6/10/20 Report - Christopher Columbus Statue In the Lake. Trade Relations Between Spain and Indigenous. On Missing Items With Your Metal Detector.

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

A Christopher Columbus statue in Richmond Viginia was torn down, torched and thrown in a lake by protesters.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/christopher-columbus-statue-torn-down-thrown-in-lake-by-protesters/ar-BB15hVGk

I suppose you can find a lot of interesting things in lakes, especially where there have been wars and uprisings.

---

Speaking of Columbus, you might find Trinkets (f)or Treasure? The role of European material culture in intercultural contacts in Hispaniola during early colonial times, a 260 page thesis by Floris Keehnen interesting.  It describes trade between the Old World and New World in the early contact days along with much history and analysis.

Below are a couple brief excerpts discussing the objects of trade.

 European exchange commodities furthermore included “horses, saddles, and stirrups; cloth, caps, and hats; saffron, wine, wheat, and salt; and lead, iron, steel, copper, and brass” (Phillips and Phillips 1992, 55). Next to slaves and gold, the local African rulers offered “animal skins, gum arabic, civet, cotton, malagueta pepper, cobalt, parrots, and camels” (ibid.). Not only Portugal, but also Castile profited from the African gold that reached their markets in high quantities where it contributed to a flourishing economy. The Iberians were now making good profit from the trade in gold and slaves and this would continue for a couple of centuries more (Bovill 1995; Thomas 1997; Thornton 1998)...


In the above fragment of the first documented exchange, the things mentioned by name to have been
traded are red caps, glass beads and bells by the Spanish, against parrots, cotton and javelins by the
Indians. Indeed these were among the items that were most frequently bartered between the two
cultures. But also tableware, like “pieces of (clay) bowls” and “broken glass cups” (Dunn and Kelley
1989, 71, 107), “fragments of dishes and plates” (Chanca in Parry and Keith 1984, 87), as well as coins, clothes and lace-ends, were swapped. At one instance it is mentioned that some of the Spanish sailors had caught a sea turtle, of which the ship’s boys traded pieces of the shell, the size of a fingernail, for which they were given javelins in return (Dunn and Kelley 1989, 197). The exchange is remarkable, since the Spaniards here trade a local and, for the natives, familiar (though rare) commodity with the Taíno, assuming the presence of a certain ethos of hospitality or social strategy with strangers. As regards gold, this was not traded in the first couple of days of contact. Though, upon seeing some pieces of gold a Lucayan Indian was wearing as ornamentation, Columbus was covetous to find all there was. This he made explicitly clear to the local people by dangling gold, but also pearls, in front of them, asking where to find it (e.g. ibid., 133).79 As appears from the ethnohistoric accounts, the people of the Greater Antilles soon perceived the Spanish enrapture of the material, often before their actual arrival (cf. Mol 2008).

And here is the link for the entire lengthy thesis.

https://www.academia.edu/4804086/Trinkets_f_or_Treasure_The_role_of_European_material_culture_in_intercultural_contacts_in_Hispaniola_during_early_colonial_times?email_work_card=title

---

Last night confederate statues were being torn down in Portland, and a statue fell and critically wounded one of the participants, so the protestors slinked off into the night.

Same type of things is going on in other countries. See  https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/statue-slave-trader-toppled-threw-in-river-edward-colston-bristol-england-1.5602443

---


Detectorists like metal detectors.  If they find something they often credit their trusty detector, and if they fail to find something, the metal detector is one of the first things to be blamed, but there are a lot reasons you might miss objects.

I remember back many years ago not long after I began metal detecting I was detecting Hollywood beach and a fellow asked me if I could detect his watch.  Of course I said yes, but he wanted to test me.  He buried his watch under some sand as I looked the other way.  Then I used my detector.  I walked right over the watch without getting any signal from my metal detector.

I suppose that my sweep pattern wasn't very good.  I was probably moving too fast and leaving space between sweeps, but it could have also been that I was using discrimination.  Either one of those could have been the case, but I know that a Fisher 1280, properly used, should detect any watch.  I am certain it was not the fault of the metal detector.

I do remember that in those days I was using discrimination, so that could have been the reason I missed the watch.  In fact, at first I was finding a lot of men's rings, but few women's rings.  I remember thinking  that men must lose more rings than women.  Of course later I learned that if I turned my discrimination down I found just as many women's rings.  It wasn't the metal detector's fault that I was not getting the valuable women's rings with diamonds.  It was my fault for not using the detector well.  Of course you need a metal detector that works, but you also need to use it well.

I've often said, if I was depending upon someone finding me my next meal, I'd trust a wise old hunter with a bow and arrow over a novice with the best gun ever.   There is more to hunting game than shooting it.  It helps to know the habits of the game and where it can usually be found.  It helps to know how to track it and get in position to get a good shot.

Your metal detector does make a difference.  Some are better than others, but if you have a decent detector, and know how to use it well, there are other important factors, including knowing how to use it.

I know darn well that I miss a lot of things.  I expect to miss things.  You can't cover the entire beach.
Remember that your detector coil only covers a few inches at a time.  And if you are doing a normal sweep, you are probably skipping some ground in between sweeps.

I often do a lot of checking around using a very loose pattern first, and then if I find a spot that looks more promising I'll slow down and cover it more tightly.  I can't go into all the signs that indicate it is time to slow down and tighten the pattern now.  There are quite a few of those. Some involve the lay of the land, and others include other types of clues.

As I've said before, unless I have reason to believe one particular area is worth inspecting well, I'm not going to slow down, and I know I might miss some things.  I'm looking for an area that looks like it is a better area than most other areas and then I'll slow down.

If an area looks very promising, I'll not only cover it very tightly, but I'll cover it multiple times, and perhaps with more than one metal detector.

Yes the detector makes a difference, but if you have a decent detector for the job, how you use it is just as important or more important than the detector you are using.  If you aren't finding anything or if you miss something, don't jump to the conclusion it is the metal detector's fault without checking to see if your settings, sweep speed and pattern and other things are good.  Those things can make a huge difference.  A poor detector used well can perform better than an excellent detector used poorly.

You can find coins without a metal detector if you know where to look.  It will only be a fraction of the total you can find with a metal detector, but you can often find coins laying on the surface if you know where to look.  If you do find coins laying on the surface, you can bet there will be a lot more just beneath the surface.

There is a lot more to say, but I'll stop there for now.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/6/20 Report - First Silver Ring Beach Find Certified To 1715 Fleet Wreck. Complexities of Artifact ID and Distribution.

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

Appearing in the Vero News (See link below).

First silver ring certified as coming from a 1715 Fleet wreck.

The find was made in December close to Vero South Beach by Jeff Emlet, as reported in Vero News.  Emlet took the ring to be inspected by West Bay Trading Company who certified the ring as being from the 1715 Fleet.  The article says it is the first silver ring certified as being from the 1715 Fleet.

Here is the link.

http://veronews.com/2020/02/05/ring-could-be-ancient-artifact-from-sunken-1715-spanish-fleet-experts-say/

As you know, I've posted photos of heavily corroded silver rings found on Treasure Coast beaches in the past.  The salvage diver that, as far as I know, has been salvaging treasure on the Treasure Coast longer than any other living soul and who was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award by the Mel Fisher organization, was reported as saying NO silver rings have ever been found on a 1715 Fleet shipwreck site.  You can not find a more respected source than that.  On multiple occasions I discussed that observation with the fact that terrestrial Spanish-colonial  archaeological sites of the same general period have produced silver rings and the number of beach silver ring finds of uncertain date.  I would not be shocked if this ring did come from a 1715 Fleet wreck.  According to the article, it certainly appears to be the first silver ring documented as coming from a 1715 Fleet wreck.

Congratulations Jeff!  Super find!

I will add that it is also not uncommon for early 19th century coins and objects to come from that beach.   I've dug those myself and remember years ago showing one heavily corroded silver ring from that area to the archaeologist at the Mel Fisher museum.

---

DJ sent me a link to a very interesting thesis: THE DISH RAN AWAY WITH THE SPOON: REVISITING UNPROVENIENCED FOODWAYS ARTIFACTS FROM THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SPANISH FLEET SHIPWRECKS  by Olivia L. Thomas, November, 2017.

The Thomas thesis presents the following table table from Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology, by Stanley South, Academic Press, Inc. New York , 1977.

Notice that kitchen items, for example, were roughly 22 to 35% of the artifacts found at the sampled terrestrial sites, while only 1.4 to 8.4 percent of the artifacts were arms.   I think there is a tendency for detectorists to think of certain categories before others that would be just as likely or even more likely.  I was talking yesterday about the tendency to think of weapons early and perhaps before other more likely but more mundane categories.

Here is an excerpt from the Thomas thesis referring to an additional study subsequent to the South research.

 Russell K. Skowronek’s (1982) Master’s thesis, “Trade Patterns of Eighteenth Century Frontier New Spain: The 1733 Flota and St. Augustine,” applies South’s frontier pattern to ships and shipwrecks by comparing material culture from several ships of the 1733 flota to terrestrial frontier sites. Skowronek utilized similar quantitative analysis in his study based on the pattern and methodology set forth by South (1977:88-100). Skowronek acknowledged the filters and scramblers of the sites including natural elements and the extensive salvaging operations that took place on the shipwrecks of the 1733 flota, both by Spanish shipwreck survivors and modern treasure hunters, and disseminated information by looking at the assemblage of material culture as one whole data set, instead of each ship as an individual set (1982:167-169). He stated that “a simple look at a single site…might give a biased view of the fleet…only by looking at the data as a whole or by reopening excavations on sites with smaller counts of artifacts might these biases be corrected” (Skowronek 1982:168). Skowronek’s (1982:171-172) study ultimately revealed that: …the fit with the Frontier Pattern is somewhat better with matches in all groups but Kitchen and Architecture, the largest percentage groups…the 1733 flota…and the Frontier Pattern is almost perfect…rather than view ships simply as “floating communities” and the all too “stable” implications of such, seagoing vessels should be seen as “floating frontiers.”

His conclusions were based upon the similarities between South’s artifact pattern ranges and the
ranges seen within both the 1733 flota and terrestrial St. Augustine collections, which are shown
below in Table 2.

Once again I got caught trying to stuff the bobcat into a soup can. There is too much here to unravel in one post. I'll try to do that better in the future.

You will notice however that compared to the approximately 1.5 to 8.5 percent of artifacts being in the "arms" category as reported for terrestrial sites sampled in the South study, the Skowronek table shows artifacts from the 1733 flota being higher (nearly 12%).  Nonetheless, kitchen artifacts are still much more common than weapons for both the terrestrial and shipwreck sites.

I've discussed in the past several reasons why artifacts salvaged from submerged shipwreck sites might differ from those found on beaches.  I won't go over that all again now, but among other things, we have to remember that a lot of things happened on the beaches later, including the contemporary salvage efforts, so items found on neighboring beaches could also come from those later efforts.  That is one hypothesis that I've entertained for some of the reported discrepancies.

A good long discussion is warranted here, but I'll have to try to get to it some other time.

Here is the link to the Thomas thesis for additional detail or clarification.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e354/410e87198656d2ce88a35b19acdaee9beecb.pdf

Thanks to DJ for the link.

---

Looks like we'll have a bump in the surf around Sunday and Monday.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Here are yesterday's Turtle Trail and Seagrape photos.  Thanks to DJ.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/7/19 Report = Unidentified Button Find. Possible Shell Tool Find. Resource on Shell Tools. Florida Laws Web Site.

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

Old Unidentified Button.

Here is one old button find that I can't identify.  I can't make out the design on the front.  The back says "EXTRA FEIN."

Let me know if you can identify this one or anything about it.

---

Israel officially opened a stairway, known as "Pilgrim's Road," that Jesus is believed to have walked on in ancient Jerusalem as another place with the significance of "biblical proportions" to billions, especially for Judeo-Christian visitors to the Holy Land.

The City of David Foundation unveiled the 2,000-year-old main thoroughfare from Roman-era Jerusalem that it says served pilgrims ascending to the ancient Jewish Temple from the Pool of Siloam built by King Hezekiah. Until recently, it was hidden under a potato field and discovered by accident in 2004 after a pipe burst...

Here is the link.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/israel-road-jesus-temple-ancient-jerusalem

---


Scott B. sent me the following photos and email. 

Shell Item Found by Scott B.

Photos by Scott B.

After seeing the picture you posted recently, I remembered this piece of shell I found a while back. At the time, it just seemed like an interesting smooth piece of shell. I’m pretty sure I found it at a Treasure Coast beach, but not 100% positive.

After looking closer at it, the item really fits well in my hand including a thumb stop and two notches on the other side where my middle and ring fingertips fit. It’s quite smooth, the years in the elements haven’t left any visible signs that it was worked with tools.

I think this may have been some type of hand blade for skinning or slicing. The thinner side is a bit worn, but could have been sharpened, I imagine.

Perhaps this is all coincidence, but thanks to your picture of the celt, I gave this a closer look and realize it could be a neat piece of history.

As always, thanks for all you do.

Scott 

Thanks Scott.  I'm glad my post inspired you to take another look at the item.   There are a variety of online resources you might want to consult, but when I'm not sure about an item nothing helps like talking to a knowledgeable person at a university, museum or trade show or just getting the opinions of others who are more informed.  People who know what to look for can identify the signs of the item being worked or used.

Maybe some of my readers will add their thoughts about your item.

---

If you are interested in learning more about Florida shell artifacts, here is a lengthy thesis of over 200 pages.  It presents many examples of various types.

Here is the first paragraph, which will give you some idea of the contents.

With this thesis, I aim to fill a gap in our knowledge of shell
artifacts from the northwest part of the state of Florida. It represents
a first look at the range of shell artifacts in the collections of the
University of South Florida (USF) obtained during the ongoing program
of archaeological investigations in the Apalachicola Valley and
surrounding region. There are 46 sites in the study area that have
been identified as yielding shell artifacts, of which samples from 27
sites are curated in the USF Archaeology Laboratory. The proposed
typology is based on an analysis of over 2300 specimens collected
from archaeological sites in northwest Florida, including the Gulf Coast,
barrier islands, St. Joseph Bay, and the Apalachicola River drainage.


Here is the link.

https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2025&context=etd

---

Most detectorists don't know much about stone or shell artifacts.  I certainly don't.  But we should know enough to realize that they are out there and how to identify and respect them.  We also need to know something about the applicable laws.

I added the following to yesterday's post late yesterday, so in case you didn't see it, I'm posting it again.

As you probably know, there are laws regarding archaeological resources.  They are many and complex and can be very confusing.  I can't summarize or interpret them all, so don't ask me to.  Do, however, realize that there are penalties for removing artifacts from state and federal lands.  If you have WRITTEN permission, you CAN collect artifacts on private land.  That is my understanding.

On the Treasure Coast it is not extremely unusual to find artifacts on the beach or on your own property.  I've been asked several times while on the beach, about items just found by tourists.  I've found artifacts on my property and have posted some examples.  

Beachcombers, shell collectors and tourists often pick up unusual or interesting items on the beach without knowing what they are.  If you look through any large collection put together by a shell collector, there is a very good chance you will find a possible artifact or two.  

Metal detectorists do not generally go out looking for artifacts and might not recognize them.  I think I've shown that they can be difficult to identify unless you have studied a little.  I am not good at identifying stone and shell tools in particular and have to ask those who know more about them.

We all want to respect artifacts and follow the laws.  Laws can be broken unwittingly, and I hope this post will help you begin to become more familiar with artifacts so that you will be better able to identify, respect and protect artifacts and follow the applicable laws.

As a beginning, you might want to look at this summary of the Florida laws.  Here is a link.

https://dos.myflorida.com/historical/archaeology/underwater/laws/

I know that this quick summary might give rise to more questions than it answers, but that is the best I can do.

Here is one good principle: when in doubt, just take photos of the item and report your find.  Most of us carry smart phones with good cameras these days, so that is easy enough to do.

---

Keep learning,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/26/19 Report - Artifact Find Initiates Journey of Discovery. Cannon Aprons. Good Resources.

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

Folded Lead Find From Treasure Coast Beach

This lead find has been sitting around for a while and I never thought of it being anything but a piece of lead sheathing, however after seeing some examples of cannon aprons, I decided I should take a better look at it.  

There is more to the piece than you can see.  It is tightly folded over a couple of times, which isn't like the other lead sheathing that I've found,  It looks like it could have been deliberately folded rather than simply crumpled by the wrecking or surf.

I found some photos of a cannon apron that came from the Queen Anne's Revenge.   That started me on a journey of discovery and learning.

The qaronline.org website says,

Sheets of lead with “fingers” were used to cover the touch hole of a cannon, protecting the powder and the fuse from water spraying into the gun ports. Lead is malleable and could be formed to the shape of the cannon barrel, while the fingers could be bent to create a tight fit around the breech of the cannon. A hole on either edge of the apron would fit a lash to keep the apron tied in place.

See  https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/cannon-apron

The same web site provides the following photo of a salvaged cannon apron.

'

In the case of the photo shown immediately above, the holes would be on the right and left sides. You can clearly see the hole on the right side.

You can also see what could be the "fingers" on the upper side of the apron in the photo. It looks like the middle finger is broken off or bent.

Although I'm far from concluding that my find is a cannon apron, I've at least learned that there is such a thing.

I discovered another very interesting resource.  It is a thesis presented to East Carolina University by Laura Kate Schnitzer - APRONS OF LEAD: EXAMINATION OF AN ARTIFACT ASSEMBLAGE FROM THE QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE SHIPWRECK SITE.

This is a very interesting and informative thesis.  You might not want to read the entire thesis, but you will undoubtedly find sections that you do want to read.  It is well worth scanning.

The thesis presents the picture below showing a cannon apron in place on a cannon.

Cannon aprons come in different sizes and shaped depending in part upon the cannon.

The QAR apron illustrated above has a variety of scratched or etched markings on it.  Here is a picture in which those markings are drawn to make them easier to see.

Source: qaronline.org web site.

See link QAR link above.

The thesis discussed those markings and what they might indicate.  Some were thought to be superstitious marks for good-luck or protection.  That discussion makes for some interesting reading.

I recommend at least browsing the thesis for several reasons.  For one thing, it presents an evolution of artillery through the centuries.  It presents a lot of information in addition to what you'll learn about cannon aprons, including a very good bibliography.  It also illustrates a more academic approach to artifact interpretation that expands on some of my previous comments and criticisms of what I've called the "free association" method that you might have seen on TV.   There is a lot of academic jargon and maybe a lot that you won't find interesting, but you can skip the parts that don't like.  I'm sure you will find something that does interest you.

Here is the link.

http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/3842/Schnitzer_ecu_0600M_10612.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Back to my find.   Even though I've had it for a while, I have not yet really studied it.  Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to unfold it.  Whether I do that or not, I plan to look at the object more closely.

Digging up an object is one discovery, but a found object can become much more interesting when you do the research and really study it.  

---

I am highly supportive or archaeology, but have also commented on some of the problems created by some of the more radical members of the profession.  Here is a link to a post I once did on that subject.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/02/22518-report-problem-with-archaeology.html

---

Jensen Beach As Seen a Couple Days Ago.

Photo by Mike A.

Mike said there was nothing but some crusty pennies.

---

The surf is running around two or three feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/20/18 Report - One Nice Find and How To Test It. Shot Gauge From Port Royal. Screw and Wingnut.

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

Cameo Find by Sharon P.
Photo by Sharon P.

Is it treasure?  That is what Sharon P. asked about this cameo that came out of a cut dune on Hutchinson Island.

I can't tell much for certain by the photo alone.   You can only see so much in a photo, and many of the tests that I would apply are not visual.  Weight and texture are important, for example, as are details that you can only see with good magnification.  I'll offer a few comments anyhow.

The most common material used for quality cameos is shell,  A cameo is carved to expose various colored layers.  Agate and coral are also used, but not nearly as frequently.

There are a few tests that might prove helpful.  Shell, and also agate and glass, will be cooler to the touch than plastic, which is used for inexpensive costume jewelry.  Shell, in addition to be cool to the touch, will also be heavier than plastic.

One good test for plastic is a flame heated pin stuck in some inconspicuous place.  Plastic of course will be marked by the hot pin.

A quality cameo will also be set in a precious metal, and perhaps be signed by the artist.  This setting doesn't look like silver.  It looks costume.

With magnification you might be able to see signs the gouges made by carving.

The big tip off to me is the nose.  The type of figure shown in cameos changed over the centuries.  The ski jump nose is typical of contemporary cameos - no earlier than the mid-1800s.  Older cameos typically show a straighter nose and not a large volume of flowing hair.  This one definitely looks more modern to me.

This could be vintage, but I very much doubt that that it is antique.  And it does not appear to me to be an expensive hand carved cameo.  From the photo I can't tell if the cameo is shell or what.

I can't tell how nice the figure is in person, but I'd consider putting it in a nice new frame if it is in good condition.

I didn't say yet if it is treasure.  Treasure is what you treasure.  I'd say it could be, and if it was up to me, I'd treasure it.

Below are some examples of quality new artist-signed Italian hand-carved shell cameos.  Notice the ski jump noses, high relief and color separation.  They will be set in silver.

Many of the best are sent to Japan where they go for higher prices.

---

Illustration of Shotgauge Recovered From 17th Century Port Royal.
Source: Masters Thesis. See below.

I thought this illustration could be instructive.  I found it in a 1993 Master's Thesis entitled, An Analysis of the Port Royal Shipwreck and Its Role in the Maritime History of Seventeenth-Century Port Royal, Jamaica by Sheila Clifford.

Here is the link.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/Clifford-MA1993.pdf

The item is a shotgauge.  There are a number of lengths of metal, each of which had on the end a hole to measure the size of lead shot. The thing that I think might be most instructive is the connector: a screw with wing nut.

There was a time when I considered all screws to be modern. That isn't the case though, as you see from this example.  Wing nuts evidently go back hundreds of years.  That is the first time I learned that.

Old screws were hand made and you can often tell by looking at them.

I just thought that was an interesting artifact, and if you are like me, you might have learned something from it.

---

Another school shooting!  As someone who grew up with a gun rack holding two shot guns, a navy carbine, and another military rifle referred to as the deer rifle right outside his bedroom door just like the other kids in the neighborhood, we never shot anything but targets and game.  It was a different culture.

We didn't hear rap music glorifying violence.  We didn't have blood splattering video games.  To stop violence the culture has to change.  It took years but smoking was discouraged and has really diminished.  The culture war on smoking was pretty effective.  Now it is time for a culture war on crime and violence.  The movie industry can't continue to preach against guns and continue to make the kind of movies they do.  If guns were banned from the big screen, they'd actually have to write stories.  There is no bigger hypocrisy.  Want to ban guns?  Make inspiring uplifting movies and stop relying on all the gratuitous violence.

---

Expect a small surf but decent size tide today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/16/17 Report - Transforming the Ordinary. Posts and References. More Info About EOs.

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

There are times in life when ordinary things are transformed by something special such as the Magic of Christmas.  One example I'm thinking of is an old orange buoy that I once found that was laying around with a lot of other junk but was recently transformed by a coat of reflective silver paint and black tape into a shiny Christmas bell highlighted with a red ribbon bow and is now a bright focal point between colored lights and blinking snow flakes.  So it is in the lives of men who on rare occasions are momentarily transformed - or so it would seem.

I always remember the time many years ago when I was in Pensacola on business and after work I went out to a remote beach to do some detecting.  It was an isolated beach.  The small parking lot was nothing more than a packed surface big enough to hold maybe six or eight cars at max.  There was only one other car there when I arrived.

I just got out of the car and started towards the walkover  when I noticed an elderly couple and a child leaving the beach.  They had their hands full with beach blankets, a cooler, toys and I don't know what all. 

I saw them struggling and took one of the items ( I think it was a cooler), and took it to their car.  As I returned to my own business, I remember the man commenting to his wife something about how surprised he was at my actions.  In retrospect, I find it a little surprising myself - not that it was any kind of big deal or something that should be surprising.

Having helped them to their car, I headed towards the beach but soon became aware that they had a problem.  They couldn't find the car keys.

I don't know what all transpired, but I ended up following their tracks back to where I could tell they were on the beach and started detecting for the keys.  It didn't take long until I found them.

It would have been a problem if the keys were not found.  It was a remote beach away from businesses, homes and traffic, and since this was in the days before cell phones, they couldn't just call for help.

If I put myself in their place I night think about how unlikely it was, and how fortunate it was that a fellow came along at just the right time  with a metal detector to find the keys.  I would have wondered if it was just coincidence or something more.  And being the type of person I am, I'd wonder if it might be something spiritual in one way or another.  It was definitely out of line with my normal or natural behavior.  Was it more than coincidence?

I didn't tell you what I did so you would think that I'm a good person.  Quite the contrary.  The good deep was not the norm.  It was the exception.  That is too bad.  It need not be so.

There are many opportunities in daily life to transform unexceptional moments into memorable mements.  One way you can do that is by responding to some of the many opportunities to lend a helping hand.  The Christmas season is an especially good time to try it.

---

There is only so much I can do in a blog post.  Posts are short and I write one almost every day.  That means that I can not say everything that needs to be said or even everything I might want to say about many topics.  I can't even take the time I would like to take to refine my posts like I wish I could. That is just the nature of a blog, especially one done on a daily basis by a single person with a lot of other more pressing responsibilities.  That is just one important reason that I usually post my sources as references.

The sources that I post provide many details that I don't include in my text.  A perfect example was my recent post about encrusted object.  At the top of the post I provided an illustration showing the stages of development of an EO taken from a thesis for a Master's degree.  A thesis like that is much more lengthy and detailed than any post that I might provide and will usually answer any questions you might have about the topic to the est have been answered in academic circles.  A thesis like that normally takes close to two years to complete, will include a comprehensive overview of the existing academic literature on the topic and is completed with the assistance of an academic team of professors in the field of study.  Therefore you might expect the thesis to provided the best scholarship on the subject that exists anywhere.  That is why I provide the sources and references.  If you have any questions, you can consult the original sources, not only the one source, but also those listed in that source.  An academic thesis must contain a review of the relevant literature, which you will find near the end of the thesis.

The illustration I provided at the top of the post from the thesis on EOs was good, as far as it goes, however the thesis also acknowledged that things are actually more complex.  Here is a paragraph from the same thesis as the illustration commenting on that.




As you can see, there is more.  You can use the following to link to continue reading.

When you have questions about something I post that is from another source, I usually give you a link so you can check the source for more information.   You will often find tons of additional good information.

Here is the link to the thesis on EOs that I talked about in my post a couple days ago.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Rash-MA2012.pdf

You should note that the thesis was based upon a survey of 2000-year-old items - not 300-year-old items.

I often get questions about cleaning objects.  I know it can be too detailed or difficult to understand at times, but the best over all resource that I know about for information about cleaning and conserving objects is the Texas A and M Nautical Archaeology Conservation Laboratory web site.  I think I've mentioned that web site several times.  There you will find extensive discussion about cleaning and conserving almost every type of material.  The main problem with that web site is that it has too much information and would take a long time to master.  I will therefore continue to provide brief instructions, but you should realize that there is always more that could be said.  When you need to know all the ifs, ands and buts, you might want to consult the best academic resources.

---

If I judged my posts on the number of emails received, I would have to say that the recent EO posts were popular.  They are certainly interesting objects that inspire a lot of questions.  I will be doing more posts on EOs in the future.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/12/16 Report - Great Resource for Shipwreck Research. Not 1715 Fleet Treasure Coast Shipwrecks.

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

Recovered Artifact Shown in Borgens Thesis
See link below.

If you know anything about the Treasure Coast, you probably know something about the 1715 Fleet. Most of our treasure wrecks came from that fleet, but there are other important wrecks along the Treasure Coast that you should know about.   Some are older than the 1715 Fleet and some are more recent.

Among the more recent is the Spring of Whitby, which probably sank near Wabasso in 1824.  The Spring of Whitby is not as well known as the 1715 Fleet, partly because it has not been as thoroughly researched.  It was identified in 1965 when a bronze bell bearing the date 1801 and the name Spring of Whitby was recovered.  The Spring of Whitby maintains a shroud of mystery.  The evidence and research concerning her does not fit neatly together.

One of the older Treasure Coast wrecks is the Power Plant wreck, which is believed to have sunk in the late 1500s.  Relatively little is known about that wreck.

Another older wreck is the wreck of the San Miguel Archangel, which sank in 1660 near the Jupiter Inlet.  Spanish cobs were routinely found by detectorists along the beach near the wreck site for years before the main pile was found by a lifeguard on his morning swim.  On that fateful morning he noticed a recently exposed cannon.

I often encountered a detectorist named Dave, who filled jars with cobs that seemed to wash out of the dunes near the Jupiter Inlet.  That was back in the eighties before the cannon was found and salvage efforts began on that wreck site.  I don't know what happened to Dave.

There are other wrecks than the 1715 Fleet along the Treasure Coast and some have not been identified.  Some are older and some more recent.  Of course not all of them are treasure ships, but they can still produce some interesting artifacts.

It can be difficult to tell how old an artifact might be and what type of wreck produced it.  There are times when artifacts from different wrecks intermingle, and that can make it more difficult.  There are sometimes subtle signs to help you tell one from the other, but you have to do your homework.

Below is a link to a very useful paper entitled, Analysis of the Pass Cavallo Shipwreck Assemblage, Matagorda Bay, Texas.  It is a master's thesis by Amy Borgens.

You will find a lot of good information and drawings of artifacts, including a lot on armaments. There is also a great bibliography at the end that will give you much more research material.

Here is the link.

http://anthropology.tamu.edu/papers/Borgens-MA2004.pdf

It is 294 pages.  Here are the first two paragraphs from the abstract tp give you the idea.

A survey conducted in February of 1998 located an anomaly originally believed to be the remains of L’Aimable. L’Aimable was one of four ships utilized by ReneRobert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, for his voyage to colonize the Gulf Coast in 1684. The anomaly, a wrecked vessel with a heavy iron signature, was located outside the entrance to the historic pass into Matagorda Bay, Texas. Artifacts were extracted from the wreck site to aid in the identification of the vessel, which was subsequently determined to be more recent in origin. 

A preliminary examination of the artifacts indicates that the shipwreck dates to the first half of the 19th century. The survey recovered over two hundred artifacts. The assemblage of artifacts includes over 80 lead shot, over 40 examples of brass firearm furniture, over 15 firearm fragments, several pieces of copper sheathing, and iron bar stock. Almost two-thirds of the material is associated with small arms. The majority of the identifiable firearms are military arms of three patterns: the British Short Land Pattern, the British India Pattern, and the Model 1757 Spanish musket. 

Good reading.

---

Today we'll have a 4 - 6 foot surf on the Treasure Coast and north winds.  After today the surf is supposed to decrease for several days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net