Misplaced Pages

#768231

50-459: In 1976, unlicensed treasure hunters discovered a wreck on Molasses Reef, on the southwestern edge of the Caicos Bank near French Cay. The site of the wreck has been described as a "ship trap". The remains of several other wrecks are scattered on top of and around the earliest wreck. The treasure hunters, who were looking for Spanish treasure ships , recognized that the ordnance in the wreck

100-541: A hurricane off the Carolina coast in 1857. In 1987, Thomas G. Thompson discovered the ship's location. A ROUV surfaced more than forty million dollars in gold from the sunken ship. In June of 1718 the infamous pirate Blackbeard grounded his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge , near Beaufort Inlet, NC. On November 21, 1996 Intersal, Inc., while working under permit from the state of North Carolina, discovered

150-492: A demon firing a hand-held bombard. The sculpture was later dated to the early 12th century. Early bombards also include two Chinese c. 1377 cast-iron mortars weighing over 150 kg (330 lb), each with four trunnions on their barrels. England began using cannons in the early 14th century. Field artillery was deployed by King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and equipment which may have been an artillery piece

200-671: A federal offense. Most of the United States prosecutes the unearthing of burial grounds. Treasure hunting is condemned by a growing number of nations, and UNESCO issued a charter for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage in 2001: the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage . This convention is a legal instrument helping states parties to improve

250-470: A highly skilled forge who could work quickly and precisely with a hammer. A notable example of a bombard is Mons Meg , built around 1449 and used by King James II of Scotland . It was very powerful and used for bringing down castle walls. The origins of Mons Meg are not fully known but according to Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy, it was his idea. It was ordered around 1449 and had similar construction to

300-519: A replica was being fired at the castle for visitors during 2012. Other known 15th-century very large-calibre guns include the wrought-iron Pumhart von Steyr and Dulle Griet as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette , Faule Grete , and Grose Bochse . The Tsar Cannon is a late 16th-century show-piece. The Dardanelles Gun , built in the Ottoman Empire in 1464 by Munir Ali, with a weight of 18.6 t (18.3 long tons; 20.5 short tons) and

350-599: A similar motive. Modern amateur treasure hunters use relatively inexpensive metal detectors to locate finds at terrestrial sites. Underwater archaeologist and sometime treasure hunter Peter Throckmorton , in a paper he wrote in 1969 as part of a Historical Archaeology Forum on E. Lee Spence's salvage of a Civil War blockade runner , addressing the question of whether treasure hunting and archaeology are in conflict, stated: “The foregoing discussion may seem like an attack on Mr. Spence. I do not mean this to be so. A whole new branch of archaeology, that of Mycenaean studies,

400-628: A sport in which participants use GPS units to find hidden caches of toys or trinkets, or various other treasure-hunting games . In the 12th century text Account of Egypt , Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi wrote about the historic value of the Egyptian monuments, and praised the contemporary governments for trying to preserve them. He also discussed the profession of treasure hunting, noting that poorer treasure hunters were often sponsored by rich businessmen to go on archeological expeditions. In some cases, an expedition could turn out to be fraudulent , with

450-712: A tool, tanks supply air, and snorkels conserve energy. In 1906, the Secretaries of the Interior of Agriculture and War made an act for the preservation of American Antiquities (ancient artifacts). This act says that each of the Interior would have their own specific authority over different artifacts or locations based on their department. These artifacts and locations are as follows: Historic landmarks, historic monuments, objects of antiquity, objects of scientific value and historical value. The Secretary of Agriculture has jurisdiction over artifacts and monuments found within

500-424: A typical bombard. However, it was seldom used because of several factors. Mons Meg was capable of firing 180 kg (400 lb) shots and was one of the largest bombards of its time. It is now housed on public display at Edinburgh Castle . A bombard with a bore of approximately 12 in (30 cm) was found when the moat of Bodiam Castle , Kent, was drained. A muzzle-loader of hoop-and-stave construction, it

550-470: A variety of olive jars  [ es ] , escudillas  [ es ] (bowls) and lebrillos  [ es ] (basins) of styles typical of Spanish and Portuguese pottery of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Some more crudely made vessels of uncertain provenance were also found. The ship that wrecked on Molasses Reef has not been identified despite extensive searches of records. Over 120 European ships are known to have been lost in

SECTION 10

#1732776556769

600-495: A vast amount of area with little help and the job seems to not be done within the time limit designated by the certain someone, that permit will not be granted. Each permit will be granted by the respective Secretaries that have jurisdiction over those certain sites. Also including to the permit just stated above you also need these following requirements: The name of the Institution making the request, how much time it will take,

650-410: Is a portable floating diving unit that feeds air directly to the divers without need of tanks on the divers. In diving, masks allow for improved vision, fins increase swimming speeds, safety vests provide lifesaving assistance, diver's flags alert others of a diver's location, wetsuits conserve body heat and also provide skin protection, weight belts offset buoyancy of rubber suits, knives prove useful as

700-647: Is believed to be the oldest piece found in England and may be late 14th or very early 15th century. It was possibly dumped in the moat following an abortive siege at the castle during the Wars of the Roses. The original is now at the Royal Artillery Museum at Woolwich, but a copy has been on show at the castle for many years. The Star Gun Company has built a Bodiam Bombard replica while local newspapers report

750-404: Is carried out by archaeologists working with treasure hunters, concerns remain that treasure hunting, by definition, ignores the principle that in-situ preservation of cultural heritage should always be considered first, and that the sale of recovered artifacts breaks up the assemblage of cultural heritage material, resulting in a loss of opportunity to study the whole picture. The counter argument

800-539: Is no standard size for bombards, and the term has been applied to cannons only a meter in length as well as cannons several meters long weighing up to 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons). The oldest known representation of a bombard can be found in the Dazu Rock Carvings . In 1985, the Canadian historian Robin D. S. Yates was visiting Buddhist cave temples when he saw a sculpture on the wall depicting

850-516: Is that professional salvors have the resources to fund archaeological research of sites that would otherwise be unrecorded, and be subject to destruction by looting or natural forces. The early stages of the development of archaeology included a significant aspect of treasure hunting; Heinrich Schliemann 's excavations at Troy , and later at Mycenae , both turned up significant finds of golden artifacts. Early work in Egyptology also included

900-583: Is the physical search for treasure . For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasure-hunting can be controversial, as locations such as sunken wrecks or cultural sites may be protected by national or international law concerned with property ownership, marine salvage , sovereign or state vessels, commercial diving regulations, protection of cultural heritage and trade controls. Treasure hunting can also refer to geocaching –

950-628: The Odyssey Marine Exploration entered into an arrangement with the British government in finding HMS Sussex which carried 10 tons of gold coins on board. The ship foundered in 1694 off the coast of Gibraltar . In 2009, Englishman Terry Herbert found a hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, which was termed the Staffordshire Hoard . The very same year, Scotsman David Booth found four gold torques from

1000-590: The Pinta and other wrecks of treasure ships in the area. Concerned about the salvage company's plans, the Turks and Caicos Islands government invited the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University to survey the wreck site. Later a new group arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands, claiming to have inherited the rights of the earlier salvage company. After receiving permission to explore wrecks other than

1050-709: The treasure salvage of many fascinating artifacts from Spanish treasure fleets as well as many others. Rubberised suits, weighted belts and shoes, and helmets are used for deep-sea diving. Diving bells, open helmets, atmospheric diving suits were used. Deep-sea exploration today is accomplished using Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (" SCUBA "), unmanned submersible vehicles, Remote Operating Vehicles ("ROVs"), and exposure suits. Sound Navigation and Ranging (" Sonar ") and magnetometers are used for detection of treasure. Hand tools, probes, screens, containers, shovels, metal detectors, and sifters are useful for land treasure hunting (Smith, 1971). The Evinrude Aquanaut

SECTION 20

#1732776556769

1100-662: The Americas by 1520, but none of them can be matched to the Molasses Reef Wreck. The lack of personal possessions in the wreck indicates that the crew was able to abandon ship, but there are no signs that the Spanish tried to salvage the armament on the ship. Four sets of bilboes were found at the wreck site. The bilboes may have been for use in punishing crew members, but they were also used to restrain slaves aboard ships. The ship may have been hunting for Lucayans in

1150-596: The Bahama Islands (in the broader sense that includes the now politically separate Turks and Caicos Islands) to take to Hispaniola as slaves (technically, as workers in the encomienda system). As the natives of Hispaniola died out, the Spanish recruited Lucayans to replace them. By 1513 almost all of the Lucayans had been removed from the southern Bahama Islands. This would accord with a wreck date no later than 1513. Treasure hunting Treasure hunting

1200-580: The Molasses Reef wreck, but not to remove any artifacts, this group proceeded to take artifacts without permission from numerous sites, including Molasses Reef. The government then revoked the company's salvage license, and invited the Institute of Nautical Archaeology to excavate the Molasses Reef Wreck. When researchers from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology returned to Molasses Reef in 1982 they discovered that extensive damage had occurred since

1250-548: The US, the finder of a ship not abandoned could seek a salvage award. The countries England, Wales, and Northern Ireland claim gold and silver finds that are more than three hundred years old for the crown by way of the Treasure Act of 1996. Any found treasure in these nations must be reported within fourteen days of uncovering. The United States awards ownership to the landowner. If finds occur on federal land it can be considered

1300-444: The construction of a wooden core surrounded by iron bars. Then, iron hoops were driven over these bars in order to surround and cover them. The whole structure was then welded with a hammer while it was still hot at about 2,500 °F (1,370 °C). The rings then subsequently cooled and formed over the bars to secure them. The last step was to incinerate the wooden core and to attach a one-piece cast. The complicated procedure required

1350-455: The date, the person in charge of the project, what type of project it is going to be, excavating, gathering or examining, and the museum where the artifact will be shown and preserved. Each permit will only be granted for 3 years or less. An extension can be granted if progress is shown. Permits will not be in effect if work does not begin within six months of getting the permit. The United States federal Abandoned Shipwrecks Act , which asserts

1400-614: The degree of Doctor of Marine Histories by the College of Marine Arts on July 16, 1972, becoming first people in the world to be awarded a doctorate for work in marine archaeology. More recently, most serious treasure hunters have started working underwater, where modern technology allows access to wrecks containing valuables, which were previously inaccessible. Starting with the diving suit , and moving on through Scuba and later to ROVs , each new generation of technology has made more wrecks accessible. Many of these wrecks have resulted in

1450-454: The earlier survey. Someone had used pipe bombs to dislodge artifacts from the wreck, leaving a large crater and damaged artifacts. Over the next three years the archaeologists spent a total of six months excavating the site. They shipped more than ten tons of artifacts to Texas for cleaning, stabilization and study. Responsibility for the wreck and artifacts was transferred to a non-profit entity, Ships of Exploration and Discovery Research, which

1500-522: The federal government's ownership of abandoned United States water shipwrecks, was put into place in 1988. Any shipwreck that is embedded in submerged lands and/or in coralline formations protected by a State on submerged lands of a state is property of the government. The Abandoned Shipwrecks Act then transfers ownership to the appropriate State government. The Supreme Court upheld the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act constitutionality in 1998. In

1550-460: The first century B.C. in Stirling , Scotland . Since the late 1990s, reacting against increasingly energetic efforts by the international community to stop the destruction of the world submerged cultural heritage, treasure hunting companies started hiring archaeologists and marketing directors, making public statements about their good intentions. Even where good quality archaeological research

Molasses Reef Wreck - Misplaced Pages Continue

1600-486: The hull and metal pieces from the rigging, have been recovered from the wreck. Arms on the ship included two bombardettas , fifteen versos (a type of breech-loading swivel gun ), haquebuts , haquebuzes (a smaller type of arquebus), grenades , crossbows and quarrels , swords, daggers, breech chambers (powder cartridges) for the bombardetas and versos , shot molds, and sheets of lead to be melted as needed to make shot. The wreck also contained many pot sherds from

1650-533: The last battle of the Hundred Years' War saw English commander John Talbot lead an Anglo-Gascon army against dug-in French troops equipped with 300 pieces of artillery at the Battle of Castillion in 1453. The French camp had been laid out by ordnance officer Jean Bureau to maximise the French artillery arm. The Anglo-Gascons were shot to pieces and Talbot was eventually killed. Most bombards started with

1700-572: The network for promoting the theft of cultural materials on public and private land. Bombard (weapon) The bombard is a type of cannon or mortar which was used throughout the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period . Bombards were mainly large calibre , muzzle-loading artillery pieces used during sieges to shoot round stone projectiles at the walls of enemy fortifications, enabling troops to break in. Most bombards were made of iron and used gunpowder to launch

1750-563: The outer limits of forest reserves. The secretary of War for any land that resides in or near a military reserve. The lands that are controlled by the US Government will be supervised by the respective Secretary. Permits will not be granted to those trying to move or take any monument or artifact that can be preserved in its original place and remain an ancient monument. A permit will not be granted to someone "whose eyes are bigger than their stomach." In other words, those trying to explore

1800-606: The projectiles. There are many examples of bombards, including Mons Meg , the Dardanelles Gun , and the handheld bombard. The weapon provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier and the word 'bombardment'. The term "bombard" was first used to describe guns of any kind from the early to mid-14th century, but it was later applied primarily to large cannons during the 14th to 15th centuries. Despite its strong association with large cannons, there

1850-565: The protection of their underwater cultural heritage. In 2013 the National Geographic Channel set off a firestorm of controversy with its reality show Diggers . Spike TV's similar program, American Diggers , also created an outcry. Professional archaeologists from the Society for Historical Archaeology , the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400–present), roundly criticised

1900-472: The sea floor by parts of the hull that had disintegrated since the wreck. The ship was about 19 meters long with a beam of five to six meters and a draft of two meters or a bit more. The ship had at least three masts; metal parts of rigging found indicate that both square-rigged and lateen sails were used on the ship. The surviving parts of the hull showed construction techniques typical of 15th- and 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish ships, indicating this ship

1950-464: The treasure hunter disappearing with large amounts of money extracted from sponsors. In 1643, Massachusetts treasure hunter Sir William Phips salvaged a sunken Spanish treasure ship which had been wrecked on the Ambrosia Bank in 1599. The total worth of the treasures salvaged came in at £ 205,536. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha left Havana bound for Spain in 1622, foundering during

2000-612: The use of bombards. Henry V captured Harfleur with bombards in 1415. King Henry's army later came under artillery fire at the Battle of Agincourt . James II of Scotland destroyed many castles with his one and a half ton cannon named "The Lion". The French conquest of the English king's holdings in France saw the use of considerable French artillery in the siege role. The French in this period preferred to avoid attacking English longbowmen in open battle and relied on siege tactics. However

2050-508: The voyage. American treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his crew spent sixteen years searching for the shipwreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha . Three silver bars were found in 1973, five bronze cannons were found in 1975, and in 1980, a wooden hull weighted down by ballast stones, iron cannonballs and artifacts of 17th-century Spain were found, confirming the location of the wreck. The SS Central America sank after running into

Molasses Reef Wreck - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-498: The wreck by analyzing growth rings on a large coral head growing on the wreck, but the coral was found to be only 250 years old. Artifacts found at the wreck site included items typically carried on Spanish ships in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Haquebuts , a type of arquebus , which ceased being part of a Spanish ship's usual equipment after about 1515, and a type of bowl called melado escudilla (literally, "honey bowl"), which stopped being used after about 1520, were found in

2150-469: The wreck. Other types of artifacts which were commonly carried on Spanish ships later in the 16th century were not found at the wreck site. This evidence indicates that the ship probably wrecked within a few years of 1513, making it the earliest wreck of a European ship in the Americas that has been scientifically excavated. A large number of arms, including cannons and small arms, bowls and storage jars, surgical and carpentry tools, as well as wooden pieces of

2200-540: The wrecksite. Intersal then handed over the wreck to the state of North Carolina in exchange for media and replica rights. In 1782 the EIC East Indiaman Grosvenor sank off the Cape Colony while carrying a cargo of 2,000 silver ingots, 720 gold ingots, and several jewels of unknown value. In 1952, a British crew recovered almost 1 million pound's worth of the £5.3 million cargo, which

2250-687: Was a caravel . The age of the wreck indicates that the ship was built in Spain or Portugal and sailed across the Atlantic. The ballast was found to consist of stones from several points of origin, primarily from near Lisbon , but also from one or more of the Macaronesian islands (the Azores , Madeira and/or the Canary Islands ) and from near Bristol , England . An attempt was made to date

2300-557: Was founded by Heinrich Schliemann , who also had the courage to remember his dreams … It is right to dream, and it would be the worst kind of mistake on the part of the state to discourage the big dreams of men like Mr. Spence, and to let a project requiring that sort of enterprise fall into the hands of what Mr. Spence's friend terms ‘some bloody historical society’ which might lay the dead hand of unimaginative and stereotyped thinking on Mr. Spence's courage and ability.” In 1972, Spence and Throckmorton, along with three other men, were awarded

2350-431: Was from the 1490s or early 1500s, too early for a treasure ship. In 1980, a salvage company organized by those treasure hunters applied for a license from the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore and salvage shipwrecks. After receiving the license, the company announced that it had discovered the wreck of Christopher Columbus ' ship Pinta , and anticipated making large profits from marketing artifacts from

2400-734: Was hidden in Brazil to avoid being taxed by the British government . The SS Laurentic , on a voyage from Liverpool to Halifax in 1917, collided with a mine and sunk with a gold cargo worth five million pounds. Lieutenant Commander G.C.C. Damant was appointed to salvage the ship by the British Admiralty . Damant, aided by John Haldane , discovered the cause and prevention of decompression sickness ("the bends") allowing them to make deeper dives. Over seven seasons, all but 25 gold bars were recovered by Damant and his crew. In 2002,

2450-485: Was listed as captured on a French ship by the English at Sluys as early as 1340. Inverted 'keyhole' gun loops at Bodiam Castle , Cooling Castle , and the Westgate, Canterbury , have all been identified as for firing heavy handguns. These defences are dated 1380–1385. Initially used as defensive weapons, primitive bombards began to be used as siege weapons in the later 14th century. Henry IV and Henry V won battles with

2500-440: Was set up by the archaeologists working on the project. In 1990 all of the artifacts were returned to the Turks and Caicos Islands and placed in a new National Museum, opened in 1991, housing displays about the wreck. While only a very small portion of the wooden hull had survived, the archaeologists were able to determine the size and some of the structure of the ship from the distribution of ballast stones and from marks made in

#768231