The largest artifacts in the Nelson’s Dockyard National Park are the dozens of historic buildings and ruins. Maintaining these buildings and ruins takes a comprehensive conservation and stabilization program which retains the authenticity and integrity of the historic character of the features, sites, and surrounding landscapes.

As a matter of policy, the National Parks has identified stabilization of the historic fabric as an ethical and practical priority, especially with the more than sixty stone structures within the World Heritage Site alone. Stabilization means that intervention efforts are limited to those which will protect the existing historical fabric through targeted interventions to limit and slow down the rates of decay. For a stone wall, for example, this may mean adding new layers of lime mortar, replacing worn stones, or building up eroded areas to increase stability. All interventions are documented so that a record exists for future conservation projects.