Caution at Caution Bay: How material conservation techniques can improve understanding of the fabrication, use, and deterioration of southwestern Pacific low-fired ceramics

The recovery and stabilisation of highly deteriorated low-fired archaeological pottery fired between ~500–800 ℃ was poorly understood before this thesis. There were scant examples of conserved vessels within archaeological and conservation literature, resulting in a knowledge gap, with flow-on effects for archaeologists, conservators, and source communities. This thesis investigates appropriate lifting and conservation methodologies presented through an in-depth case study conserving low-fired pottery excavated at Caution Bay, Papua New Guinea, dating from c. 2900 years ago to the late nineteenth century CE. The thesis makes a significant contribution of new knowledge that can be translated into archaeological practice worldwide.