BARK: Identification, Conservation and Significance of Prehistoric Bark vessels

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The inner and outer bark of trees, and objects made from them, played a central role in the daily lives of prehistoric people. Their study is key to understanding the technological foundations and developments of the respective prehistoric communities, but due to their ephemeral nature they have long been underestimated. Through interdisciplinary research, we aim to understand the significance of objects made of unretted lime bark, identify them through material analysis, and develop appropriate conservation methods for their long-term preservation. Three challenges characterise prehistoric bark objects: 1) Their identification. Archaeologists and conservators are often unable to recognise or unambiguously identify bark due to a lack of identification methods. The vague classification as wood or bark objects is reductive for the correlation between their material characteristics and their function. 2) Their conservation. Conservation methods for bark materials are often adopted from those for wooden objects or archaeological textiles. However, the morphological and chemical structure of bark differs from that of wood, as do its degradation pathways, its response to environmental changes and the suitability of drying and consolidation methods. 3) Their cultural-historical contextualisation. Interpretation and contextualisation are often difficult, not only because of vague identification, but also because of the lack of comparative objects and species identification. To address these challenges, we are bringing together researchers from the fields of dendrology, archaeology and conservation. We will develop a key for the identification of lime bark that can be used by archaeologists and conservators in the field and in the laboratory. We will examine the morphology and anatomy of modern and archaeological lime bark, both conserved and untreated, to identify the degradation pathways. Current and past consolidation and drying methods and their effects will be studied. These investigations will be based on objects from Kanton Bern, Neolithic bark floor material from Baden-Württemberg and bark vessels from Saxony. In addition, the exceptional corpus of prehistoric bark vessels from Neolithic and Bronze Age wells in Saxony will be examined in detail archaeologically to understand the manufacture and use of the finds. The results will form the basis for a contextual and comparative study of bark vessels in Central Europe and their role in the material cultures of the respective Neolithic and Bronze Age communities. Our vision is that bark objects will be identified, interpreted and preserved as central evidence of prehistoric societies in Europe.