Recovery of unbacked mosaics from a storage depot fire at the Sardis excavations, Turkey

On the night of June 19, 1997, the on-site mosaic depot at Sardis, Turkey, burned, entirely destroying the wooden roof. Two stacks of lifted mosaic se ctions, already faced with animal glue and cotton, were stored in the depot and were covered by the resulting debris of charcoal, ash, and exploded ce ramic roof tiles. Each stack consisted of four mosaic sections lying on top of each other, separated by plastic sheeting and layers of paper that melt ed and burned on the top and sides. Initial recovery of the damaged and bur ied mosaics was undertaken by the team of conservators and conservation stu dents already on-site for the regular excavation season. Removal of large a nd small debris was carried out, and periodic assessments were made to deci de final methods of cleaning and separation of the damaged layers. Secondary recovery was undertaken in the 1998 season. Two methods of recove ry were tested: first by lining damaged layers with cotton cloth and acryli c emulsion, and second by securing portions of a stack with polyurethane fo am, flipping the stack, and removing layers from the reverse. Recovery will continue during the 1999 season.