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Devon Divers Find 3,000 Year Old Bronze Age Artefacts On Shipwreck Site
GNN (Government News Network) ^ | 3-8-2005

Posted on 03/08/2005 3:32:45 PM PST by blam

Tuesday 8 March 2005 12:40
Maritime And Coastguard Agency (National)

DEVON DIVERS FIND 3,000 YEAR OLD BRONZE AGE ARTEFACTS ON SHIPWRECK SITE

A group of divers have discovered a submerged hoard of Bronze Age artefacts off Salcombe, Devon. The find includes swords and rapiers, palstave axe heads, an adze, a cauldron handle, and a gold bracelet.

The artefacts have been reported to English Heritage and declared to the Receiver of Wreck at the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, as it is believed that these relics come from an ancient shipwreck. The artefacts are currently being studied at the British Museum, which also holds the finds from the nearby 'Moor Sands' Bronze Age wreck site.

The South West Maritime Archaeology Group (SWMAG) had been diving under licence from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, on the shipwreck known as the Salcombe Cannon site last summer, (where they discovered a hoard of gold coins in 1995), when they found evidence of a far older wreck.

The new site falls within the protected area of the Salcombe Cannon shipwreck site, which is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. This means that this area is already protected from unauthorised and illegal diving.

The finds from 'Moor Sands' and the new site belong to exactly the same phase of the Bronze Age, dating to around the 13th century BC, and archaeologists are wondering if they all came from the same vessel.

The find is dominated by the blades of swords and rapiers, but axes, tools and ornaments are also present. The swords are amongst the earliest found in north-west Europe. Some of the objects are of north French origin and are types which are rare in this country. The Bronze Age was a time of considerable trade in metals, right across Europe but it is exceptional to find material which has actually been caught in transit.

Sophia Exelby, the Receiver of Wreck said, "This is a very exciting find which shows the breadth of information which is available from shipwreck sites. We are now working to ensure that these unusual artefacts are given a good home, where their historical value can be appreciated by everyone."

Stuart Needham, Curator of European Bronze Age collections at the British Museum said: "The evidence from Salcombe and other rare sites, such as that at Langdon Bay, help us to build up a picture of object movements, the organisation of trade and the character of seafaring."

A spokesperson for the SWMAG said: "this exciting new discovery has really been a team effort and we are now working with the Receiver of Wreck and English Heritage to ensure that these important artefacts are put on permanent display to the public."

English Heritage and SWMAG are planning a research-led field season in 2005 in order to try to answer some of the questions about the site which this remarkable collection of artefacts has raised.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 3000; age; archaeology; artefacts; bronze; devon; divers; find; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history; old; shipwreck; site; year

1 posted on 03/08/2005 3:32:50 PM PST by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping.


2 posted on 03/08/2005 3:33:28 PM PST by blam
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To: blam

3,000 year old rapiers?


3 posted on 03/08/2005 3:37:16 PM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: blam

Gotta love the 'GOVERNMENT NEWS NETWORK'. At least they have Truth in advertising.


4 posted on 03/08/2005 3:42:32 PM PST by pgobrien (Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords)
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To: lepton
"3,000 year old rapiers?"

Was wondering about that one myself. Seems at least a few thousand years off.

5 posted on 03/08/2005 3:46:30 PM PST by SouthParkRepublican (There are no contradictions... Only faulty premises.)
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To: lepton
"3,000 year old rapiers"

That's what it says.

Rapiers

6 posted on 03/08/2005 3:46:43 PM PST by blam
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To: blam

Helen is that you ?


7 posted on 03/08/2005 3:57:19 PM PST by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: festus

Thanks for the picture and clarification. I thought they had found Clinton's ancestors.


8 posted on 03/08/2005 6:43:50 PM PST by bleach
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To: blam

Thank you, blam.

Devon, how fitting. I'm looking forward to more and earlier.


9 posted on 03/08/2005 9:35:39 PM PST by Spirited (God, Bless America .)
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To: blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; SunkenCiv; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; 4ConservativeJustices; ...
Thanks Blam. [singing] "Man the capstan off we go as the fiddler swings us round..." Oops... should have gone in the "Riddle" topic, although that was Chinese, not Japanese...
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest
-- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

10 posted on 03/08/2005 10:40:46 PM PST by SunkenCiv (last updated my FreeRepublic profile on Sunday, February 20, 2005.)
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To: blam

What about my green sweater? Is anyone looking for that? Dammit.


11 posted on 03/08/2005 10:42:38 PM PST by Deb (Beat him, strip him and bring him to my tent!)
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To: blam

The Kasiterides Islands were being explored by the Ancient Greeks and Phoenicians thousands of years ago. Here is more proof.


12 posted on 03/09/2005 8:55:50 AM PST by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
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13 posted on 04/12/2006 7:16:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

14 posted on 08/09/2006 10:57:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Thursday, August 10, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


15 posted on 03/02/2012 5:42:12 PM PST by SunkenCiv (FReep this FReepathon!)
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