Beyond whisky: the project ahead

Right now, it seems the microscope of the media and the public is focussed very tightly on the idea of a dram of 100 year old whisky.

An understandable fascination and one which we confess we also share. But let’s pull back the focus a little – the frozen crate is an interesting collection of items, whisky contents or no. We have many questions – what shape and size are the bottles? What does the paper label look like? We assume the stopper will be cork, will there also be a wax seal, a lead seal, a tinfoil wrapper or a cap held on with twist wire? Will the bottles be wrapped in additional paper wrappers, as many of the bottled fruits were? Is the straw packaging loose, or are there formed and stitched straw bottle covers?

Over and above that, as conservators we’re interested in what the condition of these materials will be, and whether there will be damage that we need to treat. This could be anything from structural repair to broken bottles, to corrosion removal and treatment of metal components, to paper consolidation of labels and wrappers. As the crate, bottles and straw thaw, they will become wet with meltwater and so we need to dry them as quickly as we can without over-drying.

Zooming out on the process another step, this singular icy crate and its contents are one of the estimated 17000 artefacts which the Antarctic Heritage Trust cares for across four Heroic-era expedition Base sites in the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica. The conservation project involves teams conservators living and working in Antarctica year round. More information about those teams is on the Natural History Museum blog at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/

Our aim is to find conservation solutions that can be carried out in Antarctica wherever possible. Simple solutions to complex problems.

Whisky crate under the hut at Cape Royds. Photo credit nzaht.org

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