Smithsonian Report. 1963. — Gettens 



PUATE 9 



Several 6-pound cast-iron cannon balls were recovered from the wreck site of the H.M.S. 

 Looe sunk in 1744 off Looe Key in the Florida Straits. The upper illustration shows 

 the condition of one ball after removal of calcareous incrustations. The lower shows a 

 cross section of another ball in which a lead plug had been employed to fill a hole in the 

 casting. The iron core is surrounded with a thick rind of iron oxide but the lead is rela- 

 tively unaffected. Courtesy Department of Armed Forces History, Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



