Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343:front:0:p57
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 146853–149571

required before firm conclusions can be drawn. Additional monitoring, especially in walls and ceiling, is also recommended.

2.7.4 Ice and Anchorage

The relative contribution to the foundation strength of the Main Hut of 50 t of rocks placed around the floor structure during construction, and the ice-welding of the posts placed into holes exploded into the bedrock, is unclear. When the hut is partly filled with ice, it is assumed that the ice helps to hold the hut in place. However, it may be that the posts frozen into place and/or the rocks themselves provide effective anchorage (Godden Mackay Logan 2001).

Ice beneath the floor of the Main Hut is effectively permanent, and there has been no intention to remove ice from its verandahs, which is another potential source of structural reinforcement. Since there is a possibility that removal of ice from within the hut could increase the temperature around the foundations, any removal of ice from the floor will be undertaken in stages, and changes to the internal environment monitored. Excavations have left a precautionary ice layer at least 600 mm thick on the floor throughout most of the hut, although this coverage is not uniform and in some places is less than 600 mm. Over time this precautionary ice layer may reduce in thickness through sublimation. Manually lowering this 600 mm precautionary layer may only occur following an engineer's assessment of the structural integrity of the Main Hut and additional monitoring analysis which will be undertaken during the life of this plan.

2.7.5 Artefacts and Fixtures

The cultural heritage objects on site are in the process of being documented and mapped. Over 1700 items have been recorded to date. Some objects were removed from the site in 1931 or by visitors between the 1950s and the 1980s. Some have been displaced from their original contexts onto shelves or into storage boxes, generally after the location in which they were found was documented. Those remaining in the hut are objects that were left on the site by the AAE, and are therefore of high integrity.

The condition of objects inside the Main Hut is variable. Some are in good condition, while others are sound other than mould stain (on paper and fabrics) or surface corrosion (on metal). Objects in poor condition include boxes almost entirely consumed by mould, food remains in a state of advanced decay, detritus congealed on the dark room floor, and tins represented only by rust rings.

Attitudes to the detritus in the dark room have varied markedly since work began to conserve the site. Early works parties, for instance, viewed the undifferentiated mass of material on the floor as 'compost' that should be dug out