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ARS DOES IT AGAIN!
As previously announced, during our October-November expedition to our southwest lease area, we recovered one of the most prized artifacts from colonial era shipwrecks — a Mariner’s Astrolabe. We thought it would be hard to beat that, but….. During the subsequent expedition in December, we found and recovered additional much sought-after shipwreck artifacts: a bronze bell and TWO bronze breech-loader cannon. The bell was found first, near the location where the astrolabe was recovered. It was heavily encrusted and was only detected by means of a metal detector. It required several hours of work for the diver to carefully excavate it from the thick layer of calcium carbonate. The next day, the divers also located a bronze cannon in the same area (also via metal detector). It required two days of work to excavate the cannon. Towards the end of the expedition, we encountered another bronze breech-loader cannon on a different site. The second one was located in the sand and didn’t require any excavation to recover it. Needless to say, we deemed the December expedition HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL!!
Although some initial cleaning has revealed marks on both cannon and some figures on the bell, research is still being performed to determine the age and origins.
Scroll down to see these rare and important recoveries.
Bill Seliger examines bronze bell as Richard, the diver who recovered it, looks on from the Little Southwest Explorer.
Bronze bell after some initial cleaning - so far no numbers or words have been exposed
The first bronze breech-loader cannon after being brought aboard the RV Osprey
1st bronze cannon after initial cleaning at government lab exposed a mark on the barrel. (Photo: courtesy Francis Soto)
Close-up of the mark on the barrel of the first bronze cannon
2nd bronze breech-loader cannon after being placed aboard the RV Osprey
2nd bronze cannon - breech partially cleaned to expose some marks. (Photo: courtesy Francis Soto)
Marks exposed on the 2nd cannon. (Photo: courtesy Francis Soto)
2nd bronze cannon - breech partially cleaned to expose some marks. (Photo: courtesy Francis Soto)
Marks exposed on the 2nd cannon. (Photo: courtesy Francis Soto)
We were also fortunate to find an iron wedge used to secure the breech block in breech-loader cannon.
NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all artifacts shown on the ARS website are artifacts discovered and recovered by ARS.
