Polyethylene glycol (PEG 2000) was used as bulking and consolidating agent to treat an archaeological camphor tree excavated at the Homutu Ruins. The excavated sample was used to study the drying characteristics of decayed, waterlogged wood in a natural environment. The results indicate that decayed, waterlogged archaeological camphor tree dries in two stages resulting in:a rapid mass decreases in the initial period and a steady slow mass decreases in the later period. In the initial period, the mass ratio m/m₀ and the natural seasoning time are in accordance with the equation m/m₀=-kt+c. The experimental data fits well with linear curve. A transition period exists between the two stages when the PEG 2000 concentration is increased. The higher the concentration of PEG 2000, the more obvious the transition process became and the size of the wood stabilized as the drying process approaches the end. When the PEG 2000 concentration reached 70%, the shrinkage rate of longitudinal and radial planes decrease significantly, but the shrinkage rate of tangential plane is still relatively significant. The color of the wood gradually deepens with an increase of PEG 2000 concentration.