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Prof David Watkinson 


Mr David Watkinson
Position:Professor (Conservation)

Telephone:+44 (0)29 208 74249
Fax:+44 (0)29 208 74929
Extension:74249
Location:John Percival Building, Room 3.16

Research Interests

  • Structure, decay and conservation of historical and archaeological objects.
  • Corrosion and conservation of metals; specifically iron.
  • Corrosion of archaeological glass.
  • Long term storage of metals in museums.
  • Methodology and accuracy in collection survey.
  • The education and training of conservation professionals.

Selected Publications

Rimmer, M., Watkinson D.  and Wang Q. (2012) The efficiency of chloride extraction from archaeological iron objects using deoxygenated alkaline solutions. Studies in Conservation, 57, 29 - 41.

Malea E, Vogiatzi T  and Watkinson D.  (2012) Assessing the physical condition of waterlogged archaeological leather.  Proceedings of the 11th ICOM-CC Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, Greenville 2010, eds. Kristiane Strætkvern and Emily Williams, Lulu.com USA, pp. 571-595.

Rimmer, M. and Watkinson, D. (2010) Residues of alkaline sulphite treatment and their effects on the corrosion of archaeological iron objects. In METAL 2010, Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Charleston, South Carolina 11-15 October 2010, ed. P. Mardikian, C. Chemello, C. Watters and P. Hull, Clemson University (2011) 16-22.

Watkinson, D.  (2010) Measuring the effectiveness of chloride extraction methods for corrosion control of heritage iron: problems and challenges. Corrosion Science Engineering and Technology, 45 (5), 400- 406.

Watkinson, D. (2010) Preservation of metallic cultural heritage. In: Richardson J. A. et. Al. (eds.) Shrier’s corrosion, volume 4, 3307-3340 Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Watkinson, D and Tanner, M. (2008) ss Great Britain: conservation and access – synergy and cost. In Conservation and Access; IIC London Congress 15-19 September 2008, Saunders, D., Townsend, J. and Woodcock, S. (eds), IIC, London 109-114.

Taylor, J. and Watkinson, D. (2007) Indexing Reliability for condition survey data, The Conservator, 30 49-62

Watkinson D. and Lewis M. (2005) Desiccated storage of chloride contaminated archaeological iron objects. Studies in Conservation. Vol 50, No 4, 241-252. James and James.

Watkinson D., Weber L., and Anheuser K. (2005) Staining of archaeological glass from manganese rich environments. Archaeometry. Vol 47, 67-80. Blackwell.

Watkinson D. and Lewis M. (2004) ss Great Britain iron hull: modelling corrosion to define storage relative humidity. Conference proceedings; Metal 04 Proceedings of the international conference on Metals Conservation. Canberra Australia 4-8 October 2004. 88-103. National Museum of Australia.

Watkinson, D. E. and Neal, V. (1998) First Aid for Finds. RESCUE & UKIC

Watkinson, D.E. (1996) Chloride extraction from Archaeological Iron: Comparative Treatment Efficiency, Archaeological Conservation and its Consequences, Roy A. and Smith P. (eds.), 208 – 212, International Institute for Conservation, London.

Watkinson, D. (1983) Degree of mineralisation: Its significance for the stability and treatment of excavated ironwork, Studies in Conservation, 29 85-90.

 

Research Projects

AHRC/CDA in partnership with Historic Scotland and the Tank Museum ‘Quantifying corrosion of historical wrought iron and steel to develop predictive preservation methods and strategies’

ss Great Britain Trust -  ‘Conservation of Brunel’s steamship ss Great Britain.’ 

AHRC/EPSRC Heritage Science Project - ‘Evidence-based Condition-Monitoring Strategy for Preservation of Heritage Iron’ 

Historic Scotland Project – ‘‘Preparation of historic wrought iron surfaces to receive protective coatings and evaluation of paint performance’.’ 

Teaching

Course leader; BSc Conservation of Objects in Museums and Archaeology, MSc Conservation, MSc Care of Collections. Teaching: Corrosion and conservation of metals; Decay and conservation of wet wood; Theory and practice in the workplace; Method in conservation; Analysis of materials, Practical conservation projects, Conservation independent study, Conservation dissertation, Archaeological Science, Masters dissertations, PhD supervision.