Every object recovered from Ozette posed a conservation challenge that the excavation team had to address immediately and effectively.

The core problem with waterlogged wood is the replacement of the original cellular structure with water during the centuries of burial.

In a healthy piece of wood, the cell walls are filled with wood substance and water moves in and out of the cells.

In waterlogged archaeological wood, the cell walls themselves have broken down over time and been replaced by absorbed water.

The wood holds its shape only as long as it remains wet, because the water is structurally supporting the wood in the same way that the wood substance once did.