Record ID: MAS-O100053
Object type: BOTTLE
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: Kent
Workflow stage: Published
One gin bottle measuring 11 inches high by 3 1/2 inches wide. This square, mould-blown 'case bottle', has the typical tapering profile. The square shape enabled the bottles to be packed more efficiently in a case than round bottles, and the tapering profile stops them from sticking when removed from the case. They were used for gin (although undoubtedly also sometimes for other spirits or wine). Square case bottles were made in Europe from the middle of the 17th century, but the tapering form seems to have become more common in the 19th century. From the 1880s the bottles were machine …
Created on: Monday 29th May 2017
Last updated: Monday 19th March 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100110
Object type: POST
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
Heavily 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 bui…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 8th May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100109
Object type: BOAT
Broad period: MODERN
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
This find is an unidentified curved aluminium sheet that measures approximately 0.94 m by 0.24 m and has a thickness of 5 mm. The sheet displays one riveted hole and one area still exhibits faint traces of red paint. The sheet is covered in a layer of marine growth. Initially it was believed that this object could be associated with aviation remains, however, after consulting our historic aircraft specialist, it was confirmed that the material is too thick to belong to an aircraft. The colour red does not often appear, other than on external markings or Luftwaffe radio equipment, both…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 8th May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100108
Object type: PORTHOLE
Broad period: MODERN
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
This object is the remains of a brass porthole ring measuring 250 mm across with a brass rim 28 mm wide. It is thought that this frame would have been on the outside of the hull of the vessel while an internal frame on the inside of the vessel would have contained the glass element and a hinged deadlight (a metal plate that was both a curtain and a reinforcement against heavy seas). Portholes have been used for centuries to allow light and ventilation to enter the lower, darker levels of vessels and in some early cases, as a means of seeing out of a submersible. Portholes are waterti…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 8th May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100106
Object type: LADDER
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
These two timbers are two components of a companion ladder. The larger piece measures 1.14 m long by 0.15 m wide and based on the visible ridges to accommodate the stairs, would have been the left-hand side banister of the ladder. The smaller piece measures 0.56 m wide and is 20 mm thick. This piece is one of the stairs that would have fitted between both banisters and still slots in to one of the grooves on the remaining banister. The join is step and groove radiused rather than square cut. Companion ladders or a companion way is usually steep but has treads or stairs rather than run…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 8th May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100104
Object type: SHELL CASES
Broad period: MODERN
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
The shell case measures 660 mm long and is 152 mm in diameter at the base, and 116 mm in diameter at the neck though this has been buckled and stretched. The shell case appears to have been either constructed without a base, or it has been removed at some point in the past. The diameter of the neck and its overall size point to it being a 4.5-inch or possibly a 4.7-inch shell case. Without the base with the details of type, manufacturer and date of manufacture, the history and origin of this case is not clear. It would have been part of a fixed round, i.e. the shell was attached to the…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 8th May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-O100026
Object type: SHIPS TIMBER
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: North Yorkshire
Workflow stage: Published
Two fragments of waterlogged wood with two copper fasteners dating from the post-medieval period onwards. The wood may be the remains of two planks of wood used in the construction of a ship as the planks are secured with one copper fastening and a hole is visible where another fastening may have also been used. Copper rivets are the standard method of fastening the planks to each other in clinker constructed vessels, or in the planks to the ribs or frames (Traditional Maritime Skills website, accessed September 2017). Clinker is a method of constructing the hull of a boat by fixing w…
Created on: Saturday 28th January 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 22nd May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-F100105
Object type: STRUCTURAL TIMBER
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: East Sussex
Workflow stage: Published
These two unidentified timbers measure 790 x 75 x 90 mm and 160 x 100 x 60 mm and were recovered from a boat's trawl nets whilst working out of Newhaven, East Sussex. The small piece shows evidence of a longer period of immersion in terms of abrasion and marine borer damage, though this may also be due to the relative hardness and variety of the two woods, or any treatment that might have been received to protect the timber. Neither timber appears to be of ship related origin, with the larger darker piece looking as if it might have been a post and rail fence board originally, rather t…
Created on: Wednesday 23rd August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 22nd May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-D100100
Object type: BOTTLE
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: Kent
Workflow stage: Published
A collection of five bottles comprising two full-size glass bottles, one squat cylindrical glass bottle, one small clear bottle, and one stoneware bottle. All the bottles are believed to be of nineteenth and twentieth century type, although it is difficult to date all but the stoneware bottle. The two full-size glass bottles are thought to be either wine or beer bottles. If the bottles have kicked bases, it would indicate a wine bottle, while a flat base would indicate a beer bottle. The squat cylindrical glass bottle was thought to be a port bottle, however if the base is flat, thi…
Created on: Friday 11th August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 22nd May 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: MAS-D100101
Object type: BOTTLE
Broad period: NINETEENTH CENTURY
County: Kent
Workflow stage: Published
Two case gin bottles. Some of the earliest liquor bottles were square in cross section and generally designed to contain gin though undoubtedly contained various types of liquor and possibly wine. Commonly called 'case gin' or 'taper gin' bottles since they would pack more efficiently in a case (6 to 24 bottles) than round bottles. Case gin bottles are square with a distinct taper inwards from the shoulder to the base. The neck is very short to almost non-existent with the finishes varying from a laid-on ring, flared, mineral finish, oil, and even a blob. This shape and style of bottl…
Created on: Friday 11th August 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 22nd May 2018
Spatial data recorded.