11/1/19 Report - Variety of Dug Spikes and Some Thoughts On Why and How They Are So Often Broken. Higher Surf Today.

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

Broken End of Bronze Spike

The discussions of Troy's find made me wonder about broken spikes.  I started to look at the ends of some broken spikes to see what the ends looked like.   And then I started to wonder why so many of the spikes we find are broken.

Like I said yesterday, I couldn't find the specific examples I wanted but had plenty of others.   Here is a broken bronze spike.  As you can see, the broken end is just a little irregular.  I don't know how much it got smoothed down by the years in the surf, if much at all.

Below is the other end.  It appears that is the head. although there is not much of one.

Head End of Broken Bronze Spike.

Broken iron spikes appear sharper, although they are often encrusted and some of that roughness might be created by electrolysis or cleaning.

Uncleaned Encrusted Iron Spike.

It seems to me that iron spikes are often heavily encrusted - more than bronze spikes.  I found the one above when looking for a similar one that I already cleaned.

Double-Clinched Spike and Broken Iron Spike.

The iron spike on the right in the photo above is a broken iron spike that has already been cleaned.  You can see how sharp the break is.

Bronze is stronger than simple iron, but weaker than carburized iron.

It is amazing to me that so many spikes break like that.

Here is a bronze rod that broke in two places.

Opposite Ends of Spike Broken Twice.

One end of the broken bronze rod shown immediately above is very smooth while the other end is more irregular - more like I would rightly or wrongly expect.  The end shown on the left is kind of scooped out.

Bronze is more dense and brittle than iron, and iron is more easily bent.  It also melts easily in a pot over a fire, so it might get smoothed out by any burning after a wreck.

Here is the photo of spikes found by Jerry P. that I showed yesterday.

Variety of Spikes Found by Jerry P.

In the above photo you will see broken spikes that appear to be very much like the one I just posted.

In the top left grouping, you see three that appear to be broken at nearly the same length.

Shipwreck spikes can either go completely through or the end can be hidden in the wood.  Those that go through are often clenched over.

While often appearing on the boat or ship as ‘straight nails’ to finish with their ends ‘short’ or ‘blind’ within or beneath timbers; large nails—that pass ‘straight’ through frames and strakes—can be found with the projecting end bent once, to become ‘turned nails’ (single-clenched) or twice to become nails that are ‘hooked’ (double-clenched), back into the timbers. Sometimes nails are hooked over quadrilateral washers called roves. They also appear in the lapstrake or clinker form, though this tradition exhibited a once unique form of clenched fastening, the lapstrake rivet. This was a nail with its projecting end nipped off after it passed through the strakes, to be peened or deformed over a rove.*  

*(See http://www.maritimearchaeology.com/information/reference/fastenings/)

Back to my original question, "Why are so many dug shipwreck spikes broken and how does it happen?"

Notice the two-piece bent spike in the upper left of the illustration of Jerry P's spikes.  That might provide a clue to one way spikes get broken.

I made a little illustration using Jerry's photo.

How Spike Can Get Bent When Two Beams Pulling Apart

The illustration above shows how I think a spike might get bent and broken by beams pulling apart either during wrecking or salvage.

I think the most likely breaking point is at the bottom of the straight segment.  It might break there either when the beams pull apart or later after being exposed.

Below is another image of a bent broken spike.

Bent Broken Spike.

Here is another way I think spikes might get broken.  Some spikes are clinched spikes.  They are bent over where the point protrudes from the wood.  I think a clinched spike might tend to break where it was bent over, perhaps when the bottom piece of wood gets pulled away.

Some spikes are doubled clinched.  I showed one of those above.  That one did not break at the bend, but the head was pulled through instead.

If you look at the double clinched spike, it looks like a weak point has been formed at the end of the vertical straight segment.  It looks like it could easily break there.


Here are some excellent thoughts on the subject by Joe D.


I am guessing that spikes could break, and bend for several reasons!

#1- Ships wrecked, and breaking up!

#2- Removal for salvage by sailors or Indians, twisting the boards apart on shore!

#3- Heating from ship's fire or, being worked!


Troy's item could have been repurposed after breakage, or just "sea polished" after years in the ocean! The few spikes i have are from an 1800's wreck aren't quite as smooth as his!

All conjecture of course!

Thanks Joe.

If you have an additional thoughts on how and why so many spikes get broken, let me know.

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The National Hurricane Center map is showing a little activity.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Could we get aThanksgiving storm like the legendary storm of 1984.  Some chance, but very slim.

Today we should see a higher surf and the wind coming from the north for a short time.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The tides will be decent too.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/31/19 Report - A Variety of Nice Finds From Brevard and Indian River County. More on Spikes. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Items Found At Radar Site at Melborne Beach by TM

Photo by TM.

I received an email from TM and photos of some of his finds that came from Brevard and Indian River Counties.


I’ve been detecting the south Brevard and north Indian River county beaches for about a year and a half now.

Found many items and try to clean my share of trash up.

Just thought I’d share a few things. 

Also I really enjoy the treasure beaches report.

TM's finds included those in the photo above and the four following photos.  Each is labeled with the location of the find.  Really a nice and varied group, including some really great finds.

Ring Found North of Bonsteel Beach.

Bracelet Recently Found Near Seagrape Beach Access

Clovis Point Found North of Sebastian Inlet.

Congratulations TM. Great finds! Thanks much for sharing. The Clovis point would be somewhere around ten thousand years old. Now that is an old find. From Wikipedia: The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleoamerican culture, named for distinct stone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1920s and 1930s. It appears around 11,500–11,000 uncalibrated radiocarbon years before present at the end of the last glacial period, and is characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools. Archaeologists' most precise determinations at present suggest this radiocarbon age is equal to roughly 13,200 to 12,900 calendar years ago. Clovis people are considered to be the ancestors of most of the indigenous cultures of the Americas. You might enjoy reading more about the Clovis culture. Here is a good link. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-clovis-point-and-the-discovery-of-americas-first-culture-3825828/ ---


The past few days I talked a little about Troy's chisel or spike find. At this point, I think the overwhelming consensus is that it is a broken spike. That is my opinion and the opinion of others that I've heard from. If you think about it, I suspect there are hundreds of shipwreck spikes out there for every old chisel. I've discussed some of the reasons for concluding that it is a spike, and posted some of the reader's thoughts that I've received on the subject. I just received an email from Jerry P., who also believes the find is a spike. Jerry also included some photos of those that he has found.

Spikes Found by Jerry P.

Photo by Jerry P.

Notice in particular the broken spike that looks very much like Troy's. I still haven't found the particular examples I was looking for. I wanted to take a close look at the break. I did look at the break on some others. I don't know how good the photos are yet. I haven't uploaded them yet. Also, notice the bent one. I plan on talking more about how they get bent and broken in the future. What do you think about that. I have some ideas, but I'd think it would take a lot of force to break a spike like that. I hope to talk about that more in the future. How do you think spikes get bent or broken? Troy sent me a closer photo of the top of his find.

Find and photo by Troy C.

That gives a better view. Thanks Troy. I was going to upload some photos that I took but found out I have to recharge the camera battery. First the upload utility was giving me trouble, and now the battery runs down. Sheesh. I get back into that topic, maybe tomorrow. One thing I've noticed, especially with broken bronze spikes, is how smooth the break can be. --- I'm just going to tell you about the surf instead of wasting any more time trying to upload the image. Expect a 4 - 6 foot surf on Friday and Saturday. You'll have to look it up yourself. I also asked TM if he could provide any more info on his finds. Happy hunting, Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/12/18 Report - Broken Old Medallion. Repaired Wooden Artifact. Robert Marx Lecture: Archaeology of the Abyss.

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

Old Broken Praying Hands Medallion.

Find and photo by John C.

Take a close look and you'll see the praying hands on this broken medallion.  Below is what John C. had to say about it.

Well sorry I know I'm a little off topic again, because as you can see from the picture it's not a drilled coin, but a religious medallion that at some point was purposely drilled.

It has to be over 20 years since I found this medallion, but I still remember it clearly, I think mainly because of how disappointed I was that it came out in three pieces. I'm sure there are other Beach Hunters out there that can remember a time when you attempt to dig a target only to find out that your shovel or scoop will only go down two or three inches at a time because of the thick layer of shell that's just below the sand. I hate that when that happens. Fortunately those conditions don't happen too often, so as you can see The Medallion broke at its weakest point where it was drilled,, makes you wonder why someone would drill a hole and ruin a beautiful medallion, but I sure would love to know the history and the story behind this medallion, but it looks like the original bezel ring at the top may have broke off long before it was drilled, so maybe it was lost and found several times,?

But I think what really inspired me to share this photo the most, was not so much the drill hole, but the image itself on The Medallion, "praying hands."

It says in Scripture that we should "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances"

So I think some will agree, that if there has ever been a time in the past say 50 years when our great country and all the movers and shakers of this country need prayers, it's now, but it's always encouraging to remember that God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and no matter how dark things may seem he's still in control.

Thanks again, for all your hard work an effort, that you put into your blog. JC 

Thanks for sharing John.   Fascinating medal.

The hole in the body of the medallion could have been created after the original loop broke.  People were not so quick to throw broken things away in days gone by.  They would often repair or repurpose broken items.  When trying to identify and date an artifact, you have to take into account that the item may have been used over a period of many years and could have been repaired or repurposed.

Hard to tell how old that medallion is but it certainly looks old.  I'd like to see some research and history on the motif of the praying hands.  Maybe someone will be able to provide that.

Back to the subject of repaired items.

Archaeologists found a 2000-year-old wood bowl that had been repaired with rivets and staples.

2000-Year-Old Repaired Wood Bowl.

Source: See BBC.com link below.

Here is the link to the article.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-46124211

And here is a wood bowl that is probably a hundred or more years old, but certainly not thousands of years old.  It is 17.5 inches in diameter.

Antique Wood Bowl.

It is badly cracked and was repaired a long time ago.  I added some wood glue to it, but before that it was repaired with wire.

Two Sets of Holes and Wire Used to Repair Cracked Wood Bowl.

Below is the other side.

Wire Used to Repair Crack Exposed.

On this one the wood chipped off exposing the wired used to repair the crack.

It can be difficult to determine the age of old items like this because they can be repaired and used for a very long time, and then repurposed and used for something else yet again.

A piece of an old copper kettle, for example, can be cut and turned into any number of things.

There isn't a huge difference between this wood bowl and the 2000-year-old bowl discussed in the article.

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SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

At the bottom of bodies of wa

SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

At the bottom of bodies of wa

SIR ROBERT MARX LECTURE SERIES

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ABYSS

Shipwreck Treasures from the Deep

By Sir Robert Marx

In this lecture Sir Robert, a pioneer in deep water archaeology, talks about early robotic

equipment and recoveries he made on deep-water shipwreck sites and submerged

settlements. He will take us around the world, from Singapore to the Azores, to

FOR MORE

fascinating sites that he and others have explored.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is supposed to be about four to six feet today, slacking off gradually through the rest of the week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net