This recent paper was the accumulation of work by Helga Halldorsdottir with TU Earth and Environment researchers, Gillian Taylor and Rhys Williams (now at Loyola Maryland University), involving some huge data sets and really novel results. The experiment set-up was amazing…
The research used non-destructive Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)-Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) analysis to reveal fascinating insights into how leather decays over time. The research focused on vegetable-tanned and archaeological leather from the Roman site of Vindolanda, UK. By analysing leather at different stages—raw, tanned, buried, and archaeological—the study observed how burial in wet soil leads to rapid changes, particularly the breakdown of lipids, while collagen remains intact. The findings suggest that de-tanning occurs quickly in waterlogged conditions, making archaeological leather resemble untanned leather.
One of the most interesting takeaways is that modern unburied leather doesn’t provide an accurate comparison to ancient samples, but experimentally buried leather does. Although de-tanning happens soon after burial, vegetable-tanning still plays a role in long-term preservation. The research also hints that mineral components in the leather may influence its preservation. Overall, the study highlights the complexity of leather decay and opens up new possibilities for understanding how ancient materials survive over time.
If you want to learn more about the research, you can read the paper in the journal RSC Advances here.