Huge thanks to @Aimuseums and @ThePilgrimTrust for funding this project!

#Archaeology #Scotlanddigs2023 @icon_scotland

And of course @MAACambridge @classarch! 😄

B.98 now stands proudly on open display in the main exhibition gallery – as an eye-catching centrepiece befitting a 2023 #MuseumOfTheYear finalist! Why not come to #Orkney and see?! @icon_scotland @Conservators_UK @artfund @OrkneyMuseums @OrkneyHeritage @NatMuseumRN

A good lick of pigmented wax brought its original good looks to life again, and I finally installed some carefully placed edge protection to save wandering visitors’ fingers from injury.

B.98 went into store while the new #ScapaFlowMuseum was built. The team installed it early this year but it badly needed some specialist TLC! After a good conservation clean it needed some further treatment to stabilise corroded areas and get rid of the many rust stains.

In 2015, @OrkneyMuseums lent it to @NatMusRN for their 2016 centenary exhibition in @PompeyDockyard about the Battle of Jutland, and it was one of the first objects I assessed when I joined their #conservation team! B.98’s gun returned to Orkney when the #exhibition closed.

B.98 only got as far as Sanday before breaking her tow and running aground at Lopness where much of her remains today. This 8.8cm SK L/45 deck gun was salvaged and eventually joined the collection at the Scapa Flow Museum.