Sulfur and iron accumulation in three marine-archaeological shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea: The Ghost, the Crown and the Sword

Sulfur and iron concentrations in wood from three 17th century shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea, the Ghostwreck, the Crown and the Sword, were obtained by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning. In near anaerobic environments symbiotic microorganisms degrade waterlogged wood, reduce sulfate and promote accumulation of low-valent sulfur compounds, as previously found for the famous wrecks of the Vasa and Mary Rose. Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses of Ghost wreck wood show that organic thiols and disulfides dominate, together with elemental sulfur probably generated by sulfur-oxidizing Beggiatoa bacteria. Iron sulfides were not detected, consistent with the relatively low iron concentration in the wood. In a museum climate with high atmospheric humidity oxidation processes, especially of iron sulfides formed in the presence of corroding iron, may induce post-conservation wood degradation. Subject to more general confirmation by further analyses no severe conservation concerns are expected for the Ghost wreck wood.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  Scientific Reports

• Publication date

  2014-02-27

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Chemistry, Environmental Science, History

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1038/srep04222PMID 24573214PMCID 3936213
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Study of Fe(II) sulphides in waterlogged archaeological wood

  2013cited by this paper
• Sunken woods on the ocean floor provide diverse specialized habitats for microorganisms.

  2012cited by this paper
• Ancient wood of the Acqualadrone rostrum: materials history through gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and sulfur X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

  2012cited by this paper
• Sulfur and iron analyses of marine archaeological wood in shipwrecks from the Baltic Sea and Scandinavian waters

  2012cited by this paper
• Sulfate-reducing bacteria in a denitrification reactor packed with wood as a carbon source.

  2011cited by this paper
• Highly Similar Prokaryotic Communities of Sunken Wood at Shallow and Deep-Sea Sites Across the Oceans

  2009cited by this paper
• Sunken wood habitat for thiotrophic symbiosis in mangrove swamps.

  2009influential reference
• Sulfur-Related Conservation Concerns in Marine Archaeological Wood : The Origin, Speciation and Distribution of Accumulated Sulfur with Some Remedies for the Vasa

  2008cited by this paper
• Sulfur accumulation in pinewood (Pinus sylvestris) induced by bacteria in a simulated seabed environment: Implications for marine archaeological wood and fossil fuels

  2008cited by this paper
• Reburial of shipwrecks in marine sediments: a long-term study on wood degradation

  2008cited by this paper
• Degradation of polyethylene glycol and hemicellulose in the Vasa

  2007cited by this paper
• Chemistry of iron sulfides.

  2007cited by this paper
• Biological and chemical sulfide oxidation in a Beggiatoa inhabited marine sediment

  2007cited by this paper
• Mats of Beggiatoa bacteria reveal that organic pollution from lumber mills inhibits growth of Zostera marina

  2006cited by this paper
• Sulfur: not a "silent" element any more.

  2006cited by this paper
• Sulfur and iron in shipwrecks cause conservation concerns.

  2006cited by this paper
• Sulfur accumulation in the timbers of King Henry VIII's warship Mary Rose: a pathway in the sulfur cycle of conservation concern.

  2005cited by this paper
• Deterioration of the seventeenth-century warship Vasa by internal formation of sulphuric acid

  2002cited by this paper
• WinXAS: a program for X-ray absorption spectroscopy data analysis under MS-Windows.

  1998cited by this paper
• LIGAND K-EDGE X-RAY ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES : METAL-LIGAND COVALENCY IN TRANSITION METAL TETRATHIOLATES

  1997cited by this paper
• Cellulose degradation in anaerobic environments.

  1995cited by this paper

• Harmonic X-ray Incident Energy Calibration for X-ray Spectroscopy at the K-Edges of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Chlorine.

  2025cites this paper
• Evaluation of Wood Decay and Identification of Fungi Found in the USS Cairo, a Historic American Civil War Ironclad Gunboat

  2025cites this paper
• Late Medieval Shipboard Artillery on a Northern European Carvel: Gribshunden (1495)

  2025cites this paper
• Determining the condition of waterlogged archaeological woods and iron nails from the Yenikapı 17 shipwreck using multiple analytical techniques

  2025cites this paper
• A Scientific Analytical on the Ancient Shipwrecks Degradation Products Excavated from Underwater: Focused on Sulfur and Iron Degradation Products

  2024cites this paper
• Study on the Properties of FEVE Modified with Ag2O/OH-MWCNTS Nanocomposites for Use as Adhesives for Wooden Heritage Objects

  2024cites this paper
• Characteristics of Ancient Shipwreck Wood from Huaguang Jiao No. 1 after Desalination

  2023cites this paper
• Analyses of Sulfur and Iron in Waterlogged Archaeological Wood: The Case of Polyethylene-Glycol-Treated Yenikapı 12 Shipwreck

  2023cites this paper
• Extraction of Soluble Salts and Iron Sulfides from the Wood of the “Huaguangjiao I” Shipwreck

  2023cites this paper
• Archeological wood conservation with selected organosilicon compounds studied by XFM and nanoindentation

  2023cites this paper
• Inorganic component in oak waterlogged archaeological wood and volcanic lake compartments

  2023cites this paper
• Mineral compounds in oak waterlogged archaeological wood and volcanic lake compartments

  2023cites this paper
• The Neolithic site “La Marmotta”: DNA metabarcoding to identify the microbial deterioration of waterlogged archeological wood

  2023cites this paper
• X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) Applied to Cultural Heritage

  2022cites this paper
• The removal of iron from waterlogged archaeological wood: efficacy and effects on the room temperature wood properties

  2022cites this paper
• The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

  2022cites this paper
• Scanning Electron Microscopy Protocol for Studying Anatomy of Highly Degraded Waterlogged Archaeological Wood

  2022cites this paper
• An aqueous approach to functionalize waterlogged archaeological wood followed by improved surface-initiated ARGET ATRP for maintaining dimensional stability

  2021cites this paper
• Synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy for assessing elements distribution and speciation in mangrove tree-rings

  2021cites this paper
• Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of Iron-Tannin Precipitates in Waterlogged Archaeological Oak

  2021cites this paper
• Conservation of Waterlogged Wood—Past, Present and Future Perspectives

  2021cites this paper
• Chemical de-staining and the delta correction for blue intensity measurements of stained lake subfossil trees

  2020cites this paper
• Chemical destaining and the delta correction for blue intensity measurements of stained lake subfossil trees

  2020cites this paper
• A review of analytical methods for assessing preservation in waterlogged archaeological wood and their application in practice

  2020cites this paper
• Synchrotron Radiation Analysis of Daguerreotypes: Surface Characterization, Electrocleaning, and Preservation

  2019cites this paper
• Biological oxidation of iron sulfides.

  2019cites this paper
• Recent developments in the conservation of materials properties of historical wood

  2019cites this paper
• Contribution of magnetic measurement methods to the analysis of iron sulfides in archaeological waterlogged wood‑iron assemblies

  2019cites this paper
• Correlation between sulfur accumulation and microbial wood degradation on shipwreck timbers

  2019cites this paper
• Biological oxidation of sulfur compounds in artificially degraded wood

  2019cites this paper
• Identification of inorganic compounds in composite alum-treated wooden artefacts from the Oseberg collection

  2018cites this paper
• ANALYSIS OF WATERLOGGED WOODS: EXAMPLE OF YENİKAPI SHIPWRECK

  2018cites this paper
• Lipid Residues from Low-Fired Pottery

  2018cites this paper
• Protective effect of linseed oil varnish on archaeological wood treated with alum

  2018cites this paper
• Deterioration of the Hanson Logboat: chemical and imaging assessment with removal of polyethylene glycol conserving agent

  2017cites this paper
• Radiogenic and “stable” strontium isotopes in provenance studies: A review and first results on archaeological wood from shipwrecks

  2017cites this paper
• Détermination de la composition isotopique du soufre pour l’étude de l’origine, biotique ou abiotique, des sulfures de fer en corrosion anoxique

  2016cites this paper
• Wood decay at sea

  2016cites this paper
• Study of iron sulphides in long-term iron corrosion processes: Characterisations of archaeological artefacts

  2016cites this paper
• X-ray fluorescence for cultural heritage: scanning biochemical fingerprints in archaeological shipwrecks.

  2015cites this paper
• Chemical characterization of archaeological wood: Softwood Vasa and hardwood Riksapplet case studies

  2015cites this paper
• Alkaline earth carbonates for the treatment of problematic sulfur associated with marine archeological wood

  2015cites this paper
• Extraction of Soluble Salts and Iron Sulfides from the Wood of the “Huaguangjiao I” Shipwreck

  year unknowncites this paper