Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Salvage Boat Near Treasure Shores Beach Yesterday. |
I received the above photo and following message from Gaylen C.
Attached is a photo (sorry didn't have camera, just phone) of the "C-7" just a little south of Treasure Shores beach park. Another larger boat was working just to the north. Looked like they were just scanning the bottom on the boat's console. In 2 hours they never dropped the prop blaster, and neither of the 2 on board ever went in the water. They did relocate once just about 50 yds more to the south. The northern boat appeared to have 2 divers down at one time...
Thanks Gaylen.
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I've been thinking how the age of items can be determined. It can be very tricky. I always remember the case when archaeologists thought they found an old pipe in a slave quarters, and it turned out to be a Cracker Jack prize. (There was a time when the prize in the box was much nicer than in recent years.) But if trained professionals make that kind of mistake in a scientific dig, that tells you how cautious you have to be.
There are basically two kinds of mistakes I am concerned with when it comes to that kind of thing. You can think that it is old or significant when it is not, or you can think that it is not old or not significant and it really is. Of the two, I rather make the first type of mistake. If you think it might be significant, you will probably keep it and take care of it until you find out that you were mistaken. On the other hand, if you think an item is junk when it is not, you might lose it, let it get broken or throw it away, and then discover your mistake when it is too late to undo the damage.
When you know that you don't know, you should probably keep the item and research it until you know what it is and what you should do with it, that isn't nearly as bad as thinking the item is junk and not learning about it until after the damage is done. Somebody recently gave the advice, "If in doubt, don't throw it out." That is good advice.
The first time I found musket balls, I thought they must be old because they were musket balls. That was my conclusion, but I'm now convinced I was wrong.
I found the musket balls on Key Biscayne, probably not more than fifty yards from the old lighthouse. You probably know that the Seminoles attacked the lighthouse in 1836. So in addition to the musket balls more often being associated with the past, the specific history of the area also provided support for the possibility of old musket balls being found in the area.
(Here is link you can use to read about the 1836 Seminole attack on the lighthouse.
After a while, but I don't know for sure how long it was, I decided those musket balls were not old at all. By that time I had found more musket balls and had become familiar with the typical patina of weathered musket balls. The musket balls I found on Key Biscayne didn't look the same as those other musket balls. They didn't have the same oxidized patina.
That is an example of one kind of error. I thought that the items were old when they were not. It wasn't a disastrous mistake because I kept the items until I learned more about them and realized that they weren't old.
One thing to remember is things that were made many decades or centuries ago are still often made today. People still make musket balls and use them. Maybe you've seen battle reenactments where newly created musket balls were used. You can buy the molds and make your own today. In fact you can buy reproduction parts to put together your own complete working musket. Take a look at the Dixie Gun Works catalog, for example. You can get almost anything to go along with the musket too, including hand forged knife blades or period costumes.
Take a look at the Mel Fisher store and you'll see reproductions of old shipwreck recovered items. Some are even made of salvaged silver or gold. I think I've found at least one of those.
And then there are items that were made very similarly for centuries. The Claddagh ring is one example. A Claddagh ring from the 17th century can look almost exactly like one made today. A simple gold band or gold cross made centuries ago might look like very much like those made today. In cases like that there are other things that might help you tell the difference. I hope to get into that more in the near future.
Take a look at the Mel Fisher store and you'll see reproductions of old shipwreck recovered items. Some are even made of salvaged silver or gold. I think I've found at least one of those.
And then there are items that were made very similarly for centuries. The Claddagh ring is one example. A Claddagh ring from the 17th century can look almost exactly like one made today. A simple gold band or gold cross made centuries ago might look like very much like those made today. In cases like that there are other things that might help you tell the difference. I hope to get into that more in the near future.
I've made both kinds of error. There were finds that I didn't recognize as significant, old, or interesting, and as a result, they were not taken care of properly. It isn't good when you realize that you didn't properly value or appreciate an item until after it has been damaged or lost. Again, it is best to treat all unknown items as if they were significant until you find out otherwise. It is a process.
I plan to make an informal checklist of things that should can be or should be considered to determine if an item is old or not. As I said, that is very tricky business, and some factors might be pointing one direction while other considerations are suggesting another conclusion. Hopefully the exercise of thinking it through will be worthwhile. I think it will.
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The Swastika Across Times and Cultures.
There are symbols or designs that are near universal across cultures and time periods. When you see a swastika, you might think of World War II or Nazis, but the swastika, like numerous other designs and symbols, has a long history and was used by many different cultures.
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The Swastika Across Times and Cultures.
There are symbols or designs that are near universal across cultures and time periods. When you see a swastika, you might think of World War II or Nazis, but the swastika, like numerous other designs and symbols, has a long history and was used by many different cultures.
… For the Hindus and Buddhists in India and other Asian countries, the swastika was an important symbol for many thousands of years and, to this day, the symbol can still be seen in abundance - on temples, buses, taxis, and on the cover of books. It was also used in Ancient Greece and Rome, and can be found in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which existed 4,000 years ago. The ancient Druids and the Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many artifacts that have been discovered. It was used by Nordic tribes, and even early Christians used the Swastika as one of their symbols, including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order, which became a purely religious Catholic Order...
The word ‘swastika’ is a Sanskrit word (‘svasktika’) meaning ‘It is’, ‘Well Being’, ‘Good Existence, and ‘Good Luck’. However, it is also known by different names in different countries - like ‘Wan’ in China, ‘Manji’ in Japan, ‘Fylfot’ in England, ‘Hakenkreuz’ in Germany and ‘Tetraskelion’ or ‘Tetragammadion’ in Greece...
Here is the link for more about the swastika.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/symbol-swastika-and-its-12000-year-old-history-001312
The swastika provides one example of how tempting it can be to jump to conclusions and ignore many other possibilities. Of course, other factors should be considered.
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Very little increase in the surf is predicted for the next week or so, and there is no new significant storm activity right now.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
