4/12/20 Report - Easter Greetings. Archaeological Artifact Investigation Suggesting Nailing of Heel Bone During Crucifixion.

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

1911 Easter Card.

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In what seems to be rare physical evidence of crucifixion, the method used to kill Jesus Christ according to the Bible, scientists say wounds found on the heel of a man buried some 2,000 years ago in northern Italy suggest he was nailed to a wooden cross before he died...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://www.history.com/news/jesus-christ-death-crucifixion-archaeology


A multidisciplinary study of calcaneal trauma in Roman Italy: a possible case of crucifixion is a study providing a more in-depth investigation of the same injury.  The study was published in the April 2018 issue of Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 

The study indicates that the puncture of the ankle bone was medial to lateral (inside to out). Here are a couple illustrations from that article showing how that could have been done.

The position shown on the right (b) is like the position I referred to yesterday in my discussion of the heel bone with a spike still in it, as being like a ballerina with turnout.  With the toes pointed out, the posture looks similar to a ballerina doing a pleiay.

Position a above is one I didn't suggest yesterday, but reminds me of the crucifix I showed two days ago from the Mel Fisher artifact database.  Just turn the feet a little more to the left (as you look at the picture).

Gold Crucifix From Atocha.

Source: Mel Fisher artifact database.

As any scientific analysis would, this study considered possible causes of the wound other than crucifixion, one of which was the practice of nailing corpses stationary in a coffin, but there was no coffin used in this case.

It would be difficult, and in my mind unlikely, that an aware person could have their feet held and nailed so precisely through the heel bone in the manner shown as illustration a.  Illustration b seems slightly more possible to me, but I don't feel like I have the answer yet.  Still I've learned a lot.

For the entire study and all the details click here.

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Today I want to express my deepest sympathies to those who are unable, due to severe restrictions imposed because of COVID-19,  to tend to their sick and dying loved ones and unable to participate in funerals or otherwise share and express their mourning in the traditional manner.

Man is more than flesh.

May one and all be touched by a deeper peace and healing this Easter.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/11/20 Report - Heel Bone Pierced by Spike: Artifactual Proof of Crucifixion? A Personal Easter Story.

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

The heel bone and nail from the ossuary of Yehohanan, discovered in Jerusalem in 1968.

 (photo credit: Courtesy of the Israel Museum. Photographer: Ilan Shtulman)

From TimesOfIsrael.com (See link below).

In Jerusalem around 2,000 years ago a Jew named Yehohanan, who was in his mid-twenties, committed a crime against Roman authority. The nature of his transgression has been lost to time, but his punishment is known — he was crucified.

Convicts were executed by crucifixion in the Roman Empire as a matter of course, and histories of the time regularly describe the practice, which was designed to make death prolonged, painful and public. After the famous slave uprising led by Spartacus was crushed in 71 BCE, for example, an estimated 6,000 rebels were crucified along a highway leading to the capital as an illustration of Roman power. 

It is therefore an odd fact that archaeological evidence of this punishment — crosses, for example, or perforated skeletons — has never been found anywhere in the world, with one exception: the stone box containing Yehohanan’s remains.

After Yehohanan’s body was removed from the cross, it would have been laid out in a burial cave. After the flesh had decomposed a year or so later, leaving only the skeleton, his bones were gathered in a simple stone box, an ossuary, in keeping with the Jewish practice of that time. Today, the box is displayed in a gallery at the Israel Museum alongside other artifacts from the period of Roman rule in Judea...


Here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-a-stone-box-a-rare-trace-of-crucifixion/

Now there is an artifact.  It provides a good example of how artifacts provide evidence but do not tell the entire story.  As we've seen many times, artifacts can be difficult to identify, but the research can teach you a lot.

This artifact, like so often is the case, presents difficulties.  Below is an image of a heel bone.

One of the difficulties is that the spike goes through the side of the heel, which is not how crucifixions are pictured.  Like the crucifixes I showed yesterday, they usually show a single spike going through the top of both feet, with the two feet being on top of each other.

Scholars take this spike as evidence of a crucifixion.  It might be, but could it be something else?  Could it be some other type of torture other than crucifixion.  I don't think it would likely be accident.  To me, crucifixion seems like one of the better explanations, but there might be some other explanation.

Some have suggested that the feet of the person being crucified could have been placed on each side of the main vertical post of the cross and the feet nailed to the cross, one on each side of the upright post.

We can make the mistake of thinking that things were always done the same way.  That is probably not the case.  There can be different circumstances and different people that do things differently.

Some crucifixes show the feet on a bit of a stand attached to the cross.  If there was a vertical support for that stand, the heels could have been nailed to that rather than the sides of the main vertical post.  Or the fellow could have been terribly pigeon toed or had the turnout of a ballerina.  There are a lot of possibilities.  We just don't know the entire story of this artifact yet.

We can also wonder why the nail isn't all the way in the one or why on the other side it is bent over.   Many questions remain.

Part of the value of the artifact is what it tells us, and part of it's value is what it asks us.

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You might enjoy reading other articles in the Israel Times,  Many of the articles are on Coronavirus, such as the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect being hit ten times harder than the general population.  It seems the virus hit them even harder than it hit our black communities.  Also interesting is the article on a Holocaust survivor's reflections on the virus.

That reminds me of the 104 year-old WWII vet that had the Spanish flu and survived it and also had COVID-19 and survived.  That fellow is a survivor.

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Among the most legendary of treasures are the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.  Probably no other treasures have been the subject of so many books, stories and movies.  Although they did exist, much of what has been written or portrayed about them is pure fiction.

There are other Biblical lost treasures, such as the priestly breastplate that was made of gold and covered with gems.  It has been claimed that one of those gems has been found.  I'll get into that more some other time.

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My Easter Story.

They say you can never go home again, but last night I did.  It was before 4 AM when I awoke and vividly remembered an experience that put me at a particular time and place of my youth.

It was sixty-five years ago, late afternoon or early evening, the Saturday before Easter.  I and a few of the other kids had just finished our imaginary rendition of a major league baseball game on a field on top of a hill that would a little later in the year be covered by hay tall enough to hide in.

I could see my young mother in her apron  standing on the porch off the kitchen half way down the hill as she called me in.  The water for the Easter egg dye just reached a boil.

The kids scattered in four or five different directions, each towards their home, but I stood there for a moment and looked out over the green valley that was my world.  I had no way of understanding it at the time, but it felt like time froze for a moment as everything I saw and felt was being stamped indelibly into my mind.

At the bottom of the valley was a creek, and above that a red dog road, and on each side of the road at various distances were the few scattered homes, each one having a name, such as Bristers, Simpsons, Hamiltons, Harts and Mounts.

As I looked over that green valley with my young eyes, it was a scene that would never change for me.  I noticed a wisp of smoke rising from Brister's trash pile.  The smoke drew my attention.  It seemed slightly strange or out of place on such a bright clear beautiful scene.  

Mom was so young.  And dad was still here.  The kids are now scattered away from that valley.  Some of them are gone too, maybe like that wisp of smoke.

But I'm still that young boy.  Mom is still that young woman.  Dad is still here.  The valley never changed.  I know that because I visited that place again last night.

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The surf is still small, but the tides are still big.

As they isolate and distance, Christians await Easter morning and Jews observe Passover.  Easter and Passover are inseparable.   You'll see that in the Bible.
Passover for the year 2020 starts on the evening of Wednesday, April 8th and ends at sunset on Wednesday, April 15th for Reform and progressive Jews living inside Israel who follow the Biblical text. For Orthodox, Hasidic, and generally Jews outside Israel the festival lasts 8 days ending at sunset on Thursday, April 16th.

Blessings,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/30/20 Report - A Few Beaches and Some Finds Reported. One Find for ID.

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

John Brooks Thursday About Three PM.

I was traveling the past couple days and hadn't seen the beaches for a few days.  Since the last time I was at John Brooks it hadn't changed much, but might have built up a little more.

Fort Piece South Jetty Thursday Afternoon.

When you look at Fort Pierce South Jetty beach, it is hard to not notice how much sand has left the area in the recent past.  So where did it go?

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Thursday Afternoon.

Obviously it has been pulled out into the water.  The littoral currents would take it south.  I'm sure it won't be long until the fill it back in with new sand.

I don't know exactly how many times they've renourished this beach in the past few years, but it has been a number of times, and each time it erodes quickly again.  All of that sand ends up in the water, and gets carried south over time.  There are times when it partially refills naturally, but I'm sure that sand goes out and south.  You will see it piling up in front of the condominiums and farther south than that.  Those beaches to the south are very wide now, especially compared to back years and decades ago.

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Bob C. sent the following email and photos.

Hi, I've been reading here for a long time, and appreciate the blog. I found an item I'm hoping you may be able to give me some input on.  I found them tuesday in a pretty decent cut, at the southern border of a wreck. I found a lot of scrap copper and brass, the brass plate I'm hoping you can help identify, has fine, hand engraving on it. The round hole has me scratching my head. I found a small brass square nail/spike 1' from it.  A couple people I have talked to suggested possibly off of a dagger or sword scabbard. One said there may have been a different metal "medallion" where the hole is. About 25' from these, I also found a reale, and a piece of what looks like a brass chain link. Any help and wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

I'm going to post his finds now so you can see what you think.  I also asked him for measurements on the one item and should be able to give you the measurements before long.

Finds and Photos by Bob C.

The miscellaneous small finds are very similar to those I found a few days ago.

Below is the main item of interest.

Mystery Item for ID.

Photo by Bob C.

Another View of the Same Item.

I'm not sure if I see the engraving.  Maybe something to the left hole and up a little.  Looks like maybe a circle and number.

I asked Bob for measurements.  Maybe he can also be more descriptive about the engraving and what it looks like.

I'll let you think about that one for a while and post the other information as I get it.

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After tumbling some of my small found bits to get through the surface corrosion so I could do a decent test, I found some that seem to be small melted silver bits.  Maybe I can get some decent photos of those and some other things.

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The surf was small today and the tides weren't big either, but tomorrow we're supposed to have a bump in the surf.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net








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1/25/20 Report - Looking At Some of the Small Finds of The Week and Previous Months.

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

Miscellaneous Small Finds From Earlier This Week.

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I posted this picture yesterday but promised to take a closer look at some of the objects.  I was glad I did.  

If you've been paying close attention and keeping track, you know that we've had some beach condition upgrades in November, December and January.  The latest being this week.  Each of those upgrades were similar in some respects, and when considered together provide some good clues.

Everybody seems to like the beach photos, but you'll get even more value out of them if you keep track of them over time and consider them in context of whatever else is going on.  

I showed one group of small finds I made yesterday.  Previously I also showed some of the small finds made in November and December.  There are some similar items, and many of them came from the same area of the same beach.

Captain Jonah found this nice little piece back in November.

And here are a couple small finds I previously showed.  One of those small tacks was found in November and the other in December.  I think you'll find them in my 12/20/19 post.

Two Small Tack Finds in Recent Months.

I'd be glad to receive any and all ideas about what these small tacks might have been used for.

The following small pieces were also found in the same area back in December, if I correctly recall.

I wondered about them when they were found.  Now it seems they might be part of a grouping, possibly coming from the same source as some of those found this week.  I'm interested in the possible source, if and how they might be related, and if they might be used as a clue or signal.

Below is one of the items found this week.  You can also see it in the picture at the top of the post.

Small Square Nail.

This is a common type of nail found on a number of the Treasure Coast shipwreck beaches.   

Below is another item found this week at the same location.

Item Found This Week.

I thought this one was a screw until I looked at it under magnification and found it had no threads and a blunt end.  Maybe a rivet?  It has the same patina as the nail shown above, but the shank is more round than square.  It seems to be of the same material as the nail.

Small Piece of Metal That Originally Had a Square Connector in the Hole.

When I picked up the item above it was covered with sand, and I thought it could be a reale. The little square on the right side of the dime is the head of a small square connector that was in the hole until it fell out after some handling.  In this photo it looks like rusted material, but it does not look rusted when viewed normally.  I'm going to have to spring for an XRF analyzer someday.   I think this item is probably more modern, but don't know for sure.

Below is a piece found in November or December.  It seems to be of the same material as the piece found this week, which you can see top and center beside the knife point in the photo at the top of this post.

Cuprous Object Found in November or December.

I've been looking at this one and trying to make out the marks.  It does appear to have a worked edge.  It seems to have a flat uniform rim that is about a half inch across.   I think it is cuprous, but not the same alloy as the nail.  If the item is a piece of a larger object, which I believe it is, and the circumference is similar to the worked edge on this piece, the entire object would be something like 3.5 inches in diameter.

Below are pictures of  the outside edge (top) and inner, apparently broken inner edge I(bottom).

Two Edges of Cuprous Object.

This is another one that when I first saw it in the sand I thought might be a cob.  I think it is a cuprous, but not the same alloy as the nail and rivet.

I found what could possibly be another piece of the same object on Wednesday.   Here it is.

A Slightly Larger Broken Cuprous Piece.

This one seems to be made of the same material, although the lighting and amount of crust obscures that fact.  Unlike the other piece, all the edges of this one are broken.  It could be an inner piece of the same object the other piece came from.  I don't know if it is a piece of the same thing or not, but that is something I'll consider as a possibility and watch for any more matching pieces.

The items I discussed today may not be very interesting, and they are certainly not valuable, but to me they are interesting.  I am pretty sure they provide some helpful clues.  Time will tell how useful those clues will be.  They definitely helped me learn more about the metal detector I was using.  

It is like you have some puzzle pieces and don't know how many belong to the same puzzle.   It is still fun to see how much you can put together.  

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I'll try to get around to cleaning some cobs soon.

The surf will be a little smaller tomorrow and for the next few days.

The primary swell will be ENE.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/29/19 Report - Beach Conditions and Cuts On The Treasure Coast. A Few Finds. Decreasing Surf.

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

Treasure Coast Beach Cut Friday Morning.

Yesterday I struck out.  I spent more time driving than detecting and dug practically nothing.  This morning was different.  I enjoyed myself and made some interesting observations.

There was a number of targets down close to the water line at low tide.  Many were just discolored clad coins, some sinkers and fishing equipment, but also a few more interesting pieces.

The cut shown above was not close to any of the beach accesses.  I had to walk a way to find it. 

John Brooks Beach Friday Morning.

Like everywhere today, the water had been up and way over the berm.  You can see how mush the slope was if you look at the depth of the tire tracks.

John Brooks Beach This Morning.

Frederick Douglas Beach Looked very much like John Brooks.  You can see from the picture below how far back the water had been.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday Morning.

Water Running Over Sand Bar and Back Out.

I started to put together a post on how sand and objects move on a beach, including some things that I've recently learned to better understand, and I saw a very interesting thing happening in the shallow water today.  I tried several times to capture it on video, but manage to capture it.

There is a sand hump in front of the beach.  At low tide there is a little trough in the swash zone.  The water would come in, and then as it ran back out, made a nicely formed wave reaching at least a foot in height that would collide with the water coming in over the hump.  The collision of the incoming and outgoing wave was pretty good.  I really wish I was able to get it on video.

Iron Clump and Clad Quarters Found.

Besides the iron clump and clad coins, I also found a couple old flat buttons and a square nail, and a piece of a large bronze pin.

Flat Buttons and Square Nail.

I was enjoying today because I got to do what I call "pattern hunting" and could have easily hunted a couple more hours but I had other responsibilities to tend to so had to cut it short.

I think I might be able to make out the marks on the back of these buttons.

The surf will be decreasing for a few days.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Even though we had some good north winds, the swells were predominantly from the east.

Really wish I was able to catch the returning waves on video.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/2/16 Report - Mixed Signals and Targets. New Chamber in King Tut's Tomb.

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

Nail Rusted To Wheat Penny As Dug
Find and photo by Russ P.

I received this photo this morning.  It was dug at an old home site.  A lot of people would have missed this target.   The nail could have masked the penny or given an inaccurate target ID, depending upon what detector you were using and how you were using it.

One thing I wanted to mention concerning the cannon artifact that I've been talking about for a few days, is how easy it would be to miss a nice item like that.  Again, a lot of people would pay no attention to an iron object of that size.  It is easy to pass over very nice items.  I hate to think that I missed something that nice simply because I didn't want to dig it up.  No target ID could possibly accurately identify an object like that.

One person I heard from has been working an old home site in a different and very thorough way and as a result coming up with better finds and a lot of interesting information.  I'll be able to give you more on that when the project is completed and the results are in.  I can't wait.

I haven't talked about the topic for quite a while, but I'll mention once again how important it is to know your detector and how it responds to different environments and targets.  For now I'll just say, do a lot of testing.

There is often a lot more under the ground than you might think.  It is possible to spend a lot of time detecting and still miss a lot.  I hope to have a good thorough study very soon that will illustrate how true that is.

Of course there are high and low-value targets and junk, the key is to make efficient strategic decisions.

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New scns of King Tut's tomb reveals a possible new chamber.

Scans performed by Factum Arte, a company commissioned to scan Tutankhamun's tomb, show unusual lines and abnormalities in the plaster of the tomb, Reeves said, adding that these features indicate that a wall was built over a doorway in ancient times.

Here is the link for the entire story.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/03/01/new-scans-king-tuts-tomb-may-reveal-hidden-burial-chamber.html?intcmp=hpff

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I don't have much time today, so that's all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net