More information : DESIGNATED WRECK SITE - SALCOMBE WRECK SITE
Summary:
A cannon site which, together with subsequent artefact finds, suggests a wreck of the mid 17th century. A Bronze Age artefact assemblage [q.v.] has also been discovered but is assumed to be unconnected with the 17th century site.
Designation History:
Designated 24th October 1997.
Position: 250m radius centred on 50 12.696N 003 44.679W.
Visit by Government Diving Contractor:
St. Andrews University - Archaeological Diving Unit (ADU) April 1986 - April 2003
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002
Wessex Archaeology 1st May 2003 -
2003, 2004, 2005
Documentary History and Current Interpretation:
The 17th century site was first discovered in 1992, and even though nothing has been found of the ship itself, in 1994 following a shift in the sand divers found evidence of her cargo. Gold coins and ingots, jewellery as well as fragments of pottery, pewter and lead weights have been recovered. The coins and jewellery are the largest assembly of Islamic gold in an English context, giving dating parameters. The pottery includes Dutch Delftware, Bellarmine and Low Countries redware. The identity of the vessel remains a mystery: it may have been English but the Friesland coin suggest a Dutch vessel. (8)
The Moroccan coins date from 1510 to 1636, the latter providing a terminus post quem for the date of loss. Taken in tandem with a Baroque Dutch pipe of the mid 17th century, the date of the wreck is postulated as circa 1640. (15)(16)
The amateur divers who found the vessel are now convinced the 16th century vessel was a Barbary pirate and that its intended cargo was English slaves, bound to North Africa. The British Museum, while initially sceptical, has displayed the artefacts with a label acknowledging the possibility. Only one piece of oak has been recovered despite meticulous surveys; tests on the timber indicate North African origin. Two of the amateur team believe the vessel to be a xebec, which was a slim swift vessel either sailed or rowed, used by Barbary pirates. The unusual scatter of the cannon, suggesting only being mounted fore and aft, means this is a possibility; however, cannon were also positioned fore and aft on contemporary European warships, broadside cannon only coming in after the first Anglo-Dutch war in the 1650s.
The fragmentary condition of the gold and jewellery and ingots suggests that this may have been a hoard of bullion for melting down. Despite this the nationality of the vessel could be either English, Dutch or a Barbary Pirate. (15)
BBC "Timewatch" programme entitled "White Slaves, Pirate Gold" broadcast 10th January 2003, 9pm on BBC2.
It is claimed that the the "Timewatch programme" lacked archaeological integrity and the claims involved artistic licence. The British Museum stated "there was no evidence for links with piracy and is most likely to be a Dutch vessel. 85 per cent of the artefacts recovered are of English or Dutch origin." (16)
The terminus post quem is suggested as 1642 but the origin of the vessel remains unclear. The overall assemblage includes shipboard items consistent with a vessel of north-west European origin, but the possibility that the vessel was North African cannot be eliminated, since the coins are thought to be of North African origin. (18)
Bronze Age artefacts from the south-east of the Designated Area of the wreck site were discovered during the 2004 season and it is assumed that there are two separate assemblages. (18)
Since there is little or no evidence of structural remains, it is difficult to estimate the size of the vessel, or to interpret whether the site is the actual position of loss or the "resting place" of a vessel wrecked elsewhere.
The cause of loss could have been due to being embayed on the lee shore of the Moor Sands in southwesterly conditions, or having grounded upon the nearby reefs, or both. (26)
The ordnance, cargo, and anchors comprise the major part of the remains of the 17th century wreck. No hull structure has hitherto been discovered, althoguh the sandy pockets in the gullies could potentially reveal remains. (26)
Archaeological History:
From the early 1980s until 1994 the site had been visited numerous times by visiting divers. (1)
1992: described to the ADU as a "cannon site with nothing else visible". (18)
1994: The South West Marine Archaeological Group (SWMAG) during a training exercise discovered a gold coin; by the end of the dive Ron Howells had found four coins. (1) Items were plotted prior to recovery. (18)
1995 -1996: As a result, over the next two years, a team of 13 divers recorded 430 Islamic gold coins dating from 1510 - 1636 and Moroccan jewellery of the same period along with pottery from the Low Countries and Somerset and a bone handle. (2)(3)(4)
The coins come from the Sa'did Sharifs dynasty and the jewellery was largely in pieces but is of designs still produced in North Africa today. It is thought they may have been intended for melting down for bullion. A lump of congealed beans was also recovered which had survived in a container. (4) Amongst the gold coins was a single copper coin of Friesland dated 1627, which may suggest a Dutch source. (5)(7)
The artefacts are being studied by the British Museum, who hope to acquire them, after they have been valued by the Receiver of Wreck. (3)(5)
The initial analysis of the coins by Venetia Porter of the Coins and Medals Department of the British Museum indicates a North African origin. The total assemblage has not been studied but the date range is 1578 to 1635, with Marrakech as the dominant mint. The Islamic jewellery is also thought to be of Moroccan origin and there are also gold finger ingots. The ingots and jewellery are deliberately cut, suggesting that it was being traded as units of gold or intended to be melted down: historical evidence points to a context of regular trade in gold from North Africa during this period. (18)
The 10 cannon, four swivel guns and three anchors were also recorded. (5)
Two copper coins were found but only one could be dated. (8)
1998: A licence was granted for excavation in 1998-9. (1)
1999: In September a rare Baroque-style pipe, almost certainly Dutch-made, was found in a newly opened trench with only one chip to the bowl. The Departure of Culture, Media and Sport in a letter confirmed plans to place a buoy on the site. The archaeological artefacts were also acquired by the British Museum. The vessel features in a BBC documentary "Treasure Tragedy". (13)
2002: A multibeam sonar study of the site was carried out by the Archaeological Diving Unit (ADU).
2002: Swath bathymetry survey (ADU).
2002: Caesium magnetometer survey (ADU).
14-JAN-2003: The British Museum put the articles on display on the 14th January, describing them as an unique find in the history of Britain. (15)
2005: Site survey (WA) (26)
Enviromental and Archaeological Remains:
The site is situated in Salcombe Bay on the westerly side of Bolt Tail between Rickham Rock and Gammon Head in some 18-20 metres of water. It is situated in a tidal run that can reach 2-3 knots on spring tides. The topography of the site is made up of deep gullies with no regular symmetry and a depth range of between 3 and 6 metres and a plateau area in between. All areas are covered with hard rock with a smattering of shale and small pockets of sediment and sand.
The site has been known as a cannon site since the early 1980s, and was thought to be where cannon had been discarded centuries earlier and not to be a shipwreck. Subsequently, in 1994, the site was visited by the South West Marine Archaeological Group (SWMAG) as part of a training exercise during which Mr Ron Howell discovered gold artefacts, leading to the belief that it was a shipwreck site after all. (1)
The seabed geology is confirmed to be the local metamorphic rock, similar to the coastal topography. Round cobbles were also observed to be loose on the seabed. These were initially thought to be ballast from the Bronze Age wreck site, but the identification has now been revised to local stone.
The bedrock is cut by a number of gullies which are, in fact, natural fissures in the bedrock, some possibly being the remains of watercourses formerly active during and after the Devensian glacial period. (26)
During an ADU visit at least ten iron guns were visible, including two breech-loading swivels, and the larger guns are thought to be 8pdr. Some appeared in association with shot concretions with possible post-depositional accretions. Two iron anchors were also seen, and timber fragments and other concretions, including bar shot, were also exposed. (18)
Bronze Age finds have also been discovered in areas previously searched, indicating that the site is continuing to reveal artefacts. (18)
Droit 016/01 - A number of finds were reported including two pieces of leather, two musket shot and a piece of red pottery with a couple of other pieces of pottery. (17)
Droit 214/02 - A piece of wood and a piece of rope were recovered from this site. (21)
Droit 250/02 - A five inch bronze handle and a gold dinar were recovered from this site. (21)
Droit 253/02 - A full dinar coin and a quarter dinar along with a slide weight, bronze blade, bronze handle, bar shot and a two pound ball were recovered. (21)
Droit 255/02 - A piece of rock with holes in it, possibly an anchor or ship's ballast, was recovered from this site. (21)
Droit 032/03 - Two concretions along with two green pottery sherds, a lead handle, buckle, spoon and a full and quarter dinar were recovered from the site. (22)
Droit 281/04 - An 8 reale coin; a lead pan weight; a brass right angle; one piece of pottery; a copper ring; a lead patch; a crudation; a brass strip; a brass clip; a pewter hinge; and a piece of lead shot were recovered from the site. (23)
Droit 189/05 - A carved granite stone, a ballast stone; a piece of iron shot; a crudation; a brass knot; a brass fitting; 2 x 8 reale coins; a carved stone; and a brass ferrule recovered from this site, attributed to the 17th century. (24)
Droit 028/06: Two rapier hilt ends, and the tip end of a rapier; 2 bronze swage; a palstave axe head; a round pewter piece; and a black "stone" recovered from this wreck site. (25)
Droit 181/06: 1 pan weight; 2 sound weights; 1 lead sound weight; 5 pieces of lead shot; a lead weight; a balance weight; and a lead patch recovered from this wreck, also a brass zipper pull and a bullet of World War II vintage recovered from this wreck site. (25)
It now seems likely that some of the items originally believed to have come from the 17th century site are more probably from the Bronze Age site. (20)
The ordnance largely comprises cast iron cannon and swivel guns, which remain in situ along with the anchors. (26)
Droit 409/07: A palm triangular stone (0611105003), a pan weight (061106004), a 17th century copper plate (070609002), a fishing leading weight (070708001), a tapered brass pole (070708002), a concreted bar shot (070708003), part of a 17th century Spanish coin (070708006), part of a 16th century Portuguese coin (070812001), a bullet (070813001), a brass ferrule (070915001), a lead shot (070915002), 2 fishing weights (070915003/070915004), a brass fitting (070915006), and intrusive 20th century material: a brass hinge (070915005) and chrome fitting (070915007), recovered from the Salcombe Cannon Site. (27)
The South West Maritime Archaeological Group website includes a feature on the discovery of finds from both the site of the 17th century wreck and the overlapping Bronze Age Salcombe B Site. (28) |