USS Monitor Artifact Conservation

1 National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Performance Work Statement USS Monitor Artifact Conservation REQUIREMENTS-26-1909 1.0 BACKGROUND The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ (ONMS) Monitor National Marine Sanctuary (MNMS) possesses over 210-tons of archaeological materials from the wreck site of the Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor lost at sea in 1862 following the largest metal shipwreck excavation and recovery effort ever undertaken. Artifacts (the “Collection”) were recovered from the seabed over the course of several years of research. This federally owned collection (NOAA Heritage Assets) contains over 5,000 individual artifacts made of a wide variety of materials, primarily iron and ferrous materials, but also including wood, leather, textiles, rubber and various other organic and inorganic artifacts. This requires an intensely diverse and complex approach to materials conservation to ensure each different type and size of material is appropriately treated to ensure long-term stability for research, interpretation and display. The USS Monitor artifacts now reside at The Mariners’ Museum and Park (TMMP) within the U.S.S Monitor Center and the Batten Conservation Complex at TMMP, where they are on long- term deposit undergoing active conservation treatment. These objects range in size from small buttons and fragments of textiles, to nearly the entirety of the vessel engineering section including the 25-ton propulsion engines. In addition, TMMP holds Monitor’s iconic 115-ton rotating gun turret as well as the two 8-ton Dahlgren shell guns and their carriages that were found within it. All of the objects require stabilization treatment due to nearly 140 years of marine burial. Treatment times and stabilization will vary for artifacts based on size and complexity and can range from weeks to months to years. Many of the larger object assemblies are composed of hundreds to thousands of component parts that will ultimately need to be disassembled and receive individual treatment with the goal of reassembly post-treatment. Following treatment, objects will require ongoing preventive care and monitoring to ensure the physical stability of the archaeological assemblage for the future within both storage and display. The USS Monitor project at TMMP represents the long-term preservation of U.S. Civil War heritage and the world’s largest marine archaeological metals conservation project. 2.0 SCOPE The purpose of this contract is to ensure ongoing active and preventive conservation care of the Collection, including large archaeological assemblies within the USS Monitor Collection, under the custody of TMMP and stewarded by the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary through a partnership guided by a curatorial service agreement (NOS Agreement Code: Memorandum of Agreement-2004-022-1113). The Contractor shall provide professional conservation services (including facilities and materials) to conduct both initial artifact stabilization treatments (in preparation for public -- 1 of 9 -- 2 display, archaeological interpretation, and access for research) as well as ongoing preventive conservation care and subsequent remedial conservation treatments when necessary. 3.0 REQUIREMENTS ● The Contractor must ensure appropriately trained personnel, who possess an advanced degree in and/or professional hands-on experience in archaeological conservation, analytical chemistry, or collection management, are available, and that they have the supplies, materials, tools and facilities on hand in order to make advances towards the goal of completing initial stability treatment and subsequently establishing the proper monitoring, storage and preventive care regimen for all materials in the Collection. The Contractor shall provide a staffing mix that meets or exceeds the minimum qualifications (education, experience, and specialized training) for the Labor Categories defined in the Appendix. These categories represent the specialized expertise required to execute the conservation tasks for the USS Monitor Collection. ● The Contractor shall provide appropriate facilities and workspace for the Collection, conservation materials, and conservation personnel. These facilities shall include an industrial-scale wet-laboratory with footprint to house watertight tanks for artifact desalination as well as workspace for composite artifact disassembly and mechanical cleaning. The facilities shall also include cold storage capabilities for sensitive organic materials. The facilities shall also include adequate work space and storage space for proper on-going collections management and artifact preparation for public display and researcher access. The facilities shall also include appropriate office space for personnel working on this project. ● The Contractor shall provide complete access to the Collection to authorized NOAA personnel during business hours from 9am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on Sunday. Between the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Contractor shall provide complete access to the Collection to authorized NOAA personnel during business hours from 9am to 5pm Monday through Sunday. ● The Contractor must ensure chemical and hazardous materials disposal is handled in compliance with FAR Subpart 23.3, Material Safety, and applicable local regulations. The Contractor will comply with rules set forth by the Code of Virginia 9VAC20-60-273 and 40 CFR Part 273. 4.0 TASKS 1) The Contractor must demonstrate forward progress in the conservation of large artifacts and large archaeological assemblies within the USS Monitor Collection. While it is expected this will be a long project, lasting beyond the scope of this FY2027 contract, there must be clear evidence that significant conservation work has occurred in advancing the active treatment of large…