Research underway to find best materials for conserving HMS Victory

Specially designed tests will assess a range of paints, caulking, glues, and metal fastenings.
February 24, 2022
This article is from Current Archaeology issue 385


Subscribe now for full access and no adverts

HMS Victory. IMAGE: UK MOD / Wikimedia Commons.

The University of Southampton’s engineering consultancy, nC², is helping the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) to find the best materials to use to conserve Admiral Nelson’s 18th-century flagship, HMS Victory, for the next half century.

Specially designed tests will assess a range of paints, caulking, glues, and metal fastenings.

‘Rainwater is probably our biggest enemy in terms of the ship’s preservation,’ said NMRN Head of Conservation, Diana Davis. ‘We want to know as much as possible about the materials we are using – taking an evidence-based approach to choose the right products. nC² is helping us to do that, and even if there’s no perfect product that will last the full 50 years, their data will enable us to plan our maintenance schedule to keep the ship watertight.’

By Country

Popular
UKItalyGreeceEgyptTurkeyFrance

Africa
BotswanaEgyptEthiopiaGhanaKenyaLibyaMadagascarMaliMoroccoNamibiaSomaliaSouth AfricaSudanTanzaniaTunisiaZimbabwe

Asia
IranIraqIsraelJapanJavaJordanKazakhstanKodiak IslandKoreaKyrgyzstan
LaosLebanonMalaysiaMongoliaOmanPakistanQatarRussiaPapua New GuineaSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth KoreaSumatraSyriaThailandTurkmenistanUAEUzbekistanVanuatuVietnamYemen

Australasia
AustraliaFijiMicronesiaPolynesiaTasmania

Europe
AlbaniaAndorraAustriaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkEnglandEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceHollandHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyMaltaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaScotlandSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeySicilyUK

South America
ArgentinaBelizeBrazilChileColombiaEaster IslandMexicoPeru

North America
CanadaCaribbeanCarriacouDominican RepublicGreenlandGuatemalaHondurasUSA

Discover more from The Past

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading