D.U.C.T. Tape

Durham University Conservation Team

Welcome! We are Durham University Conservation Team (D.U.C.T), based in the Dawson building on the Science site of Durham University. We train emerging conservators in our labs and this blog will feature blogs by both new and experienced students of ours. We are a small team usually consisting of up to twelve members and our students are currently completing an MA in conservation. We mainly focus on archaeological and museum objects and look in depth at the theory and practice behind interventive and preventive conservation.

We have custom laboratories where all hands on work and teaching takes place including a newly refurbished materials analysis lab featuring a portable x-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) machine, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a fourier transform infra-red unit (FTIR) and an x-ray power diffraction (XRD). We receive objects from local museums as well as departments within the univeristy for our students to work on, which are regularly placed on display and many of these will feature on this site.

This blog aims to be a place where our current and graduated students can discuss the objects and projects they’re working on as well as informing prospective students about the course. We will also feature an object of the month, to highlight a number of artefacts that are researched or conseved in the department and we may well have a competition at the end of the year to see which object was the favourite!

Thank you for joining us and we hope you enjoy learning more about conservation and being a conservator.