2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I3I 



and by midmorning were over the wreck site (pi. 3). To locate the 

 wreck exactly it was necessary to get into the water with face plates 

 and carefully scan the sand bottom of a "valley" lying between two 

 fingers of the reef which ran out to sea. Only the metal objects from 

 the ship remained, and these were covered with a sand crust giving 

 them the same color as the bottom — excellent camouflage, which made 

 them almost invisible from the surface of the water. We detected the 

 outlines of bars of metal, the ring of one of the ship's anchors (pi. 4) 

 jutting from the reef, two long cylindrical objects, encased in marine 

 growths, which were recognized as guns from the ship, and, upon 

 closer inspection, piles of round objects encrusted with sand — solid 

 shot for the ship's guns. 



After a preliminary survey from the surface, the boats were pulled 

 over the wreck and the diving gear was prepared for operation. 

 Tight-fitting rubber masks that completely covered the face were 

 connected to the air compressors by long lengths of strong rubber 

 hose. The divers strapped on their lead belts, put on their masks or 

 helmets, and went over the side on the diving ladder and lifeline. 



The first object recovered was a large chunk of metal roughly tri- 

 angular in cross section and stepped on the surface. It proved to be 

 solid cast iron and was identified as permanent iron ballast cast to fit 

 along the keelson of the ship. Clinging to it was a solid iron shot 3^ 

 inches in diameter, a standard 6-pound shot of the eighteenth century. 

 These finds immediately revealed two additional facts concerning the 

 ship — she was most probably a warship, since merchantmen carried 

 disposable ballast of stone, and she had 6-pounder guns in her 

 batteries. 



The next day the attention of the divers was devoted to the smaller 

 objects lying about in the sand "potholes" on the site. By the use of 

 a powerful jet of water the sand was carefully washed away and the 

 articles were uncovered (pi. 5). Soon basketfuls of sand-encrusted 

 hull bolts, nails, solid iron shot, fragments of rum or brandy bottles, 

 Chinese porcelain dishes, and earthenware, and many other objects 

 were being emptied on the decks of the salvage boats. On the first 

 of two brief dives that the author made on the site a basketful of 

 solid iron shot was gathered (pi. 6). In this lot was found a 6-pound 

 shot with an arrow on it, which was immediately identified as the 

 broad arrow (pi. 7). This was the first indication of the nationality 

 of the ship, as this syml)ol has been used for centuries by the kings 

 of England and Great Britain to mark royal property. The occurrence 

 of the broad arrow on the shot was not conclusive evidence that the 

 ship had been British, since ordnance stores could have been captured 



