4/12/22 Report - Spanish Sword and Olive Jar Found in Cave. Pottery and Porcelain Marks. Denby Pottery History.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

I found an interesting article having the title The Sword and the Olive Jar: Material Evidence of Seventeenth-Century Maya – Spanish Interaction in Central Belize by Jaime Awe.   As the title suggests, it is about a sword and an olive jar found in a cave.  The sword is shown above, and the cave  below.

Here is a paragraph from that article.

We believe that when the discovery of the Spanish sword, olive jar and glazed sherds is placed within the culture-historical context of the seventeenth-century colonial frontier in the Yucatan Peninsula, it is possible to provide a fairly accurate reconstruction of the events that led to the deposition of these objects in cave sites in the Roaring Creek Valley. In the case of the olive jar, it is likely that the Maya from Hubelna acquired it from Franciscan missionaries on one of the friars’ stops at Zaczus. The vessel may subsequently have been taken to Hubelna at some point between 1624 and 1641 following the Maya destruction of Zaczus and the relocation of the village upriver to Hubelna. We suggest 1641as the cutoff date for this event because on his trip to the Belize valley in that year.  Fuensalida reported that the church at Zaczus had been burnt and that the cacique had moved his community upriver to Hubelna. Some time after this move, and owing to the exotic nature of the olive jar, the Maya decided to place the jar and other objects as offerings in the cave. When the olive jar was deposited within the cave, the Maya pierced a“kill hole” into its base to ensure that, in accordance with ritual observances, the spiritual essence of the jar would be released and the vessel would never be used again for non-ritual purposes (see Helmke 2012: 65-67)...

The article is interesting reading.  There is a lot more than I presented here.

Here is the link, which I recommend using.  

(99+) The Sword and the Olive Jar: Material Evidence of Seventeenth-Century Maya – Spanish Interaction in Central Belize | jaime awe - Academia.edu

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Here is a link to an extensive manual of pottery and porcelain marks.  Very handy.  Take a look.

A manual of marks on pottery and porcelain; a dictionary of easy reference (museum.wa.gov.au)

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Not long ago, I showed a 19th century stoneware master ink bottle that I found.  It was from Denby Pottery.  \Here is a bit of the history of the company, which still makes pottery.  .

Here is the link.

Denby History (denbypottery.com)

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The tide isn't big and we're getting a lot of southish winds.  That isn't very encouraging for metal detecting, but you'll be able to find some interesting places to hunt if you are flexible and creative.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net