.

When it comes to the preservation of organic materials, it can be really tricky as they start drying as soon as they have been excavated. We try to keep them in a moist environment and they are sent to the conservators as soon as possible so they can be dealt with professionally.

We also use a book called ‘First Aid for Finds’ which is a small guide that can easily be found online. You can also check Historic England’s website which has some useful guides dedicated to conservation.

So as you can see, as a field archaeologist, I don’t have many dealings with conservation! I think the best thing for you would be to go to your local museum and ask to speak with their conservationist as I am sure they will be able to give you much better information!

Odile, November 2025