10/18/16 Report - Civil War Ordnance Uncovered by Matthew. Kang-hsi Of Manila Galleons. TCBDCR= 2.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Pot Shards From Manila Galleon
Source: Xinhualin link below.

The first thing I want to mention today is the big tides that will be combined with a 4 - 6 foot surf today and an even bigger surf tomorrow.  Unfortunately the winds will hit straight on, but there could be enough water action to help, especially tomorrow.

High water can result in a few scattered cobs on the beach even if there are not much of any cuts. However, you can almost always find some erosion if you look around enough after high water, especially around rocks and other natural or man made obstacles.

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4PM update: I was out this afternoon and as a result am giving a Treasure Coast a beach detecting conditions rating of a 2.

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Hurricane Matthew uncovered Civil War ordnance in South Carolina,  One corroded clump of grenades was exploded.

Trae R. sent the following link.

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/great-white-nursery-discovered-off-new-york-old-civil-war-ammo-on-south-carolina-beach-ocean-oddities-east-coa_142415/

Here is another link about the same thing.

http://www.livescience.com/56458-hurricane-matthew-uncovers-civil-war-cannonballs.html

That reminds me of the grapeshot I found in the Carribbean, but left there because to take it on the plane could have meant hefty fines or other troubles.

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Mexican archaeologists have uncovered thousands of fragments of a 400-year-old shipment of Chinese "export-quality porcelain" that was long buried in the Pacific Coast port of Acapulco.

The shipment of rice bowls, cups, plates and platters dates from the reign of the Ming Dynasty's 13th emperor, Wanli (1572-1620), and is believed to have arrived in Acapulco aboard the China Galleon, which regularly sailed between Asia and the New World...

Evidence even shows that starting in 1565, the return trips to Mexico were manned by Chinese crews, said Fonseca.

Here is the link.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-10/17/c_135761246.htm

I've talked a good bit in the past about Kang-hsi porcelain, which is sometimes found on 1715 Fleet beaches.  I've posted pictures of shards in the past and even provided information on how to identify Kang-hsi (See photo above.).  My 3/29/13 post is one that talks a little about Kang-hsi porcelain.

Obviously not all blue on white shards are Kang-hsi.  There was other pottery shipped in the Manila galleons that was not as fine as the Kang-hsi.  Lower quality pots were used for storage.

You can learn to easily distinguish between lower quality pottery and Kang-hsi.

Here is a link to a great but brief overview of the archaeology of the Manila galleons.

http://www.themua.org/collections/files/original/61b274c68e00272c5e50f0af53f5b140.pdf

That is all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/8/15 Report - Gold Nugget Watch Find. Finds From Eroding S. C. Beach. Discovery of Atocha Anniversary Celebration Video. Dry Pak.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Gold Nugget Watch Find.

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Now a follow up to yesterday's post in which I posted some pictures from Joe D. of a South Carolina beach that was eroding where it appeared that peat was being exposed.  Joe sent an additional email with these comments and pictures.  Here is what he said.

Just to clarify, the pic that looks like mud clumps is the heavy clay layer that I referenced! It had the consistency of wet pottery clay, but grey/ black in color! The plug that is dug out is where I found this badly worn rosie! The piece of plate and broken bottle were laying on surface not far away! Note the dark clay that absorbed into the plate piece!

Discolored Silver Rosie.

Two Plate Fragments

Bottle Glass

All of these photos were by submitted Joe D.  Thanks Joe.

It is always good when you can trace finds to a particular source or layer of sand or other material.

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The Fishers posted a brief video clip in honor of the  30th anniversary of the 1985 discovery of the mother lode of the Atocha.  Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b07z1fEUqUo&mc_cid=9b1a8b91d9&mc_eid=e9c86e5425

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Here is a handy little thing.  Inexpensive too. Great if you want to go in the water and take your wallet or cell phone.  It isn't a good idea to leave valuables in the car at the beach anyhow.

It is call Dry Pak and is water proof to 30 feet under water.  A good idea is to put a desiccant pack in it, because even though it shouldn't leak, there could be condensation.

They come in various sizes and will also protect you from rain or splashing.

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Nothing new in the predictions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net