I talked to Elizabeth Brown, Executive Director of the Alabama Historical Commission, this morning and here are her comments:
The musket in question was in really good condition. It had been covered in mud and silt and was basically in an anaerobic environment. The old weapon contained both metal and wooden parts.
Texas A&M is allegedly world renoun at preserving maritime artifacts. They have more money than the Alabama Commission and have been working to preserve entire shipwrecks from the Texas coast.
The musket will be preserved by Texas A&M and then returned to Alabama for public display.
It has been preserved since recovery in distilled water and has not been allowed to dry. If it is allowed to dry in air the wood will quickly turn to powder. The folks in Texas will replace the moisture in the wood with a resin-like compound that will preserve it.
On its return to Alabama the musket will be placed on display at either Confederate Park in Clanton or in a museum in Selma.
The musket in question was in really good condition. It had been covered in mud and silt and was basically in an anaerobic environment. The old weapon contained both metal and wooden parts.
Texas A&M is allegedly world renoun at preserving maritime artifacts. They have more money than the Alabama Commission and have been working to preserve entire shipwrecks from the Texas coast.
The musket will be preserved by Texas A&M and then returned to Alabama for public display.
It has been preserved since recovery in distilled water and has not been allowed to dry. If it is allowed to dry in air the wood will quickly turn to powder. The folks in Texas will replace the moisture in the wood with a resin-like compound that will preserve it.
On its return to Alabama the musket will be placed on display at either Confederate Park in Clanton or in a museum in Selma.
