Archaeological finds – in China they figured out how to preserve ancient fragments of sunken ships – UNIAN

Shipwrecks are important windows into the past, but their wooden elements are rapidly deteriorating due to exposure to seawater.

Traditional conservation methods often cause additional harm, forcing researchers to look for safer solutions, writes InterestingEngineering. Now a group of Chinese inventors have developed an innovative hydrogel that could revolutionize the preservation of wooden artifacts from shipwrecks.

Wooden artifacts immersed in sea water quickly deteriorate. The corrosive effects of salt water combined with bacteria and fungi…