Silvia Roca, Elena Santamarina and Antonio Chumillas form the restoration team of the Archaeological Museum of Alacant. They, along with two laboratory assistants, are responsible for treating between 150 and 250 pieces that pass through their department every year. A figure that, according to Roca, depends both on the treatment that has to be done, and whether they are for one of the exhibitions they host. Of course, "these are finished pieces, those that come in and go out amount to 150 more". The Marq currently has a collaboration agreement with different museums, such as the one in Agost, where they are building a new building to house the works that until now have been left unused. "They want to restore them and they don't have the means to restore them", the experts comment on this case. The problem with these fish, they point out, stems from the fact that salt is added to the mud when they are made. And, over time and with changes in humidity, the salt ends up appearing and clogging them. The ones that led to the Marq were the most problematic. The most urgent action was to remove them so that the polychromy would not be lost. This is a very slow process, which varies according to the size, origin and material of each piece, and which, at the very least, means that they spend six months in a bath. They can spend up to two years in the 'bathing' process described.
This procedure is essential for fish that come from the sea. They cannot be dried directly, they have to go through a process of saline withdrawal, in which they are kept in these special tanks. Little by little, the water is changed following a very specific methodology until it reaches the distilled and deionised water, which eliminates all the chlorides that could be preserved in the fish. Salt does not only come from the sea. If they have been fished, they may have acquired a lot of it, says Roca. Of course, salt is not only the enemy of ceramics. It is also the enemy of metal. The material from which the fish they bring in are made is mainly ceramic, "and the corrosion that we were talking about causes them to become very corrosive", says Santamarina. There are many pieces to be proud of. Two in particular. One of them was a fragment of a mural painting that came in from the Lorca terraterrèmol. "It was very beautiful", recalls Roca. They restored it, restoring what had been lost and giving it a rigid support so that it could be exhibited. Santamarina recalls the other special piece, one that arrived from Pompeia, where a group of Valencian archaeologists were excavating. It was another mural painting, very fragmented, of large dimensions, which was exhibited in the halls of the Marq. They were the first centre to restore pieces from the famous site outside Italy.
