4/28/20 Report - Oldest Gold Treasure Ever Discovered. Gold Coin Hoard. Copper Disc Shipwreck Ingots. Beaches Reopening This AM.

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

Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.

What is the oldest gold treasure ever discovered?  There are a few candidates but one is the consensus winner.  Others could arguably be a bit older, but the Varna Chalcolithic treasure is often considered the oldest because of its size and representative nature as well as it's age.

The world’s oldest gold processed by humans, the world’s oldest gold treasure, and the world’s oldest gold artifacts have been discovered in Bulgaria.

They date back to the period between 4,500 BC and 4,000 BC, i.e. the second half of the 5^th millennium BC (so they are between 6,500 and 6,000 years old)….

They are the work of the people of Europe's first human civilization, which developed in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, roughly 8,000 to 6,000 years ago, in Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkan Peninsula (Southeast Europe), along the Lower Danube and the Western Black Sea coast as well as further inland, in the valleys and gorges of the Balkans.

There are six very good candidates, but one is considered the oldest even though it might not technically be proven the oldest in the end.    It is the Varna treasure shown at the top of this post and below.

Varna Treasure.
Source: ArchaeologyInBulgaria link shown below.

Discovered in: 1972, by accident

Discovery Site: Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis, Black Sea city of Varna on Bulgaria’s Northern Black Sea coast

Dating: 4,560-4,450 BC (three graves outside the necropolis dated closer to 5,000 BC)

Consists of: Over 3,000 gold artifacts

Combined total weight: 6.5 kilograms

For the article containing additional information, including the other leading candidates, use this link.

archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/09/19/which-is-the-worlds-oldest-gold-the-five-oldest-gold-treasures-all-from-the-5th-millenium-bc-all-found-in-bulgaria-all-made-by-old-europe/

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The 16 Byzantine gold coins discovered in the ruins of ancient Marcianopolis, a very substantial Roman city in today’s Northeast Bulgaria. Photo: Devnya Ancient and Modern Facebook Page,
Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.

A Byzantine gold treasure from the 5^th century BC, i.e. the early period of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), consisting of a hoard of gold coins of Emperor Theodosius II which were probably hidden when the major Roman city of Marcianopolis (Marcianople) was destroyed by Attila’s Huns, has been found by archaeologists in Devnya, Northeast Bulgaria.

The newly discovered gold coin hoard consists for the time being of 14 coins featuring the image Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408 – 450 AD), one featuring his wife Aelia Eudocia, and one featuring his first cousin, Emperor Valentian III, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 425 until 455 AD, shortly before its collapse...

“On the fourth day [of digging there], we came across the first part of the coin hoard, which consisted of 10 gold coins, solidi of Emperor Theodosius II, and also ten bronze coins of the same emperor," the lead archaeologist elaborates.

“Emperor Theodosius II ruled [the Eastern Roman Empire] from 408 until 450 AD, and this coin hoard was most probably lost during the Hun invasion [of 447 AD] when the city of Marcianople was destroyed," he adds.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/10/26/hoard-of-byzantine-gold-coins-hidden-during-hun-invasion-discovered-in-ancient-marcianopolis-in-bulgarias-devnya/


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Copper Ingots From Bronze Age Shipwreck.

Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.

… The discovery and characteristics of the disc-like Late Bronze Age copper ingots found on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast at Maslen Nos was presented in Bulgaria’s Burgas by archaeologist Miroslav Klasnakov in February 2020.

“Analogous to similar finds from explored shipwrecks at the capes of Gelidonya and Uluburun in Turkey, the “copper cakes" from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are also dated to the Late Bronze Age," Klasnakov was cited as saying.

“Unlike the ingots [of the same period], which are shaped like a stretched-out ox skin, found in [the interior] of today’s Bulgaria, however, relatively far to the west of the sea coast, these ones [from Maslen Nos] have a disc-like shape, and are found only beneath water," the archaeologist explains...

Here is that link.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2020/04/18/disc-like-copper-ingots-found-in-ancient-shipwreck-at-bulgarias-black-sea-coast-similar-to-gelidonya-uluburun-shipwrecks-of-mediterranean-turkey/

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When you think of treasure, you might not think of Bulgaria, but it has more than its fair share, including some of the oldest processed gold artifacts in the world.  

I was going to do the first story, but the ArchaeologyInBulgaria web site had so many great articles that I thought I'd just stick with it until the Treasure Coast beaches reopen this morning.

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It seems like the Information Age has turned into the Disinformation Age.  You have to intelligently sift through a lot of noise to find the few gems of information.

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The Indian River and St. Lucie beaches are expected to open at around 7 AM this morning.

The Treasure Coast surf won't be big and neither are the tides, but it will be nice to get some sand between the toes again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/2/19 Report - Castle Remains Found Under Water. Aquasound Metal Detectors. Artifacts and Life.

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

Castle Remains Found Underwater

Source: See DailySabah link below.

Archaeologists in Turkey's eastern Van province discovered the ruins of a 3,000-year-old Urartu castle during underwater excavations in lake Van...

"There was a rumor that there might be something under the water but most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we won't find anything," the head of the diving team Tahsin Ceylan said, adding that they proceeded with the research and discovered the ancient castle...

Here is the link.

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/11/12/underwater-ruins-of-3000-year-old-castle-discovered-in-turkey

A lot of times before a nice discovery you'll be told there is nothing there.

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Yesterday I showed a photo of one Aquasound metal detector and said I have two more Aquasound metal detectors that were a little different.  I used them a lot, and they were good.

Two Different Aquasound Metal Detectors.

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As I mentioned the other day, we recently lost a member of the family, and I've we've been attending to things that need to be done.  For me, among other things, that includes preparing a eulogy.  How do you sum up a person's life?

Going through a person's belongings can tell you a lot about that person.  The person I'm talking about liked clocks, weather and music.  He left behind a bunch of clocks.  I noticed one advertising clock on the wall that read something like Frehler's - Fresh Coffee Brewed Daily.  I don't remember the name of the establishment for sure, but it was something like Frehler's even if it might not be exact.

He also had thermometers, barometers and other meteorological equipment everywhere I looked, and also his musical instruments and electronics.  As they say, you can't take it with you.

The clock on the wall is still ticking, and the anemometer in the yard is still spinning, but somehow they seemed to have lost their life.  They are hollow remnants of a life that left them behind.

So what does that have to do with metal detecting?  If you have found things that you like, you might have kept them.  They help you remember events and maybe they tell a story.  The value of the finds you keep might be worth more to you than dollars and cents.  You give them life by learning about them.  They might represent a time in history.  Someone else once used them, and maybe cherished them too.

By studying finds, you can add value to them - both economically and otherwise.  They become more meaningful as they are studied.

You will probably not own your finds forever.  Someone else once owned them, and someone else might own them in the future.

When I sell a find I hope that by doing so I am finding them a good new home.  I hope they are bought by someone who will appreciate them and perhaps also pass them on again someday.

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It looks like the Treasure Coast will have several days of one-foot or less surf.

Thanks much for the sympathies and condolences.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/1/19 Report - A Good Metal Detector. Florida Shipwreck Discovered Accidentally. Couple Old Finds.

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

Mac 1 - Aquasound.

I have three Aquasound metal detectors.  They are different versions, but all were built by Herb MacDonald (deceased).   They were very productive metal detectors.  I used them when I was metal detecting heavily.

They are beach detectors, with no discrimination, but they did null over iron.  I decided to post them, although I couldn't get the photos of two of them to upload.  Not a lot of people have used them.

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Accidentally Discovered Copper-Sheathed Wreck.

Source: See Newser link below.

… In this case, however, one was found entirely by accident. Ocean researchers testing equipment 160 miles off the coast of Florida came across a wreck of a ship they believe was constructed in the mid-1800s, reports CNN. The lucky break came May 16 as scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were testing a new remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, in the Gulf of Mexico, per a release from NOAA. Much to their surprise, the ROV's sonar detected the remains of the ship in about 1,640 feet of water in the Florida Escarpment, where the sea floor plunges in steep fashion. Not much is yet known about the wooden ship itself, though it's about 124 feet long and the numbers 2-1-0-9 are visible on the edge of the rudder..

Here is the link for more about that..

https://www.newser.com/story/275914/researchers-find-shipwreck-by-accident.html

Thanks to Teklord Doug for that link.

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Did you know if you are carrying gold bars or anything valuable that you don't want to be made public when flying, you can request a private screening by TSA.  

You might find that more discreet and secure.

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I was going to post this when I was discussing spoon finds not long ago.

Old Spoon Find.

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Sanford Ink Bottle Find.

I don't think I got around to posting this ink bottle either.

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Expect some very flat surf for a couple days this week.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/18/15 Report - 18K Dug Gold Ring. The Dare and Magruder. Newly Discovered Shipwreck.

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

Two Treasure Coast Beach Pictures From Friday Morning.

As you can see, only the smallest surf.  Beach detecting conditions remain very poor.  Nothing much except for modern recent drops.

18K White Band.

There are few targets.  This band was the first target I dug yesterday.  After walking about fifty yards using no discrimination, it was the first signal I got and the first target I dug.  Very often I would have moved on shortly after finding that and doing a little more checking around unless something promising popped up.  There are times to move on.  I only detected a very short time that day anyhow.

I could tell that other water hunters had worked the area not too long ago, and as I was on my way to the car another water hunters arrived and started working the same area.

Sometimes there isn't anything to discriminate.  I want to know when that is the case.  Not only does that mean that there is no need for discrimination, but it tells me something important when there is no junk in the area.  It can tell you something about detecting conditions and it might tell you if there have been other detectorists in the area and what they were doing.

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The Dare has begun to search the Lost Merchant area, and the Marguder finished up with Emerald City and will be working the Quicksands.

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Newly Disovered Wreck Off North Carolina.
Source of photo: link below.

Yesterday I posted a photo of an piece of an olive jar with handle that was found by Au Dreamers on the Cabin Wreck site.

Notice the jar with handle at the top right of this photo

Marine scientists from Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon discovered the wreck on July 12 during a research expedition aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) research ship Atlantis...

Among the artifacts discovered amid the shipwreck’s broken remains are an iron chain, a pile of wooden ship timbers, red bricks (possibly from the ship cook’s hearth), glass bottles, an unglazed pottery jug, a metal compass, and another navigational instrument that might be an octant or sextant.

The wreck appears to date back to the late 18^th or early 19^th century, a time when a young United States was expanding its trade with the rest of the world by sea...

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://today.duke.edu/2015/07/shipwreck

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A couple days ago I posted some water hunting tips and tricks along with an illustration.  I wanted to follow up on that, but haven't done it yet.  When I get started on that, it might be pretty long.  Seems there is so much to talk about that I can't get it all in.  I'll pick up with that sometime soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/6/15 Report - White City Florida History Research. Lost City Found. More On Palm Beach Beaches. Big Surf Next Week?

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



1901 White City Mercantile Building.
Photo source:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mainmanwalkin/7059137399/ 

You might have noticed that a lot of finds that I've been posting lately have come from inland hunting sites.  Research can help you find good old inland sites. 

Several days ago I mentioned JSTOR as a research tool.  Below is just one example of the kind of thing you can find through JSTOR.

One old local community is White City, between Fort Pierce and St. Lucie.  It was settled by Danish settlers in 1893.  Goods were shipped from Titusville on the steamboat "Lillian" to be sold at a store that was built on the St. Lucie River.

A dance was held to celebrate the first birthday of White City on Dec. 16, 1894.  The dance was held at a large pavilion at the picnic grounds.  Every fall the picnic grounds were flooded by the rising river.

There were two ferries across the river - one for passengers and one for horses and wagons. 

Now there are some nice hints.

That information was published in the Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jul. 1954), pp 48-50.  The article was authored by Sandra Lewis, who won an assay contest sponsored by the Florida Historical Society.  Like I said, I found it using JSTOR.

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The past couple of days I've talked about the Palm Beach beaches.  Joe D. sent additional information on that.  Here is what he said.
 

Just read today's post! And saw the video from Jason T. north of the Breakers Hotel! This is one of two types of beach renourishment happening in Palm Beach! As Jason stated, there's a barge offshore pumping to the north side of the Breakers where the beach had disappeared! I don't search there because there has been little to no beach to search! On the south side of the Breakers, at the Midtown Beach is where my pictures have been from! They are trucking in the beach sand there; (different type of sand) and at Phipps Park further south at the other public beach! The North end of the island is mostly intact, but unless you know people who will let you park in front of their house, which is highly unlikely, (residents and police have zero tolerance! and ZERO public parking; SAD!!) then its a city bus, bike, or boat ride to hunt up there!

Just wanted to give a better picture to anyone planning a hunt there! Oh, and buy the way, very little one and two hour free parking at Midtown! And paid parking is FIVE DOLLARS
AN HOUR!! No joke!! "There's only one Palm Beach."

Thanks for the report Joe.

Some of my favorite old hunting spots in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area were places where parking was difficult or expensive. 

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I'll sum up what people have said about how fast coins sink in rich soil very soon.  If you have some thoughts to add, please send them.

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We are having some very nice weather along the Treasure Coast.  Not too hot or too cold.  No wonder there are so many snow birds on the road.

Today the wind is from the North, but not very strong.   Tomorrow the wind will continue from the North but the surf is supposed to increase up to something like five or six feet.  That could possibly do us some good if the angles are right.

Right now the surfing web sites are predicted a big surf (10 feet) for the thirteenth.  As I always point out, there is a good chance that won't happen, but I hope it does.  The next few days should give us some idea.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/4/15 Report - Lead Leads To Gold. $4.8 Million In Gold Bars Stolen. Sunken Japanese Warship Found? Sinking Coins.

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


Japanese WW II Warship
Possibly Discovered by
Apple Co-founder Paul Allen.
Source of Photos: see aol.com link.

Japanese Warship?

What do you do after founding one of the most admired and successful American tech companies and earning millions of dollars?  That's easy!  Go treasure hunting.  

That is what Apple co-founder Paul Allen did.  Here is the link for the rest of the story and more photos.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/04/microsoft-co-founder-says-he-found-sunken-japan-wwii-warship/21149409/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D622391

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I received the following in an email from Joe D.

Our beach conditions in West Palm have been just as poor as the Treasure Coast. The renurishment projects have hit full swing in Palm Beach and Juipiter! In Palm Beach the sand is going out as quick as they haul it in, and making a secondary beach at low tide! But much of it is mushy and useless to hunt! The primary low tide area has had a lot of shells though with lots of iron, sea glass, and old worn brick pieces, but few coins! Could be that I have become too comfortable with my smaller coil and am not going deep enough! But I have had good luck this week using it on old vacant lots and small park areas! Today I hit several areas that I like to call "drive-by's" that I have made mental notes of in my daily travels. Some I only quick-scanned! The small roadside parks won out over the vacant lots today! The second park I went to produced a nice working watch on the first swing! That's the first time I have hit something good so quickly! 

I have a question that I would like you and your readers to try and help me solve! In your expert opinion, in very damp rich soil, how deep will coins sink with the constant action of earthworms? I have been finding that in a few of the places I hunt, the relatively modern coins are much deeper than they should be! And older coins that should be there are all but nonexistent! ( too deep??) And I know for a fact that these places have had NO fill added to create this challenge!

Thanks much for the beach report Joe! 

On Joe's question concerning how fast coins sink in rich soil, I want to see what you all have to say.
Send me your thoughts.  I'll gather everyone's thoughts and give a summary in a few days.

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Here is an interesting story.  275 pounds of gold bars worth 4.8 million dollars were stolen from an armored truck after the truck reportedly had mechanical difficulties along I 95.

Here is the link of the story and also the source of the photo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/gold-bars-stolen-armored-truck-heist-4-million_n_6789870.html


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Not long ago I mentioned he Magruder and Dare heading back to the Margarita site.  Rough weather sent them back to port, but before returning they found an encrusted object, musket ball, pot shards and various ballast stones.
 

If you've been reading this blog very long you read when I said that gold rings are sometimes found with lead sinkers.  I just read that Mel Fisher always said,“Lead leads to gold!”  I hadn't heard that said by anyone else before.

One time that sticks out in my mind was when I was digging a hole in shallow water.  The first three dug objects were one-ounce round sinkers.  The fourth was a one ounce 14K gold class ring.

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Thanks for the emails.   Send me your thoughts on how fast coins sink in rich soil.

It looks like we'll be stuck with something like a three-foot surf for a  while.  The wind will be from the South for a couple of days.  Not very encouraging.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net