2024-03-28T20:40:05+00:00https://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/jsonhttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/xmlhttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/rsshttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/atomhttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/kmlhttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/geojsonhttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results/format/qrcodehttps://marinefinds.org.uk/database/search/results7110finds-234234MAS-O100234BARRELPOST MEDIEVALThis 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). Container21413MAS2018-09-27T00:00:00ZStorage container. Food and liquid storage containerSite2018-10-15T09:58:04Z2020-03-30T14:21:28Z23441482835PAS5C5037EF001C03250003DownNW653654.66413092-5.64553486soils.bike.luck10MAS MASMASWood11988Iron11019Hand madeIncompletePoorROMANx41218MODERNx41047Coastal walking234_20180927_192948.jpg604images/MASPhil Trim2020-03-30T13:21:28.39Zfinds-181181MAS-D100181TIMBERPOST MEDIEVALFind consists of two sections of timber or wood. The first measures approximately 1650 mm in length, 85 mm in width and 90 mm in depth. There are no diagnostic elements visible upon the timber, such as tool marks or fixing points, and therefore its function remains unknown. It does, however, appear to be faced and is therefore unlikely to be a piece of natural driftwood.
The second piece of wood measures approximately 196 mm in length and 20 mm in width. There is at least one possible nail hole visible and again it appears to have been faced or worked by human hands. It is heavily degraded and this, coupled with a lack of diagnostic details, preclude any comment on its original function or use.
Both pieces of timber appear to have been at least prepared for use by human action, though how they came to be in the sea or when is unknown at this point. It may be that they relate to ships timbers, originating from a wreck or discarded overboard, part of shoreline installations, such as a pier or jetty, or simpley be lost cargo from a ship carrying timber as cargo. The nail hole in the second piece suggests that this has been used and is therefore unlikely to be cargo, whereas the lack of bolt holes or othwer fixings on the larger timber may suggest the opposite.
The fact that the larger timber was photographed with with a swivel gun (MAS-D100180) may indicate that it was recovered from the same area on the seabed.SHIP36391094/183MAS2018-05-22T00:00:00ZTimber2018-06-01T09:21:57Z2020-03-26T15:02:12Z18190851650114115214362DorsetSY637150.53759313-2.52346561feeds.passive.slims10MAS MASMASWood11988FragmentPOST MEDIEVALx41047NINETEENTH CENTURYx41047Diving181_IMG_2022.jpg446images/MAS2020-03-26T15:02:12.325Zfinds-177177MAS-D100177TIMBERPOST MEDIEVALSection of highly degraded timber measuring approximately 216 mm in length by 31 mm at its widest point. The ends taper to a point, in a regular fashion that seems a deliberate aspect of the timber rather than part of the process of degredation. At least five nail or bolt holes are apparent in the face of the timber, further differentiating the piece from a section of unworked natural wood. The function of the timber is unidentifiable from the data available. As it has been recovered from a wreck it is likely to relate to the vessel itself and can tentatively be interpreted as a ships timber that has been exposed for at least part of its life on the sea bed.This find comes from an unidentified wreck known as the Brandy Wreck, situated east of Portland Harbour in Weymouth Bay, Dorset. An investigation of the newly discovered wreck was carried out by Wessex Archaeology (2016) in conjunction with The Shipwreck Project, a local organisation who discovered the site, and at the behest of Historic England. The lack of datable evidence from secure contexts, structural elements of a vessel and other factors meant that a precise date or name of the vessel could not be determined. Broadly, the vessel is thought to date between 1600 and 1825 AD and may relate to a naval or merchant vessel, or potentially be a chance accumulation of artefacts. Vessel currently has no NRHE or HER designation numbers.
This item was found with a swivel gun (MAS-D100180), length of braided copper (MAS-D100183) and a flat strip of copper (MAS-D100184).TRANSPORT36391091/183MAS2018-05-22T00:00:00ZSHIP2018-06-01T06:40:00Z2020-03-26T15:59:14Z177352201142315PAS5C5037EF001C03214362DorsetSY737550.57411317-2.38265074commander.evening.twist10MAS MASMASWood11988IncompletePoorPOST MEDIEVALx41047NINETEENTH CENTURYx41047Diving180_IMG_2025.jpg445images/MASPhil Trim2020-03-26T15:59:14.22Zfinds-110110MAS-F100110POSTPOST MEDIEVALHeavily eroded and abraded timber fragment with marine borer and growth present. As it is so worn, it is difficult to tell what type of wood it is and whether this fragment was originally completely shaped and worked, or just partially worked to achieve its function. The timber does not exhibit any evidence or staining from fastenings, however, there is one hole that could have been a fastening point at some stage.
It is thought that this fragment may be a broken post or groyne timber that has come from a beach rather than material relating to a wreck. Groynes are wooden barriers built at right angles to a beach to prevent the movement of material along the coast caused by longshore drift. They can be subjected to storm damage which results in them being broken and drifting out to sea. The possibility that this piece of wood derives from a vessel should not be ruled out, however. Shipwrecks represent an important part of our marine historic landscape and are important in understanding some of the most fundamental aspects relating to human past and experience.ARCHITECTURE36411220/173MAS2017-08-23T00:00:00ZARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTWith finder2017-08-23T08:45:04Z2018-05-08T08:39:55Z110180720114281314PAS57C96ECD001E82PAS57C96ECD001E8222625East SussexTQ440050.781702980.04126088pastels.dash.stockpile10MAS MASMASWood11988FragmentPoorPOST MEDIEVALx41047MODERNx41047FishingSubmitted as wreck to the Receiver of WreckFIPAD_2017081719.JPG284images/MASABB2018-05-08T07:39:55.115Zfinds-107107MAS-F100107TRANSPORTPOST MEDIEVALThis ship's timber is 830 mm long, 110 x 120 mm in profile, with truncated 25 mm diameter treenails; and a 385 x 65 mm slot for the supporting metal work from which the visible corrosion products suggest that they were of iron construction. The images were forwarded to ship expert and author Richard Endsor.
The timber appears to be the beam end from a small ship, with evidence of knees on both sides. The small piece of plank let into it crossways may be the remains of a waterway at the side making this face the upper side of the beam. The treenails probably secured the plank. The notch at the beam end may have fitted between the frame timbers of the ship's hull. The recessed slot may be to take a lodging fore and aft knee, and the flat section on the opposite side would be for a hanging knee.
The evidence of corrosion products on the beam suggest that it is from a modern ship, as although iron support structures in the construction of ships appeared during the latter part of the18th century, they were only initially used in warships and large merchantmen, and not until later in smaller vessels such as fishing boats and sailing barges. The retrofitting of them in warships was common during the Napoleonic wars. The uptake of iron fitting was very much linked to the availability of wood, and therefore most ships were built of wood with wooden framing components and some iron strengthening, the Cutty Sark, built in 1869, is one example of this approach. The different designs of iron knee, where they survive, also act as a useful guide to dating wreck sites, particularly in the case of British wrecks. European and American built wrecks, where good quality timber was readily available or cheaper means these are less easily dated by their metal components.SHIP36411224/173MAS2017-08-23T00:00:00ZTimberWith finder2017-08-23T08:34:54Z2018-05-23T13:57:54Z10711012083011428114PAS57C96ECD001E8222625East SussexTQ440050.781702980.04126088pastels.dash.stockpile10MAS MASMASWood11988FragmentPOST MEDIEVALx41047MODERNx41047FishingSubmitted as wreck to the Receiver of WreckFIPAD_2017081739.JPG262images/MASABB2018-05-23T12:57:54.253Zfinds-4949MAS-D100049WATER CRAFT EQUIPMENTPOST MEDIEVALTwo circular wooden pulley sheaves. It is not clear whether these wooden pulley sheaves were a pair or from single sheave pulleys. Generally made from ash (Fraxinus), hickory (Carya) in the case of North America, or Lignum vitae. Lignum vitae, Latin for 'wood of life', is a trade wood, also called Guayacan or Guaiacum from the trees of the genus Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America and have been an important export crop to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century due to its extraordinary combination of strength, toughness, and density. It was also considered to have self lubricating properties. Ash though tough and elastic is prone to wet rot. Roller bushes were also introduced during the 1880s to reduce friction on the sheave pin. A sheave's size depended mostly on the rope it handled, the higher up the rigging the block was, and the lighter the ropes, the smaller they were. Sheaves also shrank in size as rope quality improved over time, and the introduction of iron parts also contributed to this process. However, many ships continued to use larger blocks due to their making the work easier and therefore requiring less crew to operate.This item was found along with a wooden belaying pin (MAS-D100032) and a marble tile (MAS-D100050).WATER CRAFT36391032/173MAS2017-03-14T00:00:00ZSHIPWith finder2017-03-14T07:28:01Z2017-09-26T13:21:53Z49214283115PAS57C96ECD001E82PAS57C96ECD001E822MAS MASMASWood11988UncertainFairPOST MEDIEVALx41047NINETEENTH CENTURYx41047DivingSubmitted as wreck to the Receiver of WreckIMG_3921.JPG164images/MASABB2017-11-06T18:19:33.525Zfinds-3232MAS-D100032WATER CRAFT EQUIPMENTPOST MEDIEVALA wooden belaying pin, approximately 0.4 m in length.
Belaying pins are either solid metal or wooden objects used on sailing ships to secure the running rigging. They are still seen today on traditional square rigged ships and replica vessels. More modern sailing vessels have tended to replace them with fixed cleats. Their design has little changed, comprising a rounded handle and cylindrical shaft of varying length and thickness, dependant on the workload placed on it. The shaft would fit into holes in pinrails, which lined the inside of the bulwarks around the base of the ship's mast, or a fife rail, which was a free-standing rail set on posts to hold the belaying pins to secure the ship's halyards. The ropes or lines would be wrapped around the pin in a figure of eight pattern to secure them. Similarly designed pins, known as thole pins, were inserted into the gunwales to act as a fulcrum for oars on small boats.This item was found along with two pulley sheeves (MAS-D100049) and a marble tile (MAS-D100050).TRANSPORT36391032/173MAS2017-03-14T00:00:00ZWATER CRAFT EQUIPMENTWith finder2017-03-14T07:28:01Z2017-09-26T13:11:50Z3211428415PAS57C96ECD001E82PAS57C96ECD001E822MAS MASMASWood11988CompletePOST MEDIEVALx41047NINETEENTH CENTURYx41047DivingSubmitted as wreck to the Receiver of WreckIMG_3921.JPG104images/MASABB2017-11-06T18:21:06.602Z