Yeah, I'm pretty sure it has to be otherwise the artefact will be damaged. If it is made of wood, I think you use a PEG polymer to preserve it. There is athing called electrophoresis where the artefact is placed between a positive and negative electrode which attract any particles out of the artefact to the electrode surfaces. That is used for organic materials and therefore wood.
I forgot to mention that 1mol/ L of HCL is used, but sometimes an acetic acid- sodium acetate buffer is preferred (pH 3 to 5) in order to stop the CO2 gas produced becoming too vigorous.
You can also remove crusty deposits mechanically with a hammer.