Cannon Found And Recovered

kittspirate

Jr. Member
May 5, 2010
37
10
St. Kitts And Nevis
Detector(s) used
Minelab explorer se pro Garrett GTAX 550 / Trident Viper
Well i was just doing a little hunting after work last night at the beach, and some new eroision had took place within the last six weeks. My machine starts screaming, soon as a took a scoop i hit something solid. i removed 4'' of sand and was starring at the tip of the barrel. I quickly called my buddy to tell him i found a cannon, and i needed some help recovering it. We dug all around it and i had to go get a L-60 loader to pull it out. It took us two hours to safely recover and put in my buddys compound. Now we have to find or make a 7' tank to start flushing the salt out of it. i really think it will take 8-12 months of soaking in fresh water to be able to restore. ( will take any advise on restoring it) usally with my cannon balls i soak them for 6 months changing the water every other day and the do electrolis for about a month. this is going to be a challange.

I love this place, its like the wild west, do what you want to till someone tells you to stop.

HH
Rain
 

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Stkittspirate said:
Well i was just doing a little hunting after work last night at the beach, and some new eroision had took place within the last six weeks. My machine starts screaming, soon as a took a scoop i hit something solid. i removed 4'' of sand and was starring at the tip of the barrel. I quickly called my buddy to tell him i found a cannon, and i needed some help recovering it. We dug all around it and i had to go get a L-60 loader to pull it out. It took us two hours to safely recover and put in my buddys compound. Now we have to find or make a 7' tank to start flushing the salt out of it. i really think it will take 8-12 months of soaking in fresh water to be able to restore. ( will take any advise on restoring it) usally with my cannon balls i soak them for 6 months changing the water every other day and the do electrolis for about a month. this is going to be a challange.

I love this place, its like the wild west, do what you want to till someone tells you to stop.

HH
Rain

I like the cannon but I'm not so sure about your last comment, sounds like your doing something wrong :-\ ???

Do you know what wreck it came from? (no need to tell us, just wondered) Because, at the very least it would be good practice to keep a GPS reading of the findspot for future reference.
 

CRUSADER said:
Stkittspirate said:
Well i was just doing a little hunting after work last night at the beach, and some new eroision had took place within the last six weeks. My machine starts screaming, soon as a took a scoop i hit something solid. i removed 4'' of sand and was starring at the tip of the barrel. I quickly called my buddy to tell him i found a cannon, and i needed some help recovering it. We dug all around it and i had to go get a L-60 loader to pull it out. It took us two hours to safely recover and put in my buddys compound. Now we have to find or make a 7' tank to start flushing the salt out of it. i really think it will take 8-12 months of soaking in fresh water to be able to restore. ( will take any advise on restoring it) usally with my cannon balls i soak them for 6 months changing the water every other day and the do electrolis for about a month. this is going to be a challange.

I love this place, its like the wild west, do what you want to till someone tells you to stop.

HH
Rain

I like the cannon but I'm not so sure about your last comment, sounds like your doing something wrong :-\ ???

Do you know what wreck it came from? (no need to tell us, just wondered) Because, at the very least it would be good practice to keep a GPS reading of the findspot for future reference.

This site used to be a fort, It overlook the site of one of the United States first naval battle between the Constellation and L'Insurgente on Feb.9th 1799. I do keep a log of my finds. Eventually when i leave i will turn over the majority of my finds and log book to the historic society and the national museum. if i turn them in now they will tell me to stop hunting even though i have permission to hunt all my sites. And most of my site will be lost due to future development for the project i work for. the site where i found the cannon will be a Hotel in a year or so. As for the last comment. i wouldnt be able to recover a cannon in the states with out a ton of paper work, or a team of archelogist taking over.
 

Stkittspirate said:
CRUSADER said:
Stkittspirate said:
Well i was just doing a little hunting after work last night at the beach, and some new eroision had took place within the last six weeks. My machine starts screaming, soon as a took a scoop i hit something solid. i removed 4'' of sand and was starring at the tip of the barrel. I quickly called my buddy to tell him i found a cannon, and i needed some help recovering it. We dug all around it and i had to go get a L-60 loader to pull it out. It took us two hours to safely recover and put in my buddys compound. Now we have to find or make a 7' tank to start flushing the salt out of it. i really think it will take 8-12 months of soaking in fresh water to be able to restore. ( will take any advise on restoring it) usally with my cannon balls i soak them for 6 months changing the water every other day and the do electrolis for about a month. this is going to be a challange.

I love this place, its like the wild west, do what you want to till someone tells you to stop.

HH
Rain

I like the cannon but I'm not so sure about your last comment, sounds like your doing something wrong :-\ ???

Do you know what wreck it came from? (no need to tell us, just wondered) Because, at the very least it would be good practice to keep a GPS reading of the findspot for future reference.

This site used to be a fort, It overlook the site of one of the United States first naval battle between the Constellation and L'Insurgente on Feb.9th 1799. I do keep a log of my finds. Eventually when i leave i will turn over the majority of my finds and log book to the historic society and the national museum. if i turn them in now they will tell me to stop hunting even though i have permission to hunt all my sites. And most of my site will be lost due to future development for the project i work for. the site where i found the cannon will be a Hotel in a year or so. As for the last comment. i wouldnt be able to recover a cannon in the states with out a ton of paper work, or a team of archelogist taking over.

Glad to hear your keeping logs & doing the right thing. Over here we can dig a cannon out of the Thames without paperwork or Archaeologist as long as we have a permit to hunt. Although I would in that case record it with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (only if it were over 300 years old, they don't record younger finds).
 

Thats awesome! personaly, I would find a way to get it back home! ;D That is a great find in my book. Hope you find some more goodies.
 

That will look fantastic when you're done. :thumbsup: It's great that you're making the effort to preserve it, because it will take a heck of an effort!

Would be great if it's marked!
 

Man oh man that's awesome!! I'm on board with Banner. How many times do you see a whole cannon found? Please keep us posted on the restoration and a big congrats on that magnificient find!!
 

When I was in Afghanstan, we often rode through a valley in the mountains where there were 2 British marked cannons similar to this one just sitting there. One was in it's carriage, the other was lying on the ground. They looked like the type used on shipe to me but I'm no expert. I was amazed that they were there and that they were left there. I could only imagine the labor it took to move them that far in that terrain. Great find! I hope that you can restore it.
 

the county will probably be knocking on your door saying it's theirs, the government thinks everything is owned by them
 

Awesome relic. I nominated you for a banner. One find I do not have in my relic collection, but it is on my wish list. It sounds like you are on the right track with the restoration. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
 

search and recovery said:
Awesome relic. I nominated you for a banner. One find I do not have in my relic collection, but it is on my wish list. It sounds like you are on the right track with the restoration. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

The hardest part of the restoration is going to be finding a tank to soak it in, it will need to have or i will have to add a drain plug to be able to change the water. any suggestions, take in mind we dont have home depot or walmarts down here. i might have to make a tank out of scap steel and then coat the steel tank with something (like bedliner). i dont know ill think of something over the weekend.

Please post if you have any ideas.
thanks
 

Man what an awesome find!! I can't wait to see it after restoration!! :headbang: I would love to have that in my yard. I don't know what they are worth but I would say it is a banner find.
 

It's a Killer find & Banner for sure.Looks like a Garrison Cannon. :thumbsup: But I'm afraid your gonna have your work cut out to save it the right way.(And may need to consider turning it over to someone who can) :-\ First thing would be get it back in the water tell you have a plan in my opinion.Cause I know enough that if it remains out it's gonna start falling apart first around those mounts most likely.It takes years I see some say three to save one that's been under salt water.Just from talking to some of the people working on the Queen Anne's Revenge stuff.David Moore for one as he has helped me a little on smaller things for Id's Good guy.Otherwise if you decide to do it your self maybe build some plywood box caulk it up good & go from there.I Googled your spot cause I know nothing from down there in the Islands never been. :( But I see plenty of swimming pools and such in your area looks like the life :laughing7: Can't believe all that developement there & nothing to build with :icon_scratch: :D Anyway I hope your able to save it.I'll add some sites below that may help.
Take Care,
Pete, :hello:
The Gun I believe.
http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/yrtnarty.htm

Conservation.
http://www.qaronline.org/conservation/consintro.htm
http://fnpw.org.au/ForSupporters/PAWS/enews4/cannon.htm
http://news.ncdcr.gov/2010/09/21/saving-cannons-with-electrolysis-at-blackbeard-shipwreck-site/

Banner Vote Going In! :thumbsup:
 

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You might call the Fisher group in Florida and ask for help or idea's.
 

Watering tanks for live stock come in various sizes.
 

great recovery!! Do you have plastic water cisterns on the island? They have a drain and could be cut in half quite easily.

habs
 

Just build you a sturdy wooden box and line it with a heavy waterproof membrane. That way you could custom build it to exactly match the size of the cannon which would reduce the amount of water needed, especially since you'll be replacing it often. Great find BTW!!!
 

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