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ERME INGOT

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A scatter of tin ingots was found in 1992 near West Mary's Rocks by divers. The location indicates loss from a ship or perhaps a wreck site, although more detailed investigation has not been possible, as sand has built up over the site since the initial discovery. Such ingots are very rare and it has not been possible to date the finds, although the range of shapes and weights suggest they were made before 1000, but the method of working suggests that they may be as early as the Bronze Age.

Any wreck from which these ingots came would have been constructed of wood; the ingots were found in association with some timber, but this is believed to be evidence of a submarine forest rather than of a shipwreck. The shipwreck itself is thought to represent a ship involved in the export of tin, an industry known in south-western England from an early period.

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DESIGNATED WRECK SITE - ERME INGOT SITE

Summary:

Site in the Erme Estuary where a number of tin ingots of varying sizes have been found.

Designation History:

Statutory Instrument: No.3, 1993/2895, 26-NOV-1993
Protected Area: Within 100m radius of 50 18.15'N., 03 57.41'W, exclduing any part of that area which lies above the high-water mark of ordinary spring tides

Visit by Government Diving Contractor:

University of St Andrews - Archaeological Diving Unit (ADU) April 1986 - April 2003

1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998

Wessex Archaeology 1st May 2003

Documentary History:

Current Interpretation:

The tin ingots were made by a mould in earth or sand with one side being flat; the method dates back to the Bronze Age. (2)

The ingots are difficult to date without any associated evidence. They could be as early as the Bronze Age, or as late as the medieval period, but parallels from other sites, notably in France, suggest a probable late Roman date. (5)

Three large timbers found embedded in the seabed close to the ingots were radiocarbon-dated by the team and found to be of Quatenary date. (5)

The timbers were radiocarbon-dated at 6305+/- 50 BP and 6270 +/- BP and are thought to be evidence of a submerged forest since they predate the tin industry. (6)

From the number, concentration, and situation of the ingots, it appears fairly clear that they came from a shipwreck and that any such shipwreck was involved in the export of tin mined from the local area, the same area also being known for the import of wines, with associated amphora finds. (6)

Possible dates range from the British Iron Age to the post-Roman period up to about 600AD. (6)

Archaeological History:

1991 - 2: found by South-West Maritime Archaeology Group on the landward side of West Mary Rocks, with an initial recovery of 7 ingots. (6)

A number of almost pure tin ingots were found while doing a metal detector survey of the Erme Estuary, lying in association with a piece of old wood.

The site was found by chance when the team licensed to investigate the Erme Estuary designated site [q.v.] attempted to establish whether further archaeological material existed outside the protected area. (5)

Visual and metal-detector surveys of the area have been carried out and over 40 tin ingots have so far been recorded and removed. (5)

Environmental and Archaeological Remains:

Seabed is sandy with shale and small rocks with a small reef with
some bottom surge. The north-east part of the site is sandy with big boulders and kelp to the south-east. (2)

The site is at a depth of about 10 metres, centred on a gently sloping area of shingle with broken rock on the sheltered north side of a 3 metre high reef adjacent to the site, which almost breaks the surface at low water. Much of the shingle is covered in sand while the reef and larger rock fragments are covered in kelp and other weed. (5)

A number of badly eroded timbers, severely damaged by teredo boring, were noted, but not thought to be contemporary with the tin ingots discovered on the site. (5)

Finds:

42 misshapen tin ingots of various sizes from 41cm long, 21cm wide, 6.5cm deep weighing 13 kilos to a midget 7.8cm, weighing less than a quarter of a kilo.

25-JULY-2002: Over forty Bronze Age tin ingots discovered in 1991 were donated to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. (4)(5)The ingots are of different shapes and sizes, ranging from approx 10cm to 20cm in diameter. (4)

The ingots are described as corroded by sea water, and abraded by tidal movement and sand, with evidence of bacterial colonisation. (6)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Tin Ingot Site [interim report]

(2) Diver [incorporating Underwater World]

No.10, 1993 38 Page(s)26-28

(3) Valerie Fenwick and Alison Gale 1998 Historic shipwrecks : discovered, protected and investigated

Page(s)30-1

(4) Devon Archaeological Society newsletter

No.83, 2002 Page(s)3-4

(5) Erme Ingot Site Designation

(6) Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings

1995: article by Aileen Fox 53 Page(s)11-23

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