Artifacts Dug at Late 18th Century Battle Site.For some reason this photo rotated 90 degrees and I couldn't get it straightened out.
Dead fish are stinking up Sebastian Inlet State Park. I don't think they know what killed the fish. A similar thing happened in the Amazon River.
For more on the Sebastian Inlet story, here is the link.
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/february/205678/Schools-of-dead-fish-stink-up-Sebastian-Inlet
And the St. Lucie Inlet has been declared an emergency as sand continues to build up making it hard for even small boats to safely navigate.
I just read an article that mentions how important play is in all cultures and how archaeologists often misinterpret such things. It reminded me of the National Geographic article in which an archaeologist claimed a dug pipe was a slave's pipe since it was dug in an area where there were slave dwellings. It turned out that the supposed "slave pipe" was actually a Cracker Jack prize of much more recent vintage. That one always amuses me, but I suppose it is not uncommon for toys to be misidentified.
Just think about it, when you dig up an unidentified item, you, or should I say I, tend to think about what it could possibly be used for. Serious utilitarian purposes are the first thing that I consider. I don't know that I think about things that are simply toys or even decorative. I first think of utilitarian functions that the object might serve.
If you look around your house, a large number of items have no real utilitarian purpose. There are many things that are decorative or for amusement. I can see how someone digging up these things in a couple of centuries might easily misinterpret how some of these things were used.
Here is the link to the article on playful artifacts.
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=128&id=48113&t=Play+was+important+--+even+4%2C000+years+ago
That article reminded me of an artifact that I found a number of years ago on an 18th Century battlefield. It was found along with musket balls, military buttons, and other military objects. I thought for a long time that it was probably a finial. I don't think that now. Now I believe it is what is sometimes called soldier art.
The Item I am talking about is the one at the top left of the above photo. It is made of lead and ornately carved. I think it is a miniature carving of a cannon instead of a finial, but I don't know. It was found right beside a real cannon, which of course proves nothing.
Unfortunately my photo is not very good, but I think you can see most of the detail, including the hole for the cannon and a lot of the ornate carving.
Tilin F. submitted the following photos of a very interesting item that was found on Juno Beach. It is 24 feet long.
I'm not saying what it is yet because I want to get your ideas.
Let me know what you think this might be if you have any idea at all.
Forecast and Conditions.
The wind is from the east today. The sea is still calm. There still isn't much change expected except for Saturday when the seas will be up to around 4.5 feet. The surf sites predict that the increase will only be for that one day and then return to calm again.
Someday things will improve. It has been a long time, and it is long overdue.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
