If you find and artifact conserve it. If you can't conserve it leave it in place. This is the artifact diver's credo. Finding artifacts is only half the challenge. The other half is the proper conservation and restoration of the artifact, which is the major thrust of this book. From diving and recovery techniques of various types of materials to the final mounting and display of an artifact, this book will be a valuable guide and resource.

Table of Contents

Introduction
What Is An Artifact Hunter?
The Serious Artifact Hunter's Method
Becoming An Artifact Diver The Tools And Plans Of An Artifact Restorer And Conserver
Artifact Destruction
The Electrolytic Reduction Process
Preventive Sealing
Iron Spike Restoration Process
Brass Shipwreck Artifact Recovery And Restoration Copper Bucket Restoration
Glass Artifact Conservation
Artifact Digging
Wood Artifact And Pulley Conservation
Fragile Artifact Restorations
Leather Artifacts
Bones And Teeth
Large Artifacts
Underwater Photo Documentation
Artifact Show And Tell
Artifact Diving Where Taking Is Restricted
Artifact Pedigree And Value
Indirect Artifact Visualization Techniques
Artifact Presentation Techniques
Resources
Glossary
References

About the Author

Tom Gormley has been diving in the Northeast and Caribbean waters for 3 decades. He became a NAUI instructor in 1994 and later an SDI instructor, and teaches beginner through dive master students. In 1997 he helped form Divers Anonymous Scuba Club (www.diversanonymous.com), and has been the president for the past 11 years. He is a new member of the Point Pleasant New Jersey Dive Rescue Team (www.pointbeachems.org), and actively trains with the team on weekends. Tom is the president of Safe Scuba Publications www.safescuba.com), which is a scuba and safety training business as well as a publishing business. Tom's publications about scuba topics have appeared in several magazines. In addition to The Artifact Hunter, he is the author of Top 40 Shore Dives In New Jersey.

Aside from Tom's love of scuba diving, he has a private practice in dentistry, is an Assistant professor for Seton Hall University's Graduate Medical Education Department, for which he has taught at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center for the past 26 years, and he enjoys family activities with his wife, Norva, and his 3 children.