Hasholme Boat
Conserving a prehistoric boat
The Hasholme Boat is an Iron Age dug-out log boat that is on display in the galleries at Hull & East Riding Museum, in the Museums Quarter on High Street, Hull.
The boat, which is around 2,300 years old, was excavated in 1984 after being discovered in a former inlet of the Humber estuary near Holme on Spalding Moor. It arrived in Hull in 1986, after being stored at the National Maritime Museum for two years. It was installed in a purpose built tank at Hull & East Riding Museum and was sprayed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) for 19 years, which is the same type of treatment used on the Mary Rose, the flagship of Henry VIII.
In December 2009 a decision was made to turn off the spray system because the equipment was coming to the end of its life and the treatment had gone on for far too long and was beginning to cause deterioration of the structure. A wood specialist conservator from York Archaeological Trust was called in to advise on the next step and it was agreed that the tank would be cleaned and spray systems removed, leaving the boat to dry out naturally, as continued spraying would be very costly and would have little benefit.
A specialist hazardous waste company were contracted by Hull Museums to enter the boat tank wearing protective clothing and breathing apparatus. They removed the waste PEG liquid from the base of the tank and cleaned the tank to remove any contamination. The boat was then carefully washed down to remove the mould that had grown on the surface, and a chemical biocide applied to prevent further mould problems.
The boat has dried out very slowly since the above work was carried out. New metal struts have been specially fabricated to support some of the more fragile areas and the large decorated transom (end section) has been successfully freeze-dried to preserve it for future display. More conservation work was carried out in 2012 to consolidate the whole surface and the boat is monitored on a regular basis for signs of deterioration. There is now environmental control equipment inside the tank to keep the humidity at a constant level to prevent further cracks in the wood.
