As part of the pedagogic activities of the course Introduction to Conservation of Archaeological Ceramics – Workshop #SG203B (syllabus), students are involved in the study and restoration of archaeological pottery. They work on finds from classical and medieval periods coming from several sources: the excavation of the Public Baths in Carsulae, from recent excavations at the Palatine Hill in Rome, and the store rooms of the Archaeological Museum of Perugia.

The work done on the objects started with the sorting, analysis and documentation of the sherds. This was followed by conservation work that involved the cleaning and reassembly of the surviving pieces and the infill of the missing portions of pottery. All the work was carried out by SGPS students under the close supervision of the faculty.

The material is chosen according to the following criteria: availability, quality and interest of the pieces and whether the work required is compatible with the skills of our students and time frame of the course. An important objective of the project is to harness the work being done in the classroom to help local archaeological institutions preserve and conserve the materials that they have found. SGPS has a longstanding, working relationship with the excavation of the Public Baths in Carsulae, led by Prof, Jane Whitehead.

Sponsors and Collaborations

San Gemini Preservation Studies
Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Storico San Gemini
Excavation of the Public Baths of Carsulae, Valdosta State University
Comune di San Gemini
Sovrintendenza ai Beni Archaelologici dell’Umbria
Museo Archelogico di Perugia
Centro Visita e Documentazione “U.Ciotti” di Carsulae

Instructors/supervisors:

Prof. Elena Lorenzetti (Archeology)
Prof. Elena Raimondi (Conservation)

2011 Ceramics Restoration Workshop

In 2011 the ceramics workshop students learned the process of analyzing and and restoring archaeological ceramics. They worked on pottery of classical and medieval periods coming from several sources: some from the excavation of the Baths in Carsulae; some were lent by Rome’s Archaeological Soprintensenza and came from recent excavations at the Palatine Hill, and, lastly; some came from the Archaeological Museum of Perugia.
The work done on the objects started with the sorting, analysis and documentation of the sherds and was followed by the conservation work that involved the cleaning, reassembly of the surviving pieces and the infill of the missing portions of pottery. All the work was carried out by the student under the close supervision of the faculty.

2012 Ceramics Restoration Workshop

2013 Ceramics Restoration Workshop: Grave Goods

In 2013 a very interesting project was done: the restoration of a set of pottery that was part of the grave goods of a  recently discovered burial site near Norcia at a construction site. The finds were damaged accidentally by an excavation plow. These pieces were lent to the SGPS by the Archaeological Museum of Perugia for restoration.