The study of the conservation and restoration of Roman blown glass cosmetic bottles from
Rhodes, began with the gathering of historical - archaeological data and continued with the technological
data of these archaeological objects. This important data about the ancient technology helps us
understand the corrosion forms that might have occurred to these objects.
These forms of corrosion were confirmed macroscopically and microscopically. They included:
dulling, crizzling, lamination, iridescences, pitting and crusting with biological deposits in almost all
cases. The forms of corrosion were usually caused by the presence of humidity, temperature variations,
crystallization of soluble salts in the excavation area and also during the storage of these objects.
After the forms of corrosion were identified, the appropriate conservation and restoration methods
were selected. These included the analyses of the materials’ structure and deposits, the preconsolidation
of the corroded surfaces, the extraction of the deposits, consolidation of the corroded
surfaces and finally the joining of the broken pieces. As a last point, the appropriate conditions for the
storage and exhibition of these glass vessels are being suggested.