Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source: See most-interestingthings.com linke below. |
The gold artefacts from the Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis were found in graves with skeletons (mostly male) as well as in symbolic graves without human remains.
The Varna Gold Treasure includes over 3,000 gold artefacts categorized in 28 different types with a combined total of weight of 6.5 kilograms.
Over 5 kilograms of all gold artefacts have been found in a total of three symbolic graves plus Grave No. 43 which contains a skeleton of a man who might have been a ruler or king-priest...
Here is one link on that treasure.
The photo at the top of this post is from another source that also has a lot of additional photos and information.
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| Gold and Emerald Ring Found on Margarita Site April 28. Source: Email from Mel Fisher Organization. |
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I learned a couple things about dating bottles in recent years. They are things I didn't appreciate at first. If a bottle is embossed with some good information, you can often use that information, look it up, and find out more about the company or product and when it was used. Sometimes, however, there isn't enough information like that embossed on the bottle, in fact sometimes the bottle might not have anhy of that type of information on it, or it might be blank, or what some people call slick.?
"Slick" is a good description of an unembossed bottle because diggers often run their fingers over a dirty bottle to feel for the presence of embossing. I do that too, even if there is the danger of a crack or shard or barnacle or something to cutting your finger. I think those who hunt for bottles in waterways are more apt to use that technique where mud or slime will often obscure details.
But if you can't find the product or company name on the bottle, there is usually other information that can help you out. For one thing, you might be able to find the glass company mark on the bottom of the bottle. Then a look at the sha.org bottle marker's mark pages or some other listing can help you out. Some glass companies operated for a short duration and others changed their mark over time.
Sometimes bottles don't have a maker's mark that you can find listed though. Then you might be able to obtain information from certain features of the bottle itself.
You might look for bubbles in the glass to see if it was blown. You might look for the marks that indicate it was machine made, or the evenness and thickness of the glass. Or is the glass turning purple from sun exposure? Or is it a modern screw-top bottle? Using those kinds of observations can help, but it takes more knowledge or skill to use those kinds of observations. One feature might not be enough, Below are some complicating factors.
Bottles are still blown today, so you can't go by that alone.
Many bottles that look old are reproductions. Actually, a seasoned bottle digger or collector will often be able to quickly identify repro bottles. They might be made to look something like an old bottle, but there can be some very obvious tell-tale signs. Visit the hobby lobby and take a look at the many repro bottles they sell.
When hunting for information on bottles, I've recently learned that when you can't find much on the company or the product, include "advertising" in your search. You can often find antique labels and advertising ephemera listed for sale that can provide the information you need.
An experienced bottle digger or collector will quickly be able to very quickly identify most modern bottles by seeing just a very small part of a bottle. That very thin even glass is a quick giveaway, for example. I'm far from an expert on bottles but have picked up a few things. For me they provide an opportunity to hunt when I don't have time to drive to a good detecting beach, and I do enjoy finding a good old bottle with some history or mystery behind it. And the presence of old ceramics or glass can point you to good metal detecting sites. Broken ceramics and glass scattered on the surface can alert you to other buried objects.
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We had a good west wind yesterday. The tides were moderate and the surf small.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net