Shipwreck iron spikes

[keywesttdiver]

Can anyone tell me about how old this iron shipwreck spike is? To compare...the top spike with a square head is from the Atocha [1622]. The bottom spike is totally round, very heavy. I was told the round one is older than 1622...is this true? Thanks! P.S. This is my first pic post not sure if i did it right!

[stevemc]

It is hard to tell from the pic, and even with looking and holding it. I have seen wrecks with several types of spikes, and nails. There are other ways to fairly accurately date it. Sheathing type-lead, copper, and the nails that held it on, ballast type, rocks or iron bars, and the combination of all that, and of course any bottles, coins of course, or any markings you can find. British ships usually had a broad head arrow head marking any metal piece. Anchors too can date a ship and show possibly what country. Do some diving on it and try to decipher anything like that. There were many unfound ships around Key West, it was the largest city in Florida for a while. If you find any bottles I can ID them with era and possibly country of origin, and possibly if you find any artifacts. Do post a pic if you do find anything like that. There were many ships that went down that were moving goods in the 1800s, and they may have had money on them. It would be good to carefully search the areas near the ship, if sunk in less than 100' of water, as it could have rolled in a hurricane. Deeper wrecks once down for a while, usually sit there. But a wooden ship when it rolls and looses its ballast, becomes lighter, and could move in a hurricane. Good luck! Steve.

[sphillips]

The second item looks like a cut nail that we still use in concrete construction to attach lumber to concrete or concrete blocks. Not much erosion on it, still very symetrical in shape in relation to the first spike.

[stevemc]

They would tar the outside of a ship, on the wood, which would help it from rotting and being eaten by toredo clams. Then they would put a cloth layer, tar again and cover that with copper, years later late 1700s to early to mid 1800s with lead, and years later with copper, up until recently, actually many big wooden ships are still sheathed with copper. They first used iron sheathing nails, but found when mixed with copper sheathing, the iron nails would just disintegrate. They did not know about galvanic erosion and noble metals and all that. Sometimes the iron fittings would get tarred and would come out in very good shape, but not very often. Bronze seems to last forever. They used bronze spikes quite a bit, and iron too. Sometimes copper, but usually bronze instead. It is hard to date from just a spike.

[cornelis 816]

WHAT ? Cornelius

[keywesttdiver]

Thanks for all of the very informative replys! I do believe it is very old because of all the other artifacts i viewed on the wreck. also,it was about a foot deep in very thick mud.when my detector alerted me to it...took me about 30 minutes to find it with just my hands and dive knife ..the mud may have protected it over the years!

[stevemc]

Keep it in fresh water, if nothing else. All those years in salt water, and now it hits the air, it will rust fast. Yes, muck can get thick around things and preserve them. Somewhat. If that is iron, it is hard to believe it did not rust, unless it was encased in tar. Are you sure it is not bronze? Scrape it with a knife. It sure has that red look of bronze that has lost its surface tin, and looks like copper. Once it is cleaned it will look like bronze-if it is bronze.

[stevemc]

Cornilieus, was something hard to understand? I was trying to explain how they coated the boat under the sheathing with tar, which often would preserve some things. What didn't you understand?

[sphillips]

Cornilieus, was something hard to understand? I was trying to explain how they coated the boat under the sheathing with tar, which often would preserve some things. What didn't you understand?

I think Steve was responding to me in regards to my comment that there was not much in the way of visible corrosion to the second spike.

Thanks,

Steve P.

[ericschmitt2005]

The second one looks bronze. I usually learn about artifacts as I find them, and I have noticed that square spikes (bronze) come from 1800's shipwrecks. I usually find those round spikes (bronze) on wrecks 1733 and older.

I am probably wrong, but I could be right.

[mariner]

I will find a photo I have of an iron chisel. It was found at Ozette, an Indian village on the NW cost of Washington that was buried by a mudslide around 1700. It is in remarkably good condition as a result of the site being sealed off by the layer of mud. Without oxygen to rust it, iron can be preserved as new. I had this particular chisel analyzed by a metallurgist in Portland, Oregon, about 15 years ago..

At the time, it was generally thought that the Ozette slide had occured before 1600, but current thinking is that it was generated by the 1700 earthquake and tsunami that occured just off the Oregon coast.

Mariner

Mariner

[piratediver]

Get yourself a copy of " Ships' Fastenings, from Sewn Boat to Steamship" by Michael McCarthy, Texas A&M Press 2005. It is the best reference book for this subject bar none.


Pirate Diver