This find comprises of the remains of three to four wooden barrels, which were buried in the intertidal sandy substrate of a pleasure beach. The action of the tide revealed the barrels and it is unclear how much of the barrels remain. End of the staves, lengths of timber making the sides of the barrel, are visible and clearly degraded. In some cases these give the appearance of flaring outwards, implying that only the lower portion of the barrel remains. At least one barrel exhibits inwardly projecting staves, suggesting more than half of the barrel remains. There is some evidence for the remains of posts protruding from the barrels which otherwise give the appearance of having been filled with sand and stone. The term cask is also used to describe barrels specifically intended for the storage of liquid, most commonly alcohol such as wine and beer. It has not been possible at this stage to ascertain the exact size and type of the barrels comprising this find, though it is estimated that they are of a small to medium size such as a Rundlet or Tierce. What the barrels were originally used for is not readily discernible, though it does appear that they have been repurposed for another function. The presence of posts within the barrels and their relative positions, laid out in a rough rectangle, suggests they used to accommodate foundation posts of a possible structure. This may have been a simple platform for bathers or anglers or something more complex such as a temporary jetty or pontoon. An image, submitted by the finder, dating to the 1850s shows structures in approximately the same position as the barrels, which may indicate the structure previously supported by the barrels. Alternatively they may relate someway to the practicing for the D-Day Landings in Normandy, which incorporated the beach and construction of landing pontoons. It has not been possible to firmly date this find from the available data, but given their condition and the preservation of the timber elements a more recent, post-medieval, date is tentatively suggested. This find comprises of the remains of three to four wooden barrels, which were buried in the intertidal sandy substrate of a pleasure beach. The action of the tide revealed the barrels and it is unclear how much of the barrels remain. End of the staves, lengths of timber making the sides of the barrel, are visible and clearly degraded. In some cases these give the appearance of flaring outwards, implying that only the lower portion of the barrel remains. At least one barrel exhibits inwardly projecting staves, suggesting more than half of the barrel remains. There is some evidence for the remains of posts protruding from the barrels which otherwise give the appearance of having been filled with sand and stone. The term cask is also used to describe barrels specifically intended for the storage of liquid, most commonly alcohol such as wine and beer. It has not been possible at this stage to ascertain the exact size and type of the barrels comprising this find, though it is estimated that they are of a small to medium size such as a Rundlet or Tierce. What the barrels were originally used for is not readily discernible, though it does appear that they have been repurposed for another function. The presence of posts within the barrels and their relative positions, laid out in a rough rectangle, suggests they used to accommodate foundation posts of a possible structure. This may have been a simple platform for bathers or anglers or something more complex such as a temporary jetty or pontoon. An image, submitted by the finder, dating to the 1850s shows structures in approximately the same position as the barrels, which may indicate the structure previously supported by the barrels. Alternatively they may relate someway to the practicing for the D-Day Landings in Normandy, which incorporated the beach and construction of landing pontoons. It has not been possible to firmly date this find from the available data, but given their condition and the preservation of the timber elements a more recent, post-medieval, date is tentatively suggested. Barrels have been in use since at least the time of the Roman Republic, with evidence suggesting their use from 350 BC or earlier (https://www.riverdrive.co/history-of-barrels/ accessed March 2020). Their suitability as water tight containers meant that, until the 20th century, they were essential for the transport and storage of food stuffs, water and alcohol. The whiskey distilling industry still uses traditional oak barrels extensively in the ageing process. The term barrel itself is a general term and there are many different types of barrel, determined by size, such as a firkin (c. 30 litres) and a tun (c. 954 litres). A RDF representation of MAS-O100234 2018-10-15T09:58:04+01:00 2020-03-30T14:21:28+01:00 MAS-O100234 MAS-O100234 GB en-GB The Trustees of the British Museum The Trustees of the British Museum 1 The period from for the object http://purl.org/NET/Claros/vocab#Thumbnail Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum A thumbnail image of MAS-O100234 Site MAS Created by MAS Wood Primary material of object Iron Secondary material of object Incomplete By Attribution 3.0 Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum A full resolution image of MAS-O100234 Method of manufacture Classification of object