February 2003
Research and Teaching

Archaeological artifacts expert appointed Research Fellow

Archaeological conservator Sonia O'Connor has been appointed Research Fellow in Conservation in the Department of Archaeological Sciences.

The five-year, part-time appointment was made through the University of Southampton's AHRB Research Centre in Textile Conservation (RCTC) and Textile Studies, based at the University of Southampton. The Research Centre is a partnership between the Universities of Southampton, Bradford and Manchester.

An award worth £937,000 was given by the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) to establish the Centre last year.

Archaeological conservator Sonia O'Connor studies x-radiographs of an 18th century stomacher which would have been worn across the chest in front of a dress. The multi-layered structure is made up of layers of silk, paper, whalebone strips (baleen), a coarse lining interlining and a printed linen lining. Radiography is used to help archaeologists understand the constructional details, which could only otherwise be done by dismantling the object - an approach which could have been very destructive for such a fragile object.

Sonia specialises in the recovery, investigation and preservation of archaeological artefacts, working in this field for almost 30 years.

She became an Honorary Visiting Fellow at Bradford in 1996, teaching archaeological conservation and archaeological X-radiography on undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development courses.

Sonia has been involved in the design and supervision of conservation related research projects and, as contract staff, on projects from archaeological units, museums, art galleries and other heritage organisations, from all over the country.

One of her specialist areas is the X-radiographic investigation of cultural material. This has been the subject of several of her publications.

It was because of her work in this area, particularly in the investigation of archaeological textiles, historic dolls and 19th-century weighted silks, that the University of Bradford was originally invited to join Southampton's Textile Conservation Centre (TCC) as a minor partner in its application to the AHRB. It is hoped that this collaboration will lead to further joint projects between the University of Bradford and the RCTC, building on the Department's expertise in the decay of textiles, the study of organic residues and oxygen isotopes.

Co-ordinator of the AHRB Research Centre in Bradford Professor Mark Pollard said: "It brings great credit to the Department and the University to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence in textile conservation research, working with Southampton and Manchester.

"We are particularly pleased to be able to use this funding to continue to support Sonia's work in Bradford. She has contributed a great deal over the past few years, particularly in her pioneering work on the use of X-radiography in archaeological conservation."

11 February 2003

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