Significant results in the chemical investigation of ancient materials and objects were first obtained by Klaproth around the beginning of the 19th century. Only about 25 investigations by other chemists were reported prior to the middle of the century. Many more were made in the second half of the century, and application of the results to archaeology then became a common practice. Scientific methods of conservation began to be developed early in the last quarter. The service of chemistry to archaeology continued at an accelerated rate in the first quarter of the 20th century. -- AATA