ABSTRACT
The deterioration and preservation of materials depends on two things: the nature of the material, which will be discussed in chapters 4, 5, and 6; and the environment surrounding the material, which is the subject of this chapter. Sometimes it is difficult to separate these two aspects of deterioration/preservation, for the survival of a particular material may be due in part to its resistance to decay and in part to the environment, whether in the ground or in the museum, having been benign. However, some degree of understanding can be gained by trying to identify the factors in the environment which may be affecting either the deterioration or the preservation of artefacts.
