11/12/18 Report - Broken Old Medallion. Repaired Wooden Artifact. Robert Marx Lecture: Archaeology of the Abyss.

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

Old Broken Praying Hands Medallion.

Find and photo by John C.

Take a close look and you'll see the praying hands on this broken medallion.  Below is what John C. had to say about it.

Well sorry I know I'm a little off topic again, because as you can see from the picture it's not a drilled coin, but a religious medallion that at some point was purposely drilled.

It has to be over 20 years since I found this medallion, but I still remember it clearly, I think mainly because of how disappointed I was that it came out in three pieces. I'm sure there are other Beach Hunters out there that can remember a time when you attempt to dig a target only to find out that your shovel or scoop will only go down two or three inches at a time because of the thick layer of shell that's just below the sand. I hate that when that happens. Fortunately those conditions don't happen too often, so as you can see The Medallion broke at its weakest point where it was drilled,, makes you wonder why someone would drill a hole and ruin a beautiful medallion, but I sure would love to know the history and the story behind this medallion, but it looks like the original bezel ring at the top may have broke off long before it was drilled, so maybe it was lost and found several times,?

But I think what really inspired me to share this photo the most, was not so much the drill hole, but the image itself on The Medallion, "praying hands."

It says in Scripture that we should "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances"

So I think some will agree, that if there has ever been a time in the past say 50 years when our great country and all the movers and shakers of this country need prayers, it's now, but it's always encouraging to remember that God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and no matter how dark things may seem he's still in control.

Thanks again, for all your hard work an effort, that you put into your blog. JC 

Thanks for sharing John.   Fascinating medal.

The hole in the body of the medallion could have been created after the original loop broke.  People were not so quick to throw broken things away in days gone by.  They would often repair or repurpose broken items.  When trying to identify and date an artifact, you have to take into account that the item may have been used over a period of many years and could have been repaired or repurposed.

Hard to tell how old that medallion is but it certainly looks old.  I'd like to see some research and history on the motif of the praying hands.  Maybe someone will be able to provide that.

Back to the subject of repaired items.

Archaeologists found a 2000-year-old wood bowl that had been repaired with rivets and staples.

2000-Year-Old Repaired Wood Bowl.

Source: See BBC.com link below.

Here is the link to the article.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-46124211

And here is a wood bowl that is probably a hundred or more years old, but certainly not thousands of years old.  It is 17.5 inches in diameter.

Antique Wood Bowl.

It is badly cracked and was repaired a long time ago.  I added some wood glue to it, but before that it was repaired with wire.

Two Sets of Holes and Wire Used to Repair Cracked Wood Bowl.

Below is the other side.

Wire Used to Repair Crack Exposed.

On this one the wood chipped off exposing the wired used to repair the crack.

It can be difficult to determine the age of old items like this because they can be repaired and used for a very long time, and then repurposed and used for something else yet again.

A piece of an old copper kettle, for example, can be cut and turned into any number of things.

There isn't a huge difference between this wood bowl and the 2000-year-old bowl discussed in the article.

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SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

At the bottom of bodies of wa

SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

At the bottom of bodies of wa

SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

In this lecture Sir Robert, a pioneer in deep water archaeology, talks about early robotic

equipment and recoveries he made on deep-water shipwreck sites and submerged

settlements. He will take us around the world, from Singapore to the Azores, to

FOR MORE

fascinating sites that he and others have explored.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is supposed to be about four to six feet today, slacking off gradually through the rest of the week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/10/14 Report - Eight Foot Surf Predicted. Artifacts Saved From Destruction By Looters. Repurposed Artifacts. Great Research Resource.

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

Source; http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

This article discusses how these artifacts were possibly saved by Viking looters.  If the Vikings did not steal them, they would have been melted down.  It also tells how the items were repurposed.  Since the Vikings had no use for the religious artifacts, they took the parts and used them as jewelry.

The idea that looters saved the artifacts is interesting by itself, but it made me think of the many items that are saved by detectorists from one type of destruction or another,  Beach hunters, for example, save artifacts that would be lost to the sea through tumbling and corrosion over time.  The salt water surf is a rough environment where things can not survive forever without being damaged or destroyed.

Here is the link to that article. 
http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

Artifacts being recycled is another interesting topic.  One old emerald ring that I found seems to have a setting taken from an older piece and mounted on a newer band (See photo.). 

The band does not match the setting in style, and the gold on the top piece is of a different purity than the band.

Certainly things have been repurposed or recycled and reused over the decades and centuries, sometimes being used in an entirely different way or form than the original.


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JSTOR is a collection of scholarly works that includes articles from many disciplines including history and archaeology to name just two.

If you are doing research you might want to get access to JSTOR.  One way to get access is to take a class at a college or university.  You will then have access through the library when you get your card.  Some public libraries also provide access.

There is a program for individuals which will give you free but limited access if you register.  There are big limitations in this program.

Here is a link obtained through JSTOR to an abstract of an article that talks about the use of metal detectors in archaeology and discusses the source of the uninformed opinions of archaeologists on the subject.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25616646?sid=21105829108923&uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739600

If you take a class as a part time student, your access will last only as long as you are enrolled in the class, but JSTOR can be worth the price of tuition if you really use it intensely during that period.

If you are doing research you might look into getting access to JSTOR through a school, library or try out the limited but free access for individuals.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is very small today.  I'll be watching and hoping for the eight-foot surf predicted for Thursday.  I really hope that happens.  We sure do need it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net