DaveVanP
Sr. Member
- Oct 5, 2018
- 375
- 682
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab XTerra 705
Fisher F44
- Primary Interest:
- Prospecting
Just to straighten out one particular bit of conjecture that makes me cringe every time I hear/read it:
The lead cross Drayton found a couple years ago is repeatedly referred to as being "incredibly old", or "from the 14th Century". RUBBISH. All that was FACTUALLY determined was that it likely came from a lead mine in France that first began being mined in the 14th Century - and continued being used until the 19th Century. And yes, various countries DID trade materials including lead, so finding an artifact made of "French lead" does NOT conclusively indicate the articaft came from France. This would explain why the cross and the stained glass framework fragments would have the same composition, indicating both lead specimens came from the same mine -but does not DATE the objects at all.
On a parallel (but unrelated ) note: The 17th Century was the "Golden Age" of Dutch Colonization and trade. For a time, they were the world leaders in shipping and trade. They built THOUSANDS of ships, more than all the rest of Europe COMBINED, to carry goods (and slaves, I'm sorry to say) to and from Indonesia, Africa, Brazil, Ceylon, and North America.
However VERY LITTLE of the wood used to build these ships originated in the Netherlands which is NOT known for having vast forests. Some came from Saxony and Bavaria, much came from Scandinavia. Much tropical hardwood from Asia was used for mouldings and fixtures aboard the ships. The wreckage of East Indiaman Batavia, which was driven onto a reef off the west coast of Australia in 1629, was found in 1963. Examination of the wood from the wreckage shows that nearly all of it came from Saxony (eastern Germany), and a small amount from Denmark and Norway...so, using the "Lagina Process of Determination", this was a ship of Saxony, a (landlocked) province of the Holy Roman Empire.
(The Netherlands split from the H.R.E. in 1568, sparking the 80 Years War). The FACT is, the East India Company IMPORTED the ship's materials from OUTSIDE the Netherlands, and built the ship in Amsterdam in 1628 - so she was a Dutch ship.
The lead cross Drayton found a couple years ago is repeatedly referred to as being "incredibly old", or "from the 14th Century". RUBBISH. All that was FACTUALLY determined was that it likely came from a lead mine in France that first began being mined in the 14th Century - and continued being used until the 19th Century. And yes, various countries DID trade materials including lead, so finding an artifact made of "French lead" does NOT conclusively indicate the articaft came from France. This would explain why the cross and the stained glass framework fragments would have the same composition, indicating both lead specimens came from the same mine -but does not DATE the objects at all.
On a parallel (but unrelated ) note: The 17th Century was the "Golden Age" of Dutch Colonization and trade. For a time, they were the world leaders in shipping and trade. They built THOUSANDS of ships, more than all the rest of Europe COMBINED, to carry goods (and slaves, I'm sorry to say) to and from Indonesia, Africa, Brazil, Ceylon, and North America.
However VERY LITTLE of the wood used to build these ships originated in the Netherlands which is NOT known for having vast forests. Some came from Saxony and Bavaria, much came from Scandinavia. Much tropical hardwood from Asia was used for mouldings and fixtures aboard the ships. The wreckage of East Indiaman Batavia, which was driven onto a reef off the west coast of Australia in 1629, was found in 1963. Examination of the wood from the wreckage shows that nearly all of it came from Saxony (eastern Germany), and a small amount from Denmark and Norway...so, using the "Lagina Process of Determination", this was a ship of Saxony, a (landlocked) province of the Holy Roman Empire.
(The Netherlands split from the H.R.E. in 1568, sparking the 80 Years War). The FACT is, the East India Company IMPORTED the ship's materials from OUTSIDE the Netherlands, and built the ship in Amsterdam in 1628 - so she was a Dutch ship.
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