9/21/22 Report - Finds. Researching Lead Objects: Pencils or Styli(?) Bigger Surf Coming Thursday and Friday.

 

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

Four Finds From Last Week.

Here are four finds I made during a short hunt last week.  There is a square nail and square tack, broken junk ring and lead object.  

I've previously found a few of those lead objects before and discussed them in a post back in July of this year.   I don't know how many I have found now, but definitely four or more now.  To read about my theories on the lead objects, see Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 7/12/22 Report - Lead Finds From Shipwreck Beaches. Skinny Dippers. Spiral Search Pattern. Top Auctions. (tbr2020.blogspot.com).

Archaeologists often refer to these as styli or styluses or pencils.  They are thought to have been used to write on slate or wax tablets.  Timothy McGuire, in his book, An Identification Guide to Recovered Colonial and Revolutionary War Artifacts, shows four similar lead rolls that he refers to as lead pencils.  I'm not totally convinced that is what they are and recently wondered if they might not be simply a convenient form for storing lead that could be recast or reused in any of a variety of ways.

What struck me after finding the latest one, is how common they appear to be on our beaches.  During salvage operations, I imagine that precise tallies would be kept, making such pencils common. 

Four Found Lead Rolls or Pencils
Found on Treasure Coast Beaches At Various Times.

I decided to do a little additional research on these items even though I've researched them before.  I searched the finds database of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS)  using the key words "lead stylus." Many examples were found in the database (hundreds) and were mostly listed as "pencils."  Some in the PAS database were more like my finds than others.  Some were longer, and some seemed to have sharpened points.   Here are some in the database that look very much like the ones I found.

Lead Pencil in PAS database.
Record SUSS=6E8B3C.

Record ID: SUSS-6E8B3C
Object type: PENCIL
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation 
A cast lead alloy object possibly a pencil or stylus dating to the Medieval to Post-Medieval period. AD.1200-1800. The object is triangular in section with rounded points at each end. There is a possible incised saltire cross at one point. It is mid green in colour. Measurements: length: 64.82mm; width:11.08mm; thickness: 8.31mm; weight: 28.42g. A stylus is a writing implement used to scratch letters into the wax of a writing tablet, whilst a pencil makes a coloured mark on wood, paper or parchment. Lead alloy is rarely used for objects that appear to be conventional s…
Created on: Thursday 6th January 2022
Last updated: Monday 24th January 2022
Spatial data recorded. 

PAS lists these items as pencils. It seems the archaeological community generally interprets these items as pencils or styli.  For some reason I'm still not absolutely certain.

They generally date these types of objects from 1200 to 1800.  The PAS makes a distinction between stylus and pencil.   They say, A stylus is a writing implement used to scratch letters into the wax of a writing tablet while a pencil makes a coloured mark on wood, paper or parchment.  It seems to me that a stylus would be sharpened to make a clear impression in wax. That would not seem to be as important if you were making simple tally marks on a hard slate.

I'm wondering how many of you have found similar items.  Since I've found several, I'd guess that others have found them too.

From my experience they are seem to be common finds.  That is what makes me wonder if they did not have a more general use.  On the other hand, as I conjectured, if they are pencils, I can understand that they might have been common on treasure salvage beaches where a tally of recoverd treasure would be important.

It could be that a greater portion of the beach finds are the result of salvage efforts, while it has in the past been common to commonly interpret beach finds as having washed up from the water, which undoubtedly does happen too.

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Cone for Hurricane Fiona.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Looks like Hurricane Fiona won't come to close to us.  The path seems well established.

Surf Predictions for Fort Pierce Area.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Looks like the surf will start to increase tomorrow (Thursday) and reach a peak Friday.

Thursday there will be a north wind, but primary swell from the east.  The secondary swell will be from the north.

On Friday early, the wind will be from the west, later being northerly.  Still the primary swell will be from the east with a secondary north swell.

 It isn't totally about the water though.  Remember to consider the amount of beach sand, especially that in front of the beaches, which can buffer the effect of the surf.

The high tides those two days will be 3 plus feet.

I don't think with the current beach conditions, a five-to-eight-foot surf will do much more than touch the foot of the back dunes.  And I wouldn't be surprised if the surf in most places, especially considering the amount of sand on the front beaches, has more the effect of a five-foot surf.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net