Salcombe Cannon Wreck and Moor Sands Sites

The Salcombe Cannon wrecksite is close to two other designated wrecksites in the Erme Estuary which the South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) was licensed to investigate. In 1992 this group described the Salcombe Cannon site as: :"''A cannon site with nothing else visible''". In 1994, following seabed changes, other artifacts including

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

were revealed and the SWMAG began recording the site.

Coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

and

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

dating between 1510 and 1636 have been recovered from the site and were purchased by the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in 1998. For two seasons information about the site was initially kept confidential between the

Receiver of Wreck The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with maritime wrecks and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage. In the United Kingdom, the Receiver of Wreck is also appointed to retain the possession o ...

, the finders and the Archaeological Diving Unit (working for the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck). The site was designated under the

Protection of Wrecks Act The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological o ...

in 1997 when news about it was made public. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. The vessel is unknown but is dated between 1630 and 1640, and it has yielded the largest ever find of Moroccan gold in Europe. The site has been surveyed and recorded using traditional survey methods,

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

multi-beam sonar A multibeam echosounder (MBES) is a type of sonar that is used to map the seabed. It emits acoustic waves in a fan shape beneath its transceiver. The time it takes for the sound waves to reflect off the seabed and return to the receiver is used ...

and photo-mosaic.

Salcombe B Bronze Age Shipwreck

In 2004, divers working on this site discovered

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

artifacts,Nautical Archaeology, the newsletter of the

Nautical Archaeology Society The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and WalesCharity Commission
...

, 2005.2 p3, {{ISSN, 0262-6098 including

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

s, and

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Ornamental turning *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals tha ...

. The finds date from around the 13th century BC and could be from the same source as the nearby Moor Sands finds. This ''Salcombe B site'' has not been separately designated as it lies within the protected area of the Salcombe Cannon site.

Media coverage

BBC2 Timewatch: White Slaves, Pirate Gold
10 January 2003

January 2002

References

External links

"''Salcombe Cannon Site''" National Heritage List for England
Protected wrecks of England 2004 archaeological discoveries 1994 archaeological discoveries 1994 in England 2004 in England

Salcombe B Bronze Age Shipwreck

Media coverage

See also

References

External links