18" ship spike/nail with unusual head

[SailDive]

I can't find anything that looks quite like this one in Google searches online. Anyone have any ideas on age / country of origin?

Thanks in advance.

 

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[HuntinDog]

Gear shift handle.
or maybe I just need better pictures....

 

[SailDive]

It was embedded in a wood plank and found on a beach. But I grant you the picture could be better.

 

[vhs07]

I think that's just a large, thick washer rusted to the bolt head. Used in securing pilings together.

 

[Tony in SC]

It has a square head like an old bolt or lag screw. The piece under the head looks like it has a broken side. Maybe from the structure of an old ship. I was in Columbus Ga years ago when they found an old ship in the river, it had some pieces kinda like that.

 

[SailDive]

Another Google search found an article in Maritime Archaeology referencing Dr. Michael McCarthy's book on ship fashenings with the attached illustration. The piece we found looks to be a good match for a fastener in the attached image. The illustration is based on those from a Spanish Treatise written in 1720.

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