Rediscovering Princess Carolina: Preventive Conservation as a Catalyst for Reengaging with an Archaeological Collection, presented by William Hoffman, Director of Conservation and Chief Conservator Elsa Sangouard, Senior Archaeological Conservator
Where: DeWitt Wallace Collections and Conservation Building Conference Room
Please enter through the main entrance at the front of the building.
309 1st Street Williamsburg, VA 23165
When: Thursday, November 19, 2026
5:30 pm- Reception with refreshments
6:00 pm- Presentation
You may have recently seen the publication in JAIC regarding the treatment and care of Princess Carolina. Hoffman and Sangouard’s presentation will give an overview of the project as a whole and provide the most up-to-date information regarding the ongoing treatment and preventive care.
In 1982, the remains of the 18th century merchant ship Princess Carolina were discovered and partially excavated under 175 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York. This ship is the earliest surviving American built merchant ship. After Princess Carolina was no longer seaworthy, it was used as infill to extend New York City’s shoreline and subsequently filled with materials contemporary to the period. The excavation recovered nearly 400 timbers and 15,000 small artifacts. In 1988, the collection was donated to The Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.
The intended exhibition of the objects never came to fruition, and the assemblage disappeared into storage. In 2018, conservators began a major project to address the preventive conservation needs of the ship's timbers, which were housed in non-climate-controlled storage. Following a timber condition assessment interest in the archaeological materials began to grow. This renewed awareness set the stage for the development of a rehousing initiative as well as scientific research focused on the effects of sulfur on formerly waterlogged wood. This paper discusses the challenges of reviving a dormant archaeological collection. It highlights that preventive conservation can be a mechanism for collection reengagement using the rehousing of Princess Carolina's bow timbers as a case study. The paper also describes the steps required to build project momentum as well as the development of a multi-year stage-based and flexible conservation work.
Image Courtesy of The Mariners’ Museum and Park