by Özgün Öykü Şanlı

Greetings from Antep!

The day at Doliche starts at 07.00 in the conservation-restoration laboratory. The first thing we do is to get our scalpels, bristle brushes and cotton bamboo sticks ready.

The objects of various materials found by the excavation team are first documented by taking detailed photographs and then sent to the conservation-retoration laboratory. Terracotta oil lamps, bone artefacts, glass artefacts, spindle whorls and objects from many different materials reveal themselvers through mechanical or chemical cleaning in the laboratory.

Coins and seal impressions are the most common objects in the laboratory. Following restoration, after a thick and demanding layer of dirt and corrosion is removed, the coins can be classified and their details can be visualised. Metal artefacts are carefully mechanically cleaned and coated with the appropriate protective layer, thus refreshing the memory of the objects.

And of course the seal impressions…  Finds of seal impressions from the city archive continue to shed light on the history of Doliche. Thousands of seal impressions went through the laboratory so far. This year, we have protected nearly 1000 seal impressions by restoring them with appropriate methods. As a result of very meticulous, patient and detailed work, thousands of years old artefacts are exhibited in the museum and meet with the society and shed light on cultural history.