9/20/12 Report - XRF, USS Shark Carronade and Some Finds

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

Here are some finds from William B. from Broward.   First, a reale that he thinks might have been made from recycled shipwreck silver.  The photo shows the item after cleaning.

And second, some rings (below).   Note the copper rings with the colorful applied designs. 


Here is a great account of the conservation of a very nice carronade recovered from the wreck of the USS Shark, a very important historic American vessel which sank in 1846.   Great photos of every step of the cleaning and preservation process are included.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/Report15/index.htm



And here is a handy device to help with the scientific analysis of artifacts in the field - hand-held XRF (X-ray fluorescence) for shipwrecks.

http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/applications/handheld-shipwreck/

I took a look at a couple beaches this morning and saw what I expected to see - building beach fronts.  The South winds have been depositing a lot of sand and shells on the beach fronts around the Treasure Coast. Despite the 1 - 2 foot seas, the surf was breaking nicely in some places to create decent surfing.

Tomorrow the seas will be in that range again, increasing a little early next week - maybe up to five feet later in the week. 

Nothing very interesting going on in the Atlantic.


I hope you didn't annoy too many people on Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net