AlexandraFeb 8
#RyukyuLT #OkiMaibun
i'm at #okinawa prefectural archaeological centre for the annual conference about the archaeological excavations they conducted the previous year. this year the conference is about the vestiges of wakuta village in naha and the matsuzaki hippodrome, also in naha. the related exhibition includes the survey of ōyamatakinsakūbaru 1 site, but it's not in the conf. there is a gallery talk afterwards, but i won't be live-tooting it since i can't type while standing…😓
#archaeology
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025

#okimaibun
reconstruction.

and that's the end, now we go to the gallery talk, that i won't toot because i can't type when standing…😁

Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
dated directly.
magatama are generally from beginning of gusuku, shiori gives several old examples from diverse sites.
the direct datation of glass is not technically possible for now. composition analyses help having an idea of the age by comparison.
for ceramic, even if we have small parts we can get a good idea of the original shape.
apparently i'm not the only one against the japanese way of restoring ceram with their white talk 😁
the person talks about 3d printing or virtual
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025

#okimaibun
shiori ends with saying how much she loves treha and how much it's ＊cheap＊ but she hopes she did everything well since it's a new technique and we don't know yet how it will age.

discussion ＋ questions time !
ah, someone complains that there is no scales in the photographs in the exhibition pamphlet 😁one of my french archaeology teachers ? shiori says there are scales in the real report.
the glass artefacts, especially beads : how old are they, especially magatama, and can they be

Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
humidity and temperature.
then you take your artefact from the juice andwdry them (they tried different drying techniques)
the artefacts are heavier after conservation. the treha cristalises white on the surface so you have to take the surface deposit (only if you use it in exhibitions, if not, you keep the white coating, it's not beautiful but it's one more protection.)
if the wooden artefacts are broken, then, you can restaure them.
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
they can make artificial treha and it's more affordable. it's like conserving the wood in sugar, the 「sugar」cristalises inside the wood and makes the wood stronger, and not weak to humidity. it's very cheap so everyone is happy.
＊insert here very specialised talk about how to put your wooden artefacts in treha＊
first you kill the germs by heating the artefacts to 80 degrees for one day, then you put your artefact in treha juice, you have to change concentrations with the external
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
the very large wooden artefacts are sent to japan, but the normal-size ones are conserved in the center.
the metal artefacts are put in sealed plastic bags with RP products and no air to prevent rust.
the wood conservation was, before, made by putting the artefacts in water but that was baaaad.
then they used PEG but it takes a long time and now, they use a product called treha. before treha was only obtained from natural sources and very expensive, but now
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
conservation uses a number of scientific techniques in order to preserve artefacts, but also includes work by artists as well for the restauration.
the center conserves artefacts in wood, metal… that deteriorate quickly after excavation.
artefacts are cleaned, some are very fragile, need to be put in ethanol or water. before that, they mesure and weight them.
the rust from metallic artefacts must be taken, the wood but be desinfected (not to rot)
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
the next lecture is about the techniques and processes they used at the centre for artefacts conservation, by shiori kuniyoshi, who is archaeologist at the centre too.
Show threadAlexandraFeb 16, 2025
#okimaibun
in the 15-16c. there might have been a place where they crafted those metal artefacts in iri-no-azana inside shuri. they found scories. complete things found in kyo-no-uchi, unfinished things in iri-no-azana.
glass beads melted by fire and…she does not have any time left to tell us mooooore 😓 the archaeological center, the only place where they respect the time limits for the conferences…