12/17/17 Report - Clumps, Conglomerates and Encrusted Objects and Some Tips on Cleaning.

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

Bottle Attached To Conglomerate

The most unusual conglomerate I ever found was the one shown above.  A modern soda bottle was firmly attached to the clump.  What caused it to adhere so firmly is not clear to me.  It is a good example of how various types of objects and materials can get stuck together.

In the past I've shown a variety of conglomerates containing a variety of objects.  One of he best is the one shown below from the Wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge.

Source: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
Appearing in Popular Archaeology
( http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/12012013/article/raising-pirates )

I recently showed a couple of bolts found by Darrel S, that had a half reale attached.  That one can be found in my 12/6/17  post.

Wish we had a picture of Clint's 1984 find.  That would be amazing.

John C. sent the following photo of a clump with void left by a dissolved spike or something.

Crust Around Void Probably Created by Dissolved Iron Spike.
Find and phioto by John C

Encrusted objects are for me can be both interesting and frustrating.  They can be mysteries and can present problems.  They can provide pleasant surprises.  You never know what might be hidden by the crust.  It can be difficult to figure out how to treat them.  Archaeologists can use x-rays to get an image of what might be inside, but, of course, we don't usually have that.

When the original object has dissolved, leaving a void, you can get an idea of the shape of the original object even if the object no longer exists. When the object or objects remain within the crust, the problem is removing the object without damaging it.

Darrel sent the following picture of an object in an electrolysis tank.

Object in Electrolysis Tank.
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

My tank isn't nearly as nice.  For a small spike I was using an old ice cream container (below).  Looks like it was time to change the water.

Making Rust Soup.

Darrel wrote up the following instructions for cleaning encrusted objects.


Simple way of cleaning encrusted objects.

You will need gloves, eye goggles, container large enough to put EOs in, distilled water, pliers, and muratic acid.

Place EOs in distilled water to rinse salt water and allow minerals to escape.

Allow EOs to dry and place in empty dry container.

Put gloves and eye goggles on and pour acid slowly into container. Be sure objects are totally submerged.

Use channel locks or pliers to grab objects out of acid. Check time to time. Some objects may take a day or more. Some only hours.

Once completely dissolved, rinse with water and then allow to dry.

Object may revert back to rust color due to lack of electrolysis process (professional way of preserving.)

If you want to keep the object, soaking in Osthmo will preserve for a while.

Once you practice and perfect this process, you will enjoy finding EOs, knowing you can clean them.

REMEMBER,  Always add acid to water, NOT water to acid..  

Darrel also has a long process for restoring iron objects. He says, "Iron's natural state is grayish silver. The black color comes from oxidation. Some of my objects took up to a year or more."

Below are some objects restored to gray.

Iron Objects Restored to Gray Color
Photo by Darrel S.

I'm going to quit there for now.   As I recently explained, I can only do so much in a blog post.  We've only barely touched on the subject, but I hope that helps get you started in the right direction.  Check out related posts and other resources that I've provided throughout the years.

How far you want to restore an item is a matter of personal preference.

One additional thing I will say is if you do electrolysis or otherwise clean an iron object, it is still iron and will rust again if you are not careful.  You might choose to coat it to prevent that.

I better wrap this up.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net