Archaeological Ceramics as an Object of Study and Restoration

The article considers the problems of preserving the information potential of archaeological ceramics during their restoration. A review of sources containing fundamental information on achievements in the field of archaeological ceramics research and the results obtained with their help, which are of interest to researchers from different fields of knowledge, is made. A retrospective of the study of ancient ceramics as a historical source clearly demonstrated the possibilities of revealing the information potential inherent in the products of ancient pottery production depending on the formulation of new tasks and the use of instrumental research methods of related disciplines. Not all archaeological ceramics extracted from an excavation are well preserved, and therefore need restoration. Over the course of its existence, restoration has developed its own methods for saving destroyed objects, giving them a "second birth". However, not all of them are safe. Some modern restoration methods lead to a change in the physicochemical properties of ancient artifacts and introduce new materials into their structure. A change in the authenticity of ancient objects leads to a distortion of the information contained in them. This is a big problem for both restoration and other sciences, because ceramics is considered one of the most durable materials and therefore much less attention is paid to new methods of its restoration than to other materials. Awareness of the specifics of archaeological objects made of ceramics and the role they played in primitive society and continue to play in the modern world should contribute to the development of a new strategy for the preservation of this type of cultural heritage using new restoration approaches and technologies.