The Identification and Treatment of a Unique Cache of Organic Artefacts from Menorca's Bronze Age

Abstract

A unique cache of organic artefacts was excavated in March 1995 from Cova d'es Carritx, Menorca, a sealed cave system that was used as a mortuary in the late second or early first millennia BC. This deposit included a set of unique conical tubes made of bovine horn sheath, stuffed with hair or other fibres, and capped with wooden disks. Other materials were found in association with the tubes, including a copper-tin alloy rod. The decision to display some of the tubes required a degree of consolidative strengthening which would conflict with conservation aims of preserving the artefacts essentially unchanged for future study. The two most complete artefacts were treated by localised consolidation (with Paraloid B-72), while the other two were left untreated. The two consolidated tubes were provided with display-ready mounts, while the others were packaged to minimise the effects of handling and long-term storage.

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