Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source: See LiveScience link below. |
The Spanish recorded the Incan practice of placing offerings in water in the 16th century, and this offering — a stone box — is the first such object to be discovered in one piece. It holds a small gold bracelet and a shell carved to resemble an alpaca or llama. The box may have also contained human blood, according to a new study...
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| Stone Box. Source: LiveScience link below. |
The rectangular box was sculpted from a volcanic rock called andesite and measures 1.2 feet (0.4 meters) long, and 0.9 feet (0.3 m) wide. It was tightly sealed with a circular stone plug but was not watertight. Perforations and grooves on the short sides of the box likely once held ropes that were used to lower it into the water — a practice described in Spanish records, according to the study...
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| REVERE Copper Kettle. |
I haven't been out to the beach much this year, but have been spending time researching some old finds. This copper kettle is an old find.
It is missing the top and handle. I like the rivets that held the handle hooks, which are broken, and the reason the handle is missing.
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| REVERE Mark Beside Rivet on Kettle |
The American Navy was born in 1792, copper and copper alloys were needed in the shipbuilding industry. Copper bolts, spikes, dovetails, and nails were used to make a ship seaworthy. Copper was also used to sheath the hulls of wooden boats, the sheathing prolonged the life of the vessel, enabled it to go faster and prevented the growth of barnacles. When iron bolts supplied for the USS Constitution were found defective due to rust, Paul Revere replaced the rusted iron bolts with copper bolts. Next, Revere supplied the US Navy with sheathing. Copper was in great demand by the Navy, and Paul Revere was there to meet the Navy's needs.
During the late 18th century, the domestic copper supply was very limited. The modern method of making brass, the direct fusion method, was invented in England in 1787 and the technology remained in England. Therefore all the copper sheet used to make the sheathing was imported from England. By 1800, Paul Revere had discovered the secrets to rolling copper, he was now 65 years old. On October 24, 1801, Paul Revere rolled the first copper sheets in the US. He was able to refine 1800 lbs. of copper at one time using only wood for fuel. He could supply the US Navy with quality copper sheathing that was rolled in the US...
Here is the link for more about that.
And here is another.
And here is another.
I've been trying to determine a date range for the kettle shown above, but despite the amount of information on the company, I have not yet found a way to date the kettle.
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I should have posted these lead net weights with my unidentified lead items the other day to show the difference. You can see how these examples were rolled around the line or cord. I've seen some found that look more like these, but mine are not like that.
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| Old Lead Net Weights. |
Unfortunately I lost the original link to this photo and am not sure where it came from now.
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Nothing much new with the tides or surf.