5/5/20 Report - Molasses Reef Wreck. Maravedi Cove. Archaeologists and Treasure Hunters.

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

One of the oldest, if not the oldest, shipwreck ever discovered in the New World is the Molasses Reef wreck. In fact it is thought by some to be one of Columbus' ships. The identify however remains uncertain.

I think you'll enjoy reading about it and some of the story connected with its discovery and excavation, which I found on the Turks and Caicos Museum web site.


About 1513, on a reef located on the southern fringe of the Caicos Bank some 20 miles south of the island of Providenciales, a ship sank.

This ship, known only as the Molasses Reef Wreck, is the oldest European shipwreck excavated in the Western Hemisphere. The Museum’s first floor is dedicated to what archaeologists, scientists, and historians have discovered about this wreck.

For over 450 years, the wreck sat on the reef apparently undisturbed after its loss. In the mid-1970s, a pair of treasure hunters discovered it. Through their rudimentary knowledge of ordnance, they concluded that the wreck was not the usual galleon wreck sought by treasure hunters, but an earlier vessel from the late 1490s or early 1500s.

Based on this information, they leaped to the conclusion they had discovered the wreck of Columbus’ ship La Pinta, a wreck whose fame was worth more than any treasure cargo. This unfounded claim, however, backfired on the treasure hunters. The Turks and Caicos Islands Government recognized that the wreck, Pinta or not, was one of the oldest wrecks ever found in the Western Hemisphere and took over management of the site on the basis of legislation passed in 1974...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://www.tcmuseum.org/projects/molasses-reef-shipwreck/

A related article follows.

“Divers find oldest shipwreck in the Caribbean . . . and treasure that could be worth MILLIONS” screamed the headline in the Daily Mail on April 29, 2011. Nicknamed the “Precioso site” by the American treasure hunters working it, the shipwreck is located off the east coast of the Dominican Republic. This caught my attention immediately because for the last 30 years the Spanish shipwreck we excavated off Molasses Reef in the Caicos Islands has been recognized as the oldest ever found in the entire Western Hemisphere.

I read on, eagerly, curious to know how they dated the wreck and what was on it. By the reference to “700 silver coins” in the third sentence I was already suspicious. The presence of coins meant the ship went down some time after the Mexico City mint was established in 1536. By the end of the article I knew that the Molasses Reef Wreck’s title was still safe. The “Precioso” went down decades later, probably after the middle of the 1500s based on the dateable coins. Furthermore, the remains of the ship seemed to be widely scattered and already picked over by local divers.

The story brought back memories of the way the Molasses Reef Wreck burst on the global media scene in 1980, complete with similar hyperbole and outlandish claims made by Caribbean Ventures, the treasure hunting group that announced the find. They claimed it was one of the three ships Columbus used on his first voyage to the New World, La Pinta, and that it sank in 1498 loaded with a cargo of “red pearls” worth $100,000,000!

A visitor quietly perusing the Molasses Reef Wreck exhibit in the Turks and Caicos National Museum today would never imagine the dramatic struggle between treasure hunters and archaeologists that preceded the site’s excavation, or appreciate the fact that if the archaeologists had lost the fight there would be no Molasses Reef Wreck exhibit or, for that matter, Turks and Caicos National Museum!...

And here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://www.timespub.tc/2011/10/the-oldest-shipwreck-a-cautionary-tale/


You might remember my discussion of the Discovery Channel TV show, "Cooper's Treasure," starring Darrell Cooper.  While the above article mentions Roger Cooper's attempt to get salvage rights for the Molasses Reef Wreck, from the point of view of an archaeologist, the following article talks about his activities from another slant.

Here is a brief excerpt.

And here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://justrichest.com/roger-miklos-biography-death-net-worth/

That is a different perspective than the one given by the archaeologist.  Which is more true?  Or are both off in their own way?

You might also enjoy reading about Maravedi Cove, which is related to the Molasses Reef wreck.

It begins..

In the early 1980s, Grand Turk dive operator Mike Spillar was cruising around the islands, diving with some friends. After a dive on the west coast of West Caicos, the group motored to shore, hoping to find a place to land. But that side of the island, unprotected by a fringing reef and often scourged by the full force of the sea, offers no beach, only the ragged, eroded limestone formations called ironshore. Not willing to risk the dingy, they were about to turn back when they spotted a natural cove large enough to enter and tie up in protected waters.

Once on shore, they were delighted to discover pools of fresh water that had accumulated in natural basins in the rock. The shallow pools were tepid, but fresh and inviting. Mike stretched out in one to rinse off. Then, in water only a few inches deep, something caught his eye. It was a small, irregularly-shaped piece of metal, hardly worth a second glance. Mike had recently participated in the excavation of a shipwreck on Molasses Reef only a few miles to the east. Maybe it was that experience, maybe it was just dumb luck, but an inner voice told Mike that the little piece of metal might be important. So he put it in his pocket...

And here is the link for the rest of that story.

https://www.tcmuseum.org/projects/maravedi-cove/

That is a lot of good reading for today.

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I'd like to get to the beach today but have something else I need to do, so probably won't.

Anyhow it should be a beautiful day with calm surf.


May you be free of the oppressive spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7) that is so prevalent today.  The effects can be devastating, ranging from ulcers to war.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/1/20 Report - The After-Hunt. Monitoring the Cleaning of a Cob. Not a Heart Cob. Looking At a Mystery Item. Tobacco Comes To Europe.

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

Partially Cleaned Surface of Four-Reale Found on Treasure Coast Beach on 1/22/20

I'm going to focus on the after-hunt today.   The purpose of the "hunt" is to find objects, but after a successful hunt there is the "after-hunt," which has the purpose of learning more about the found objects.  The after-hunt often involves cleaning the object so that it can be better inspected.

The four-reale shown below was cleaned with a diluted solution of Muriatic acid.  I showed the pictures of that four-reale before, but you can see it as it was found compared to how it looked after a couple hours of cleaning.  One thing that was revealed by the initial cleaning is the Arabic numeral "4" to the right of the shield, which indicates the denomination of the cob.

Four Reale as Originally Found and After a Couple Hours in Muriatic Acid.

I cleaned it a little more in since then - maybe just an additional hour or so - and was thinking about how much more I wanted to clean it.  I don't usually clean reales to the point that they look shiny new.

I was thinking about how much more cleaning I would do when I decided to take a good look at the surface to see how much foreign material remained on the surface.  I looked at it under magnification, and saw there was still a good bit of foreign material on the surface (See picture at top of post.).  I didn't see that with the naked eye.  The picture shows quite a bit of encrustation remaining. I think you can see that very well in the photo.

I also noticed that when a small bright light made the cob sparkle when the light was shined parallel to the surface.  (I didn't see it sparkle when the light was shined down on the cob.)  I don't think it will sparkle like that when all of the remaining silica is removed.  That might be another way you can tell there if the surface is clean.

I'm glad I looked at this cob under magnification, and will use magnification to check the progress of any cob I'm cleaning in the future.

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Here is another photo of the same cob.  Does it look to you like the cross is debossed or embossed? 

Another View of the Same Coin showing Foreign Material To Be Removed.

For me it changes.  Sometimes it looks debossed and sometimes embossed.

The light is coming from the bottom of the photo, which is why the bottom edge of the cross is lighted and the top edge is in the shadow.

That is an interesting illustration of visual perception.

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Since one of my main topics today is the after-hunt, here is another example.  GC sent me this photo of an encrusted object and asked for thoughts about it.  I posted the object, but didn't get much input.  It is a tough one, but here it is again.

Encrusted Object Found and Photographed by GC.

Just to remind you, here is a little of GC's description.

Not at all magnetic. Checked again at home with stronger magnet. Nope. When I tried, perhaps too vigorously, to chip off some of the encrusted material it broke, pretty much in half. The inside material appeared to be carbon, maybe charcoal like substance, in all appearances. and properties.

If we stick with the "flask" idea that CG also mentioned in his email and combine that with the carbon or charcoal like substance inside, we might think of a powder flask.  Below are some examples.

Squares are one inch.

Those are in the approximate size range, might be expected to hold powder, but it seems they are not the right shape.

Treasure hunters think of pirates, galleons, swords and romantic swash-buckling types of thing, so weapons and weapon-related objects are among the first to be considered, but we must remember that there is a much wider range of possibilities for an unidentified object.  People must be involved in a wide range of activities, including the mundane.  They had to eat and drink and be involved in the mundane and ordinary activities of life as well as those more romantic things which we tend to think of first.

Containers would be used for a lot of different kinds of things, such as medicines or cures, habits, cosmetics, kitchen or food related, such as spice containers, etc.

Tobacco was first introduced to Europeans in 1492 when Columbus landed in the Americas. Columbus wrote in his diary, on October 15th, 1492, that he observed an Indian sailing in a canoe with water, food, and tobacco leaves.² Use of tobacco spread rapidly among the Spanish colonists and in 1531 its cultivation began in Santo Domingo. In 1526 Gonzalo Ferdandez de Oveido y Valdez noted that his fellow Spaniards were turned into drunks by tobacco. Bartolome de las Casas observed the following year that the colonists were developing a strong dependence on it and that it was hard to give up... 

The 17th century saw the organization of the tobacco trade and the implementation of new laws regulating the sale of tobacco. In 1614 Spain proclaimed Seville the tobacco capital of the world. All tobacco produced for sale in New Spain had to first go through Seville before moving on to the rest of Europe...

(See https://www.lib.umn.edu/bell/tradeproducts/tobacco)

Here are some examples of old tobacco boxes, which as you see are made of various metals, including brass, steel and silver.

This object presents a very daunting task.  There is little data, certainly nothing like definitive marks or engraving.  Our minds provide another important limitation.  We tend to only consider a very limited range of possibilities.  Yet, there are clues.  In this case, the small size of the object helps us narrow it down a lot but we are still left with just a few clues and a range of possibilities, some of which I'm sure haven't been mentioned yet.  One step that I would consider is an analysis of the substance.  Can it be determined to be tobacco, gun powder, or something else?

The after-hunt can be just as fun, challenging and rewarding as the hunt.

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The other day I posted a photo of a half reale that was found on the 22nd of January.  It had a nice little curly tail and a remarkably centered and perfectly oriented cross.  I considered the possibility that it could have been created as a "heart cob", but after having researched it and considered how commonly Mexico half reales have that type of little tail along with the fact that there are no recognized Mexico heart reales, have for all practical purposes abandoned the idea that it might be a Mexico "heart reale."

---

I hope to discuss the mystery object I showed yesterday some more in the near future.

I also plan to discuss some other topics such as long-term and short-term changes in beach conditions.

Happy Super Bowl Day,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/29/20 Report - Spikes Found. Diving Neanderthals. Columbus and Caribs. Searchable Database.

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

Spikes Found Early Last Week.

Here are some spikes I found last week.

Shipwreck spikes?   Nope.

They are railroad spikes.s

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Neanderthals went diving for shells to turn into tools, according to new research, suggesting our big-browed cousins made more use of the sea than previously thought.

The study focuses on 171 shell tools that were found in a now inaccessible coastal cave in central Italy, known as the Grotta dei Moscerini, which was excavated in 1949. Dating of animal teeth found within layers alongside the shell tools suggest they are from about 90,000 to 100,000 years ago – a time when only Neanderthals are thought to have been present in western Europe.

The tools had previously been thought to have been formed from shells collected by Neanderthals from the beach where they had been tossed by waves. But now experts have peered at the shell tools through microscopes, revealing many do not show the wear and tear that would be expected from such a fate, such as the presence of barnacles or marks on the shells...

Here is the link for more of that article.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/15/neanderthals-dived-for-shells-to-make-tools-research-suggests

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Christopher Columbus’ accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men – stories long dismissed as myths.

But a new study suggests Columbus may have been telling the truth.

Using the equivalent of facial recognition technology, researchers analyzed the skulls of early Caribbean inhabitants, uncovering relationships between people groups and upending longstanding hypotheses about how the islands were first colonized.

One surprising finding was that the Caribs, marauders from South America and rumored cannibals, invaded Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Bahamas, overturning half a century of assumptions that they never made it farther north than Guadeloupe.

“I’ve spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right: There were Caribs in the northern Caribbean when he arrived,” said William Keagan, Florida Museum of Natural History curator of Caribbean archaeology.  “We’re going to have to reinterpret everything we thought we knew.”

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/carib-skulls-boost-credibility-of-columbus-cannibal-claims/

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I started talking about Kang Hsi porcelain and other pottery and then got off on some other things, but you might find the following web site helpful if you pick up shards.

It is the Florida Museum of Natural History pottery database.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/flarch/blog/new-searchable-guide-to-florida-pottery/

---

I thought that blog Followers might get notice of new posts, but someone said he didn't think so. 

I have some topics that I need to address, but they'll have to wait until some other time because they are fairly complex and it will take me a while to get them put together.

For now,
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/17/19 Report - Two Hoards. Columbus Landing. 17th Century St. Augustine Shrine.

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

Ancient Coin Cache Found.
Photo by Denis Glicksman

A HOARD OF EXCEPTIONAL COINS FROM THE END OF THE XVTH CENTURY DISCOVERED IN DIJON

During an archaeological diagnostic in the center of Dijon, near the old abbey of Saint-Bénigne, an Inrap team has brought to light a coin hoard of about thirty gold and silver pieces from the second half of the XVth century, coming from Italy and the Holy Roman Empire states. This hoard, of great numismatic interest, bears the likeness of a catalog of portraits of all the great princes from the end of the Middle Ages.

Here is that link.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientCoins/comments/bv4cbz/the_archaeologists_of_dijon_france_have_just/

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Depiction of Christopher Columbus Landing.

Source: SpiritDailyBlog.  See link below.

Columbus day, which has traditionally been celebrated in the United States and other countries on-Oct. 12, in today's super-divisive hyper-political world, instead of a day of pride has become an opportunity to hold up and celebrate the uniquely egregious sins of Caucasian Christians.

For Christopher Columbus was not only a devout Catholic, but — like other explorers who would follow in his wake — a missionary. He considered the evangelization of the New World his primary goal...

Here is a link to an article about the religious feelings and motives of Christopher Columbus.
https://spiritdailyblog.com/commentary/hidden-history-columbus-amazing-catholicism

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St. Augustine, Fla., Oct 15, 2019 / 03:01 am (DNA)..- Bishop Felipe Estévez of St. Augustine announced Friday that the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche has been elevated as a National Shrine by the US bishops' conference.

The Shrine is located at the Nombre de Dios mission in St. Augustine, founded in 1587. According to the Diocese of St. Augustine, it is America's oldest Marian shrine... 

Here is that link.


https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/historic-marian-shrine-in-florida-elevated-to-national-shrine-54052

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Found Contents of a Bronze Age "Tool Kit."

Bronze Age Europe was a violent place. But only recently have scientists uncovered the scope of the violence, at a 3000-year-old site in northern Germany where thousands of well-armed young men fought with sophisticated weapons in in what appears to be an epic battle. Now, a bagful of bronze artifacts and tools found at the bottom of the river in the middle of the battlefield suggests some of these warriors traveled from hundreds of kilometers away to fight. That suggests northern European societies were organized on such a large scale that leaders could call warriors to distant battlefields, long before modern communication systems and roads.

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/10/3000-year-old-toolkit-suggests-skilled-warriors-crossed-europe-fight-epic-battle

Thanks to Douglas for that link.

---

Source: National Hurricane Center.

As you can see from the map, there is a system in the Gulf that is expected to become a cyclone in the next forty-eight hours.

If that one affects us at all, it won't be before several days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/22/19 Report - Google Maps and Changing Landscapes. Lunar Eclipse. Columbus Verboten. Bigger Surf.

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

Eclipse As Seen From Treasure Coast

and Captured by Alberto S.

I missed the eclipse, but Alberto sent me the beautiful images that he captured.  He said the last image was from about 12:10 AM.  He said it felt like it was freezing outside.

Great images Alberto!  Thanks!

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I've talked a lot about using old maps and the benefits of knowing the history of a place.  I'm amazed how seldom people reference old maps to check out shoreline and other topological changes.  Targets that were once on land might now be either in the water or more deeply buried under sand that has accumulated.

Recently I was talking about the advantage of having personal knowledge of changing landscapes.  Now it is possible to get GPS positions and compare those to images to see how things have changed.

Here is one example of what I was talking about yesterday.  The satellite map is from Google Maps.  It shows some of the changes I mentioned yesterday and illustrates how having a knowledge of the past can help you locate old treasures.

A View of An Area That I Was Very Familiar With Back a Few Decades Ago.

This area has changed a lot since the 1950s.  Where you see the bull-dozed dirt, there was an old barn (big rectangle) and a corn crib (little rectangle beside it).  

The house across the road with two cars out front was a small wash house, where several young local families got their start with housekeeping before getting their own house.  The rectangle behind that, was an outhouse, that later was filled with great old cork-top bottles, many with paper labels.

Across the road from that was a small dump in a little ravine by the current telephone poll.

The two blue arrows point to the winding creek where we threw bottles and shot them with BB guns.  Funny how toxic masculinity was fostered back when there was so much less crime.

Across the creek were no buildings or roads up until more recent decades.

The good old dump is the area indicated by a circled X.  It is right across the road from a three story farm house.

There is much more that I could show on this and neighboring maps, but that is enough of an illustration for now.  There were locations where arrow heads were routinely found and many other things.

I think you can see how knowing the history of the place would be a huge advantage for a detectorist.  There are many good detecting sites that would not be apparent to those who don't know the history of the place.

Although I haven't been able to spend much time, I have had a few short hunts there and quickly dug up some of the old metal toys that I played with as a child as well as some silver coins around the old ball field that is now hidden by weeds and trees, so I know those things are still there if only I was there and had the time to work them.

The same thing applies to the beaches.  I was not raised on the Treasure Coast, but I have been here long enough to observe some of the changes.

Here, for example, is the Blind Creek area.  The access road to the south of the lake has been closed for some time.  There was a parking lot where I drew the blue rectangle.  It washed over in the 2001 storms and kept filling in.  I think they eventually gave up on keeping it open.   Anyhow it has been closed now for quite a while.

Blind Creek Area As Seen With Google Maps.

Where you see the blue semi-circle, the beach was eroded back close to the lake.  Just a little more erosion and it could have opened to the ocean.  I don't doubt that it was at some time an inlet, although I don't know that for sure.

There is a lot more to know about just that little area, for example the Native American habitations, or where the WW II observation tower was, or the WW II dump to the south.  You can still find evidence of all of those today

Landscapes change and beaches change.  Some changes are rapid and permanent.  Knowing about those changes can help the detectorist in many ways.

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SOUTH BEND, Indiana - The University of Notre Dame will cover murals in a campus building that depict Christopher Columbus in America, the school’s president said, following criticism that the images depict Native Americans in stereotypical submissive poses before white European explorers...

Here is that link.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/01/22/notre-dame-to-cover-up-murals-of-columbus-in-the-new-world/

I have so much to say about that but I won't.  It is just too much.

---

Google Maps and similar web sites provide a convenient method for checking out sites that you haven't been to for a while or comparing to older maps.

The wind is out of the east at about 15 to 20 mph this morning.

I hope to get a chance to look at the beach some time today.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The tides are still nice and big.

Looks like the Treasure Coast surf will be a bit bigger tomorrow, but the wind will shift to the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/11/18 Report - Florida Panhandle Area Shipwreck Survey Report. Mission Nombre de Dios. Columbus' Map. FBI Hunts Treasure?

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

As you know by now, the portions of the Florida Panhandle got hit hard by Hurricane Michael.  I have not doubt that some old things will be uncovered up around Alligator Point and Dog Island, where nice old Spanish coins have been found before.

If you want to become a little more familiar with the shipwrecks of the area, here is a link to a lengthy and  detailed archaeological report.

You will find a lot of interesting information in that report.

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In the 1950s, Father Charles Spellman, a priest and archaeologist in St. Augustine, made a historic discovery at the Mission Nombre de Dios.

Spellman uncovered the remnants of what is thought to be the first stone building and shrine dedicated to Our Lady of La Leche, a building believed to have been constructed in 1677. He discovered artifacts and made a map of the site, but he never shared his discovery with the archaeological community...

Archaeologists have rediscovered the site and will be trying to learn more about it.  Here is the link.

http://www.staugustine.com/news/20181009/mysterious-17th-century-building-being-uncovered-at-mission

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Dean R. and SuperRick sent links to this story.

The father-son duo spent years combing this bit of Pennyslvania wilderness with high-end metal detectors, drills and other tools to prospect for a fabled cache of Civil War gold. They felt certain they'd discovered the hiding place of the long-lost booty, leading the FBI to the mountainous, heavily wooded area last March.

Now, at the end of the court-sanctioned excavation, the FBI escorted the treasure hunters to the snow-covered site and asked them what they saw. They gazed at the pit. Not so much as a glimmer of gold dust, let alone the tons of precious metal they said an FBI contractor's instruments had detected.

"We were embarrassed," Dennis Parada told The Associated Press in his first interview since the well-publicized dig last winter. "They walk us in, and they make us look like dummies. Like we messed up."

Since that day, however, neighbors' accounts of late-night excavation and FBI convoys have fueled suspicions that the agency isn't telling the whole truth. The Paradas are challenging the FBI's account of the dig, insisting that something had to have been buried in the woods near Dents Run, about 135 miles (220 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh..

Here is the link.


https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/09/treasure-hunters-challenge-the-fbi-over-a-dig-for-legendary-gold.html

A lot of questions to consider in this one.

---

Here is an article about the map Columbus might have used.


https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture-exploration/2018/10/columbus-map-discovery-secrets-new-world/

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Well, Michael has left Florida but continues to cause problems.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

On the Treasure Coast the surf is down around two feet now, but the tides are still high.

Remember those in the Panhandle.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/12/15 Report - 100th Anniversary of One World-Famous Vero Find. The Religion Of Christopher Columbus.

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


You undoubtedly already know that this is the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Fleet disaster, but did you know that this is the 100th anniversary of a world-famous land-based discovery made within the boundaries of  Indian River County?

In 1915 human bones associated with mammal fossils from the Pleistocene were found in the banks of a canal.  Some think those bones, along with other finds at the same site, show that humans were in Florida much earlier than previously thought possible. 

Here is one paragraph from the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee web site.

Today, the conventional view has it that humans began the trek, on foot or by boat, to North America around 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. This is in part due to the Old Vero Man Site finds.  Newer DNA testing is even suggesting a much earlier migration by at least another 10,000 years. This would easily allow for humans in Florida 14,000 years ago. However the controversy on how old the "Vero Man" was does remain. Carbon dating, as a technology, was not available before the 1950’s. The original bones are listed as missing in 1945 while in transit from the Florida Geological Survey in Tallahassee to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. We need new artifacts to test.

So the conventional view is that the indigenous populations are of European descent too.  They just beat Columbus by thousands of years.

It seems that the government has a long history of losing important artifacts.  

You can visit the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee web site by using the following link.

http://www.oviasc.org/Old-Vero-Man-Site-History--Old-Vero-Ice-Age-Sites-Commitee--preserving-and-appropriately-excavating-important-Ice-Age-archaeological-and-paleontological-sites-in-Vero-Beach-and-Indian-River-County.html

Ales Hrdlicka authored a paper that was published as Bulletin 66 of the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology.    The title is Recent Discoveries Attributed to Early Man in America. It was published in 1918.

Below is a photo of the Vero man site as published in that bulletin.  Notice the two arrows pointing to the location of human bone finds.

Below is another illustration from the bulletin.

This is not the only illustration showing the stratigraphy of the site and the location of various finds.

Notice how the several bones were discovered on the boundary between the second and third layer.  It is not unusual to make finds on the beach that are on top of a lower layer.  There are similarities between layers found at inland sites and on a beach.  The main difference is that the top layers on a beach are displaced much more frequently.

The mystery of Vero Man is yet to be resolved to the satisfaction of many.  Evidence is being collected and you can be a part of the project.  Volunteer opportunities will be available in 2016.  You can also tour the site or visit displays.  You can learn more about that at the OVIAC web site.

You can read the entire Smithsonian Bulletin 66 online.  Only part of it concerns the Vero site, but I think you'll find it very interesting.

It can be found through books.google.com.

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Columbus is a controversial figure to some.  With Columbus day coming tomorrow, below is an excerpt from an article that you might want to read.

I believe that there are two keys to understanding Columbus:  his Catholic faith and his courage. Columbus lived in a religious age, but even in his time he was noted for the fervor of his faith. Masses, penances, pilgrimages, retreats, the reading of the Bible, all the aspects of devotion that the Catholic faith offered, Columbus engaged in these things all of his life. Any ship he commanded was scrupulous in religious observances, with the Salve Regina being chanted by the crew each evening at Vespers. As his son Ferdinand noted:   “He was so strict in matters of religion that for fasting and saying prayers he might have been taken for a member of a religious order.”

Here is the link.

http://www.catholicstand.com/columbus-catholicism-courage/

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On the Treasure Coast we're supposed to have a few days of one-foot surf.  Then out about a week in the future, the prediction is for up to nine feet.  

I'd give that about a 1 percent chance of actually happening, but it would be nice to get a big surf like that, especially if we could get some north/northeast winds at the same time.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/8/12 Report - Columbus, First Contact Spanish Candlestick Holder & More

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

16th Century Brass Candlestick Holder.

Here is a 16th Century brass candlestick holder, which is one of two similar contact period candlestick holders found in Alabama.  It is about six inches across at the base and about five and one half inches high.

Some think it could be  from the de Soto or de Luna expeditions.

Here is the link for more information.
 
http://www.archeologyink.com/Candlestick.htm

Web article published by Curren and Newby, 2001.





In a recent email the Mel Fisher organization said  The Magruder crew found 5 silver coins last week, along with a large amount of shipwreck debris.   ...we think the rest of the Atocha sterncastle can’t be far away.


Here is an article that provides a lot of information about Christopher Columbus and his voyages that you might not know.   If you liked Laura Strolia's comments about the Pelican in Piety that I recently posted, I know you will like this article about Christopher Columbus.   Timely too!

http://ministryvalues.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1715&Itemid=214


 WARNING:  I have a correction on the following.  It seems I picked a poor example.  Fred D., the fossil expert that often gives me expert information, says you should never mount a fossil with any adhesive.  I'm sure he is right.  In fact, if you have any valuable artifacts, get a professional opinion before using the following.

A couple of days ago I posted some information about using clear spray paints to help preserve artifacts.  Once you have nicely preserved artifacts, you might want to display them.

Mounting Material

One good way to mount artifacts is to use a the white tacky material that you can buy to mount pictures and other things.   You can buy it at stores such as Staples.

This is what it looks like.  Break off a small amount, work it in your fingers until it becomes good and sticky, then apply it to the surface and then press on your artifact.

I've used this material to mount a door bell button on a screen door frame outdoors and it has remained firmly in place for two years now with no problem.

Experiment a little before using the material on valued items.  I wouldn't recommend it for coins.

Here is a photo showing a fossil horse tooth mounted on a nice piece of wood.  Just one example.   For this illustration I used a small piece of the mounting material about the diameter of a dime.

Fossil Mounted on Wood.

I think you can see from this example how easy it would be to create a nice display for an artifact.  Cut the wood to size, and add a nice label, and you're done.  Or use a shadow box.

You can mount almost anything with this stuff if the item  is not too big and heavy and the surface is good.  When mounting heavier items, use a larger piece of the mounting material.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

There is still a low pressure area hanging over the southeast Bahamas, and although it hasn't formed anymore yet, could eventually affect us.

A second low pressure area has formed farther out in the Atlantic too far away to say much about at this point.

The seas will run around 1 - 2 to feet today on the Treasure Coast.  It will get a little rougher over the next few days, but only increasing to 3 - 5 feet.

Low tide will be about 9 PM today.


Happy Columbus Day,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net