Waterlogged Archaeological Woods

Ancient wooden structures that are being continually uncovered from waterlogged environments are considered to be precious artefacts that reveal past human history and culture, as well as climatic changes that have occurred over the span of centuries. In this context, the dedicated efforts of the Section Managing Editor, Kira Xu, in assembling the Guest Editors and contributors for this Special Issue of Forests, entitled “Waterlogged Archaeological Woods”, is commendable. The papers published in this Special Issue are written by world-leading experts and showcase how the knowledge gathered using the most appropriate techniques for characterising the physical and chemical state of waterlogged archaeological wood can potentially be helpful in the effective preservation of the uncovered wooden artefacts, which are of historic value. Thus, this Special Issue will serve as an invaluable source of information for scientists and students engaged in teaching and research in relation to archaeological wood, as well as for conservators evaluating the state of uncovered ancient wooden artefacts, to target efficient ways of adequately preserving them for human benefit.

The work in this Special Issue is dedicated to bringing together fragmentary information on the physical and chemical characteristics of waterlogged archaeological wood. The wide-ranging topics covered include the physico-mechanical properties of waterlogged archaeological wood by Mitsi et al. [1]; a protocol for an SEM evaluation of the anatomy of highly degraded archaeological wood by Balzano et al. [2]; a non-destructive evaluation method for the physical–mechanical properties of fragile archaeological wood by Wu et al. [3]; an analysis of the chemical characteristics of wood cell walls with an emphasis on ultrastructure by Zhang et al. [4]; and a description of the advances in understanding microbial deterioration of buried and waterlogged archaeological wood by Singh et al. [5].

As Guest Editors, we are hopeful that the contributions made to this Special Issue will prove invaluable in understanding the physical and chemical characteristics of biologically altered ancient wooden artefacts and their effective preservation, which can shed light on past human history and civilization.