One Side of Old Wood Plank Found on the Treasure Coast.This piece of wood washed up on the beach recently along with some other pieces that appear very similar and probably come from the same site.
Below and to the right of the penny is a square hole with some iron residue remaining. It looks like something was held in place there.
Above that near the top edge is a black clump that appears to be the remains of a spike. You can see part of the same spike coming through the wood in the photo below.
Notice how where the iron leeched out over the surface of the wood, the wood was protected from the worms.
Other Side of Same Wood Plank.It looks like this side was partly covered by a sheet or something. It also appears to show the remains of pitch tar or something like that, as well as two holes with some iron remaining in them.
My guess is that this wood comes from a 16th century wreck. If you see anything that would make you to believe that that is wrong, please let me know.
I'm still learning. And I wish I knew what I know today many years ago. I'm know that I've made many mistakes. It isn't easy to properly identify artifacts that are found on a beach. They could have been scattered for miles from the main wreck site.
While I'm on the topic of wood artifacts,here is a great web site that shows many photos of planks of a very old shipwreck. I think it is worth studying.
Notice the saw marks that are visible on one. And the wood pins and other structures.
Here is the link.
http://inadiscover.com/PabucBurnu/pb_hullgallery.htm
The Texas A&M nautical archaeology group does a great job of posting their studies. And in case you haven't seen it, they have a great section on preserving all types of salt water salvaged materials, including wood, iron, copper, pottery, etc.
As you probably know salvaged artifacts should usually be conserved in one way or anther. Wood is no exception.
Here is a long list of Spanish Shipwrecks to be found around Florida. Some are not identified. There are probably some wrecks liste don that site that you aren't familiar with. The list could provide some useful leads for further research.
Here is the link.
http://www.shipwreckregistry.com/sample4.txt.
Remember to clean the sand off of your car keys before inserting them in your locks. It can cause problems.
Also remember to clean off your detector after being at the beach. Salt water and sand will cause problems on your detector over time too.
Forecast and Conditions.
Not much has changed since yesterday except the sea got a little calmer. That means that there has been no change in conditions.
The high tides are still nice and high with the full moon.
Unless you get a little creative, do some land hunting or something, there probably isn't much left to do except reexamine some places and check out the low tide areas to see what if anything was left behind from the recent rough seas.
The fact that wood that could be from an old wreck is washing up probably indicates that the most recent rough seas moved some sand and stuff that hasn't been free for some time. That is worth knowing.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
