7/4/23 Report - Old Gold Found by Novice Detectorist. Steamboats. Artifact. Ballast Stone(?) Independence Day 2023.

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

Close-up view of gold artifact found in the cache Konserveringscenter Vejle / Vejlemuseerne Source: See Thearchaeologist.org link below.

Ole Ginnerup Schytz, a novice treasure hunter, had only been using his new metal detector for a few hours when he made an incredible find: a cache of 1,500-year-old gold items from the Iron Age. Experts now consider the discovery, which was unearthed in a field close to the Danish town of Jelling in the southwest in December, to be among the biggest and most significant in Danish history.

After hearing the device operate, Schytz recalled removing some dirt to reveal a little, bent bit of metal.

According to Sarah Cascone of Artnet News' translation of his words, "It was scratched and covered in mud," he tells Steffen Neupert of the Danish television network TV Syd. "I had no idea; the only thing that came to mind was that it resembled the top of a can of herring."

In fact, the novice metal detectorist had discovered the first of 22 pieces of gold jewelry from the sixth century. The collection weighted little over two pounds in total...

Here is the link for more about that.

Finding of a Treasure Chest of Sixth-Century Gold Jewelry by a Novice Treasure Hunter (thearchaeologist.org)

Thanks to SuperRick for that link.

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I've been exploring an area in the Indian River Lagoon that occasionally offers some encouragement in the form of miscellaneous artifacts, but for some of the most interesting, I haven't been able to identify the source or age for certain.

There MIGHT be ballast in the form of small rounded granite river rock (samples shown below).  At this point I can't guarantee it is a ballast pile, but other explanations seem less convincing at this time.

Small Rounded Granite Rocks
Gathered Found in Small Area in Indian River.

Anchors from a wide variety of ages have been seen in the river - some very old.

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I've been trying to identify the source and date of some items, and since steamboats are one possible source of items in the river, I need to be able to identify those.

I once thought the item shown below might have been from a Indian River steamboat, and it is still possible.  It is, however, of a later date than the time when steamboats were most prominent on the Indian River.

Recently Cleaned
RES-Q-LITE Cannister
Found Along Indian River Years Ago.

I know that they were used on steamboats though.  As I posted in an old post...

Volume 33 of the Marine Review (p. 27) provided the information on the RES-Q-LITE.  (Thanks to Stan for that link.

The Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co. has decided to install the water light manufactured by the Marine Torch Co., of Baltimore, Md., on its fleet of steamers. Mr. Carl Virgin, general manager of the Marine Torch Co. who was in the great lakes district recently visiting vessel owners, left a number of torches with Capt. Hugh McAlpine, master of the City of Erie. On Saturday night last, Capt. McAlpine threw them overboard en route between Buffalo and Cleveland and reported that the torches ignited instantly, making a powerful light which was visible for a distance of twelve miles. Mr. T. F. Newman, general manager of the line, immediately ordered his steamers to be equipped with the torch upon the recommendation of Capt. McAlpine.

See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 6/1/11 Report - Pot Shard, Beach Dangers & OMEX

In practice - if a man went overboard, the first people to be aware of the fact were supposed to go to the rails and throw ring buoys overboard, in the hopes the man could grab one. The waterlight, hanging from its bracket would be thrown over with the ring buoy it was attached to.

The act of pulling the waterlight from its bracket would break the solder holding an axial rod that penetrated both the top and the bottom of the waterlight. When the unit hit the water, it would start flooding through the hole in the bottom. Water coming in contact with the lumps of calcium carbide inside the canister would start the production of acetylene gas. The gas would emerge through the hole left by the axial rod in the top of the waterlight, and the gas would burn - giving off light and thereby marking the location of the ring buoy and, hopefully, the man grasping it.

And from the same post..;.  I learned that these lights were done away with by the Coast Guard during WWII because the lights could ignite spilled oil coming from a sinking ship. The chemical lights were then replaced by electric lights.\

I doubt that steamboats used ballast.  They were made to operate in very shallow water.  Right?  Anyone?

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There are always challenges to be faced, and the Founding Father's knew that.

The country has faced many challenges, but the challenges of today are grave, but not new.  A book by U.S. News and World Report, Communism and the New Left (1970), provides the following insight.

"Many universities have moved to meet some of the student demands. To the militants this only means that other demands must be presented to continue the confrontation with authority (p. 187).

The satisfaction of demands or improvement in conditions is not the goal.

For the communist and their allies who just do not like the idea or fact of America for one reason or another, chaos and failure assists the radical transformation of America that was promised.

The methods and goals of the communists are not new.  They've been at it for a long time.  If you study the past, you'll better understand the present,

I highly recommend reading the above-mentioned book.

Celebrate America today, but acknowledge the challenges we face.