Conservation (And A 3D Scanner!) Comes To The Castle

Written by Dr. Claire Kennan, Dr. Andrew Moore, Melissa Allen, Caroline Longo, Julia Le Clair, and Antonia Mappin-Kasirer

In early May 2022, the science lab of the Bader International Study Centre (BISC) became the nexus where hundreds of artefacts with drastically different histories, material properties, and provenance all came together. Iridescent glass fragments, WWII Royal Air Force porcelain, and archaeological iron horseshoes, all found on the grounds of Herstmonceux, currently occupy the same space as a large collection of Roman artefacts on loan from local Bexhill Museum. The former, temporarily removed from the Castle’s Visitor Centre, have been assessed, documented, and digitised by graduate students in Art Conservation and in Digital Media, and the latter, catalogued by undergraduates participating in the BISC Archaeology Field School.