Kaman-Kalehöyük 2025 Iron Objects

The conservation team has been working on a group of iron objects excavated in 2024 from the south sector of Kaman-Kalehöyük. After initial detailed documentation all iron objects are X-rayed. Our X-Ray machine has helped us to understand the metal objects coming into the lab before treating them. This has been particularly helpful with objects entirely covered in gauze or rock/layers of corrosion. We were able to X-Ray these unknown objects and create a plan to treat them before needing to disturb the object. In particular, the use of the X-ray machine made treating object C24-206 far more streamlined. The object was completely encased in solid layers of dirt and iron corrosion products, obscuring the objects entirely.

The initial X-ray showed the iron corrosion to be found throughout all of the soil/salts layer, but a small, whiter area was found in both objects. A second X-ray was taken, adjusting the time and kilovolts to allow us to see the objects within. This second X-ray showed how thin the objects were in comparison to the undesirable product around them, as well as also providing us with the insight into where they were situated.

Iron cleaning can be a messy job, especially when dealing with hard encrustation that cannot be removed just with a chisel. Therefore, our treatment involves cleaning the accretions with a Micromotor and Dremel tool over a suction table equipped with a vacuum to collect the dust and corrosion residue making sure we're wearing appropriate PPE! X-rays of the objects were used as a guide throughout cleaning to ensure the object would not be damaged.

After going over the objects with ethanol soaked cotton swabs, we package them on custom ethafoam mounts lined with Tyvek and place them in sealed Escal bags with silica gel to absorb any moisture. All objects are then transfered to depot for safe permanent storage

Rachel Clements and Holly Cryer, conservation interns for 2025 season.