The treatment of the last batch of obejcts is now complete and the objects are packed up and ready to be returned ready for the opening of the Perth Museum in Spring 2024.

Read about the process of desalinating iron finds in order to remove salts from the burial environment

Despite bieng treated in the past, this ceramic jug was in need of conservation, as a previous join had failed, causing a large sherd to detach. Read about the treatment here, and get an insight into a conservators decision making process.

Oftentimes, conservators are tasked with working on objects that have previously been conserved. In this treatment, our conservators removed peeling paint from a previous treatment, but retained the well made plaster fills, and simply retouched them - Teamwork!

Read about the treatment of these interesting and composite objects.

Read about the conservation of this beautiful plaque with detailed enamel decoration

Often tools like scalpels or dental tools are used by conservators to remove ingrained dirt and soiling from the recesses and crevices on an object’s surface. This helps to reveal the design and decorative elements!

Deciding how far to take a treatment is an important part of conservation. X-ray images taken of this copper alloy buckle helped our conservators to determine that the dark lines in the recesses of the plate and frame were in fact part of the original decorative design, and therefore shouldn’t be removed during cleaning.

This large monastic hand bell is largely composed of iron, but with some interesting areas of copper brazing located along the outside edges. Bells such as these would have been used in prayer and worship, and were an important part of early Medieval monastic life in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

This type of bronze pot was common during the 13-15th c. and was used for cooking. This particular example, found near Dunkeld, came to us mostly in a good shape, but had begun to show signs of corrosion, and some previous conservation repairs that needed to be addressed.

With us for conservation we have several complete and fragmentary brooches that were found near Loch Leven in recent years, following the partial draining of the loch in the 19th century.

Nesting weights, like the ones seen here, were produced in Nuremberg in the post-medieval period, and were used by apothecaries and other tradesmen to measure coins.

This gorgeous medieval leatherworking knife was found alongside 8 others from an excavation at Peth High Street.

Plate brooches with fantails, like the one we see here, were used between the 1st – 3rd century AD.

We are happy to share that the work on the latest phase of the project is well underway

An early form of rowlock, soon replaced by claw-shaped rowlocks

A geometric design at one end of this medieval toilet seat was most likely added by someone passing the time while using the facilities

This domed wooden lid was the stopper for a vessel of some kind

Three medieval wooden platters, carefully shaped by hand

This unusual wooden plate features a low lip around the central space