Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Artifacts Found Under Floor Source: See link below. |
Conservation work to repair marble floor tiles in the Marble Hall of Petworth House has revealed some treasures from the past including half a clay pipe. Other finds include hand-made iron nails, an iron clasp, an oyster shell, glass, a shard of pottery, and part of a corroded lead window frame...
Here is the link for more.
http://www.midhurstandpetworth.co.uk/news/treasures-from-the-past-found-under-petworth-house-marble-floor-1-7847759
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The other night I was sitting on my couch and working on a laptop when I looked up and saw a gold reflection glowing on the other side of the room. A clear plastic cover on a book was reflecting the lamp light. It looked very much like the "shiny gold thing" seen by a camera lowered in one of the holes being explored on the Oak Island TV program. Did they notice that all of the light in the murky water looked gold? I'd be very surprised if that gold reflection was reflected by a gold object. I saw one episode where they thought the gold thing disappeared - they thought maybe it fell into the sediment at the bottom of the hole. I'm not surprised at all by its disappearance. All you would have to do is change the angle of the light. I'd would not be surprised if the gold thing they saw is not gold at all.
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Yesterday I switched detectors for a short while. I switched to a discriminating detector that gives a "coin tone" for coins. I decided for a few minutes to only dig the "coin tone" signals. The detector worked the way it should. It was remarkably easy and effective. The few targets I dug during that time were coins. I skipped all the junk (and possibly something really great.) Sounds good, but I didn't feel right about it. I felt like I was littering. I was leaving the junk. I could hear the junk. I knew it was there. And for the time being, I ignored it. No, I didn't bring the junk and dump it on the ground, but at that moment I felt like it was the same thing.
If I am going to detect a site again, I don't want to see the same junk time after time. That is a selfish reason I don't like to leave all the junk. I'd prefer to detect beaches that aren't covered with junk, and if you pick up some of the junk every time you are at a site you'll eventually have a clean site to detect.
You don't have to pick it all up at once. You probably couldn't if you wanted to.
I'm basically a "dig it all" kind of guy. Too many of my all time favorite finds have been things that don't ID as anything good. I know that it is sometimes not the most effective or efficient strategy in the short term. I also know that some people don't have the patience, and others might not have the strength or endurance to do anything other than cherry pick the easy finds. I don't judge them for that.
If you look at metal detecting as being competitive, you might want to leave all the junk you can for the next guy. I can see how some might think that is good strategy. That is just not my style.
The metal detectorist's code of ethics includes filling all holes and properly disposing of junk. It is not always easy or convenient, but most people fill their holes. It seems to me that removing trash should be just as widely accepted.
I know I probably won't convince many people or affect their behavior, but that is the way I see it.
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Here are some good references sent in by Darrel S.
Texas A&M University Press
800-826-8911
Ed Rachal Foundation
Nautical Archaeology Series
Wooden Ship Building
And Interpretation of Shipwrecks
J. Richard Steffy
978 1 60344 520 7
$60.00 Paper
Ship Fastenings
Michael McCarthy
978158444519
$65.00 Cloth
The Philosophy of Shipbuilding
Frederick M. Hocker
9781585443130
$75.00 cloth
La Belle - The Archaeology of a 17th Century Vessel of New World Colonization
James Bruseth, Amy Borgens, Bradford Jones, Eric Ray, eds.
9781623493615
$95.00 hardcover
Ships from the Depths
Deepwater Archaeology
Frederik Sorcide
Thanks Darrel.
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We're going to be back to a two or one foot surf before long.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
