Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
In addition to the recreation, exercise, and finds, metal detecting has provided an enjoyable and broad education. I've learned a lot about a variety of subjects, including but not limited to numismatics, metallurgy, history, and geology. Research provides a lot of the education. I highly recommend metal detecting as a way to interest young people in any those fields of study.
Given the range of things one encounters in the hobby, you'll never master it. There is always a lot left to learn, so research is very important, both before the hunt and after the find.
I was researching some finds recently when I discovered a really super web site:
The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction.
Welcome to the website of the 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center. This little project of our's was created to serve the community as a reference library for the study of everyday objects used by the inhabitants of North America, her mother country, England, and those countries of Continental Europe who, in one way or another, had an impact on the 13 British Colonies in North America between the years 1600 to 1785.
The material presented within this "Virtual Encyclopedia" is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES only. We have not received any financial gain by this endeavor. We are greatful to the countless museums, libraries, auction houses, and private collectors from around the world for making their material publicly available so that we could categorize it and present it to you within our slideshows...
So much quality education is provided freely by amateurs in various fields. If the agencies of government and education were half as effective, we would be much farther ahead.
There are many categories and sections included in that web site. One category included bottles and cases such as that shown at the top of this post.
The wedges below aren't new finds. When I first found the top one I referred to it as a chisel. It is not, and one of my readers quickly informed me of that.
 |
| A Couple Treasure Coast Beach Finds. |
A wedge is used to separate things. A chisel is made to lift material from one thing, and therefore they will often have a beveled edge.
I know the one on the bottom looks something like a spike, but that is just the angle of the picture.
I don't have any idea of the age of these wedges.
In 1607, the Spanish crown required carpenters and caulkers who worked on the galleons to provide their own tools. The 1607 ordinances required each carpenter to provide his own hatchet, saw, three sizes of auger, a claw hammer, a sledge hammer, and two chisels.
Each caulker had to provide a mallet, five sizes of caulking irons, a centering chisel, a rave hook, a sledge hammer, a claw hammer, and oakum remover, and three size of auger. (Source: Six Galleons for the King of Spain, by Carla Phillips.)
Looking in the 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center you'll find a lot of pictures of tools, including this beautiful 18th century auger.
Here is another illustration of carpenters tools from the same excellent web site.
Those are just a few examples of what you can find on the 18th Century Material Culture web site. I'll add it to my reference links on the first page of my blog.
Although the web site focuses on 18th Century American and English artifacts, I think it will be useful in researching artifacts of the 18th century no matter what country they come from.
---
The surf is predicted to be only one foot for a few days. That means that you might find some easy shallow water hunting.
Enjoy browsing the various sections of the Material Culture web site.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
