Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

[Swoop]

Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

I recently posted this piece in "What is it" and it was suggested to post here as well. There are 3 pictures of it there also.....thanks for your time/consideration!

I recently found a piece of driftwood? with 2 silver (in color) bolts, 2 other bolts missing from the holes drilled. This was found in Kill Devil Hills, NC on 8/24/07. The piece of wood is about 18'' in length. The bolts have already started to take on rust. I was told I should keep this in salt water until I decide what to do with it?
My thoughts are this is from a sunkend ship...?

I would appreciate any assisted info on what steps I should do next. Thanks for your time

 

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[Darren in NC]

Re: Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

Didn't see any pics, so I got them from your other post...nice piece, but I only saw two pics.

 

[mad4wrecks]

Re: Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

Very neat artifact Swoop! The fasteners look more like spikes than bolts from the pictures. The problem with conserving a composite artifact like that is you have different materials that have to be treated quite differently. The iron is easy enough to do, the wood is a bitch. If you can safely remove the spikes (you can re-insert them after preserving), it would make things much easier.

ScubaFinder may be able to provide you with more information. In the meantime-keep it soaking in water.

I have something similar, and was able to preserve the components separately.

 

[ScubaDude]

Re: Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

Swoop, to answer your original question, yes it looks like older shipwreck wood with iron spikes that were temporally clean due to surf action. For the preservation side of it like Gdaddy said start with fresh water and keep consulting others, the wood will need either a sucrose or glycol bath I believe. You may wish to consult with the NC Underwater Archaeology Branch at Fort Fisher, as they may have an interest. Also take some notes as to where it was found, this will be helpful to them.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: Looking for information..... I"m a newbie/tenderfoot

yes its shipwreck stuff -- the two parts -- metal iron and wood ---need two very differant methods of preserving --- keep them in fresh water until you can properly preserve them ---the salt water needs to be leached from the wood prior to preserving it and the fresh water will help remove the corrosive salts --- Ivan