• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.13
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• pp.51-58
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• 2012

The Conservation Science Team of the National Museum of Korea has carried out the conservation on the mandolin-type bronze sword that was excavated from Weolnae-dong, Yeosu as had been requested by the Research Center of Dolmens in Northeast Asia. The mandolin-type bronze sword from Weolnae-dong, Yeosu is accounted to be the longest one among all the bronze swords of the same type that have ever been excavated until now and it was in a treated condition with the primary conservation treatment already achieved. Due to the corrosion in progress, it was in a very brittle condition being in two separate parts of the upper and lower parts. With the upper part exposed and the lower part with earth, they were urgently collected. The Conservation Science Team carried out the conservation treatment on them by connecting the lower part of the mandolin-type bronze sword to the upper part after making the lower part exposed, and then by using an estimated restoration method for lost portions. When carrying out the conservation treatment, the glass fibers of 10 wt% Paraloid B-72 (in Xylene) was used as a method for strengthening the brittle artifact, and a non-destructive analysis was carried out to identify the ingredients using the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer.