Block-lifting: Saving a 3.300 years old section of wood from the Late Helladic Palace of Ayios Vasileios in Sparta

S. Chlouveraki, sitecon.co, 01-08-2014

One of the major goals of the conservation program at Ayios Vasileios was the lifting of a large section of partially burnt wood measuring about 50x30cm. This is a unique example of wood from the Late Helladic Period preserved  in its natural form. The Director of the excavations Adamandia Vasilogamvrou, the trench supervisors Dora Kondyli, Nektarios Karadimas and Elina Kardamaki as well as the technicians working on site report that they could smell the resin in the trench when the wood was discovered, which was a fascinating experience. This is indeed the only example of unburnt prehistoric wood known to date in the Aegean. As soon as it was unearthed the surface of the wood was cleaned and documented while the rest of the body remained under the earth. The find was buried again and kept in a stable environment until a team of specialists arrived on the site on 29 July 2014 in order to lift it in a block of soil and store it in oxygen-free environment.

The block-lifting was undertaken with the financial support of INSTAPEC and J.M. Kaplan Fund by Stefania Chlouveraki from the INSTAP – Study Center for East Crete and Christina Margariti from the Conservation Directorate (DCAMM), Ministry of Culture  with the assistance of the Spartan conservator Vicky Katsihti and the conservation intern of DCAMM Maria Kinti as well as the valuable help of the skillful and efficient workmen of the excavation program, Panos, Nikos, Yiannis and Kostas.

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