The Museum of Menorca’s collection, made of up over 250,000 pieces, has a new storage area for many of its different objects. Due to the increasing size of the collection, resulting primarily from archaeological excavations being carried out on the island every year, the Island Council of Menorca and the Museum of Menorca have established a new repository. This new space, located in a warehouse owned by the Island Council, will help to relieve the overabundance of pieces found in the storage area of on the Museum’s premises.
The new storage space has a total of 203 m² and is divided into two rooms; one strictly for storage and the other used for researchers to carry out tasks of internal conservation. Each room has its own entrance from the exterior to allow work to be carried out independently in each of the two areas.
The storage area has been equipped with low and medium load shelving that stretches 390 linear metres. The stored materials include: stone and ceramic objects of archaeological origins, malacological pieces and the collection of tools and machinery from the old Catisa factory, which constitutes a significant sample of industrial heritage. For each of these cases, despite requiring adequate temperature and humidity levels for proper conservation, the materials involved allow for a wider range than other materials, like organic materials, which shall remain in storage in the museum building.
This new space has been equipped with the necessary systems to guarantee optimal conservation of the materials. Both fire and antitheft alarms have been installed to protect the collection from external intrusion, while a preventative conservation plan has been implemented that controls climatic parameters and biological infestations. The space is hence equipped with the necessary elements to ensure the monitoring of these conditions: dehumidifiers and data loggers.
Menorca now has newly added equipment that ensures the conservation and protection of a substantial part of its historical heritage.