A fuel leak during a routine inspection has destroyed the Antarctic hut favoured by explorer Sir Edmund Hillary. A spokesman for Antarctica New Zealand said that the hut caught fire during the re-ignition of a heater. Given the extremely dry conditions, fire is a significant hazard in Antarctica. The timber and bitumen hut on the Ross Ice Shelf was originally built by the US, but came into Kiwi ownership in 1971. Roughly 12000 New Zealanders are thought to have stayed there, among them prime ministers, poets and scientists.

For more about the conservation challenges faced in preserving expedition huts, as featured in News in Conservation 3, December 2007, go to: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/
The Antarctic Heritage Trust focuses on the legacy left by four major expeditions, including that of Ernest Shackleton.

The Conservation Center at New York University’s Institute for Fine Arts (IFA) has announced that it has received a $1 million grant from The Levy Foundation to advance graduate training in archaeological conservation. The grant creates 15 Leon Levy Fellowships at the Institute to support promising students enrolled in the Center’s four-year training program. It also establishes five Leon Levy Visiting Fellowships, which will be awarded over five years to one individual each year who specializes in the conservation of archaeological materials of the ancient world—western Mediterranean to China.

Shelby White, founding trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation, said, ‘Leon was a long- time supporter of the Conservation Center and he realized the importance of properly preserving our past. Conservation initiatives, such as this one to train skilled conservators, are critical in preserving history’s most important treasures. In that context, we are delighted to support the Institute of Fine Arts in training the next generation of archaeological conservators.’

Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield, UK was officially declared open last week after a major refurbishment. The industrial museum had been closed for restoration as a result of disastrous flooding in June 2007- its galleries and stores were covered in mud and debris when the River Don burst its banks and its collections were badly damaged. Kelham Island reopens with its artefacts restored and with a range of new exhibits. Commenting, Fiona Elliot, Project Manager of the re-display said, ‘Following a number of consultations, new exhibitions have been created and old favourites have been preserved and modernised to tell a more complete story of Sheffield.’

Those who know the museum will be pleased to see one of its main attractions, the huge River Don steam engine, still in pride of place and full working order despite being deluged in water during the flooding. Built by Sheffield’s Davy Brothers in 1905, it is the most powerful steam engine in Europe. Eddy Foster, Project Manager of the engine refurbishment team, described the restoration process: ‘After the initial steam cleaning, 5 people spent almost 100 hours wiping the engine down with rags. Every single copper pipe and brass screw was then removed from the engine, piece by piece, cleaned and reassembled ’“ it was definitely a labour of love!’

A team from Dorothea Restorations then spent 9 weeks repainting the machine, which was originally built to roll steel. They used over 15 litres of black paint and 47 litres of green paint to cover the 650 square metres of engine surface. Visitors to the museum can once again see the steam engine in action twice a day thanks to its £30,000 restoration. For more information about the conservation and refurbishment and about visiting Kelham Island Museum, go to: http://www.simt.co.uk/kelham/index.html

In 2006 the UK House of Lords Science and Technology select committee published an inquiry report on science and heritage. One of the recommendations of that report is the development of a national strategy for heritage science. Since October this year, a project has been underway to produce this strategy, which will be underpinned by three reports currently in preparation. The first of these reports has been completed and can be downloaded from the document library section of the National Heritage Science Strategy website, see www.heritagesciencestrategy.org.uk.

This report focuses on the role that science plays in the management of the UK’s heritage, and makes suggestions about where increases in understanding could improve current practice. Specific issues include the need for further investigation of the rate of decay and thresholds at which decay processes are initiated for a range of materials; the need for improved management of environments for display and storage and long term survival of heritage assets; and recommendations for additional development of assessment and monitoring tools and improvements in access to information and equipment.

The report will be available on the NHSS website for the duration of the strategy development. The project is keen to receive views on the report and if you want to comment please do so by the end of May 2009. There is a response form available online which you can use to feed back your comments on the report. As part of the strategy development, there will be a stakeholder meeting held towards the end of November. If you would like any further information about the strategy, the first report, or the stakeholder meeting, please contact the strategy coordinator Jim Williams at nhss@english-heritage.org.uk.

The Walters Art Museum, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, and the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware have joined in a partnership to further the mission of the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project (ICHP). ICHP, launched in October 2008, with grant funding from the US Embassy in Iraq, is a two year undertaking implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD). The objective of the project is to assist Iraq in rebuilding the professional capabilities of its museums and its heritage and archaeology organizations, and to promote national unity by preserving its rich cultural heritage.

A major initiative of ICHP is the establishment of the National Institute for the Preservation of Iraqi Cultural Heritage in Erbil, a historical city in the Kurdish area of Iraq. The institute will have two branches, a Collections Conservation and Management Program (CCMP) with an emphasis on museums and artifacts, and an Archaeological and Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) with U.S. National Park Service oversight, concentrating on historical and archaeological sites, monuments, and buildings.

It has been announced that Jessica S. Johnson, Senior Objects Conservator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, has been selected as the CCMP’s new director. Jessica Johnson will travel to Iraq in May to take up her official duties on site. The primary goal is to create a successful, professional program that will be turned over to the Iraqis at the conclusion of the two-year cultural heritage project.