Story

From the WSJ http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1227...MjMyMTIwWj.html * NOVEMBER 24, 2008, 7:22 P.M. ET Essay How to Deal With Pirates The rise of piracy is threatening international trade and raising complex questions. The only way to end the scourge is to respond aggressively, says Michael B. Oren. * Such a campaign will not be risk-free. The danger exists that America and its allies will become bogged down indefinitely in seeking to locate and destroy an elusive foe. The operations may also prove costly at a time when America can least afford them. Finally, there is the constant headache of maintaining an international coalition which may contain members who, like many early Americans, prefer to bribe the pirates rather than fight them. In spite of the potential pitfalls, an America-led campaign against the pirates is warranted. Though the Somali pirates do not yet endanger American trade, they will be emboldened by a lack of forceful response. Any attempt to bargain with them and to pay the modern equivalent of tribute will beget more piracy. Now, as then, the only effective response to piracy is a coercive one. "We shall offer them liberal and enlightened terms," declared Commodore Decatur, "dictated at the mouths of our cannons." Or, as William Eaton, commander of the Marines' march to Tripoli, more poignantly put it: "There is but one language that can be held to these people, and this is terror."

Not my advert - Found in one of the American RevWar reenactor's publications, posted here pro bono for the community : "Retribution" is a 2-pdr deck gun/signal gun built on a Muller naval truck. Perfect for landing parties - Capt Squire sent a contingent of sailors ashore in a boat with a small gun such as this to fight in the Battle of Great Bridge. Also perfect for garrison environment. With just 4 ounces of powder, she gets everyone's attention! Smile For live shooters, six ounce juice cans with concrete or grapseshot exit the bore with amazing force! She features: Ductile iron Verbruggen style tube with steel sleeve made by South Bend Replicas Naval Truck built by Duck Island Cannon Works with 3" white oak Tube is 37" long and weighs 200 lbs. Carriage weighs 85 lbs. Easily carried in bed of small pickup - no trailer needed Well maintained and all firings documented in NPS Gun Book Included accessories: G. G. Godwin Artillery Bucket Worm Sponge/Rammer Extra Sponge (I use it for oiling after cleaning) \ Copper Cartridge Pass Box Loading Ramps for your truck South Bend's Verbruggen page: http://www.southbendreplicas.com/page11.htm $4000.00 / delivery included from PA down to NC Price negotiable if you pick it up CONTACT CHARLIE PHILLIPS FOR MORE INFORMATION charles.f.phillips@gmail.com

More mysteries of the ocean - probably a 'rouge wave'... or CLOVERFIELD arriving.. or a Kraken awakening... Dockworker Marcy Ingall saw a giant wave in the distance last Tuesday afternoon and stopped in her tracks. It was an hour before low tide in Maine's Boothbay Harbor, yet without warning, the muddy harbor floor suddenly filled with rushing, swirling water. In 15 minutes, the water rose 12 feet, then receded. And then it happened again. It occurred three times, she said, each time ripping apart docks and splitting wooden pilings. "It was bizarre," said Ingall, a lifelong resident of the area. "Everybody was like, 'Oh my God, is this the end?' " It was not the apocalypse, but it was a rare phenomenon, one that has baffled researchers. The National Weather Service said ocean levels rapidly rose in Boothbay, Southport, and Bristol in a matter of minutes around 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 to the surprise of ocean watchers. Exactly what caused the rogue waves remains unknown. http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/art...t_maine_harbor/

Could be oldest found in America By EARL KELLY, Staff Writer Published October 21, 2008 What could be the oldest African religious artifact ever discovered in America has been unearthed on Fleet Street in Annapolis, University of Maryland researchers said yesterday. The artifact, a clay "bundle," is filled with small pieces of metal and was unearthed in May from what had been an Annapolis street gutter three centuries ago. "It is a very important artifact because it is early, because it is African in conceptual origin, and because it is a way of showing that at the point when the city received its (1708) charter, there was a public display of African magic," said University of Maryland anthropologist Dr. Mark Leone, who directs the Archaeology in Annapolis project. The artifact would have been put in open sight, for everyone to see, Dr. Leone said. "That means that by 1708, this was not just an English settlement, it was African, too," Dr. Leone said. "And, it established you could practice African magic in front of everybody." The bundle was found about 4 feet below the surface, next to a log road that Dr. Leone's research team unearthed on Fleet Street in April. The road was built in the 1680s, well before Annapolis became the colony's capital in 1695. The bundle probably sat outside a door, researchers said, and was not meant to be buried. Pottery shards discovered near the artifact indicated that it was in place before 1720. People widely believed in magic and the power of casting spells during this time, Dr. Leone said. The Maryland Gazette, for example, frequently carried stories about malformed babies, dogs born with multiple heads and people being tried for witchcraft. The bundle is about the size of a football. An X-ray of the artifact showed that it contained about 300 lead shot and roughly 12 nails and 24 common pins, all bound together with clay and sand. The contents were placed inside a leather or cloth pouch, according to Dr. Leone, but the covering has long rotted away. A prehistoric stone ax points skyward from the top of the bundle. "Among some African groups, worked metal, particularly worked iron, had special meaning," he said. "The hammering, plus the heat, represented the power of a ... deity." The artifact was unearthed by a team lead by Ph.D. candidate Matthew Cochran, of the University College London. Archeologists found the bundle in early May, and spent the summer consulting with experts on West and Central-West African culture. They concluded the bundle might have had its origins in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea, among Yoruba or Mande speakers. Archaeologists have found a number of more recent hoodoo artifacts in the Annapolis Historic District, including in Founding Father Charles Carroll's house. Scholars say the African religion was practiced in the city until at least the 1920s. In 2005, for example, a team of graduate students working with Dr. Leone found a bundle of 40 nails, a clear glass spindle and a plate of glass etched with a checkerboard design, all carefully placed beneath the brick-floor basement of the Adams-Kilty house on Charles Street. The people who buried this African-American artifact beneath the basement floor probably used it as a good-luck charm, in an attempt to keep ghosts and misfortune at bay. Local historian Janice Hayes-Williams, a student of African and African-American history, said discovery of the bundle shows that Annapolis was an unusual city because blacks and whites lived so close together. "We didn't have slave quarters, we lived in the main house," she said. "In the Charles Carroll house, he was practicing Catholicism downstairs and the slaves were practicing hoodoo in the attic." Dr. Leone has been conducting archaeological digs in Annapolis over 20 years. He said this year's excavations were part of the city's Charter 300 Celebration and, as such, were conducted in areas where the public could watch, including Fleet and Cornhill streets. Also, the city was looking to bury utilities beneath these streets, and wanted to have the area studied before work began. The utility project has been put on hold because of costs. "As a resident, I think the archaeological digs are really exciting," said Sen. John Astle, D-Annapolis, who lives on Fleet Street. "It gives us an idea of what was here before." The African artifact is on display in the window of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, located in the old Mount Moriah A.M.E. Church on Franklin Street in Annapolis. Wendi Perry, the museum's director, said that in the next few days, the museum will be adding light boxes with X-rays of the artifact to make the display more intelligible to the public. "It is amazing that these pieces survived in any form or fashion," Ms. Perry said.

An update from Oct. 2 ARCHAEOLOGISTS are racing against time to salvage a fortune in coins and items from a 500-year-old Portuguese shipwreck found recently off Namibia's rough southern coast. The project, in a restricted diamond mining area, is costing a fortune in sea-walling, but the process of maintaining a dyke to keep the sea at bay will end next Friday, surrendering what is left to the sea again. "The vast amounts of gold coins would possibly make this discovery the largest one in Africa outside Egypt," Lisbon maritime archaeologist Francisco Alves said. "This vessel is the best preserved of its time outside Portugal. But the cultural uniqueness of this find is priceless." Mr Alves is part of a multi-national team combing the seabed where the wreck was discovered in April. The 16th-century Portuguese trade vessel was found by chance as mine workers created an artificial sand wall with bulldozers to push back the sea for diamond dredging, Namibian archaeologist Dieter Noli told reporters invited to view the site. "One of them noticed an unusual wooden structure and round stones, which turned out to be cannonballs," he said. The abundance of objects unearthed where the ship ran aground along Namibia's notorious Skeleton Coast, where hundreds of vessels were wrecked over the centuries, has amazed experts. Six bronze cannon, several tonnes of copper, huge elephant tusks, pewter tableware, navigational instruments and a variety of weapons, including swords, sabres and knives, have been pulled from the sand. More than 2300 gold coins weighing about 21 kilograms and 1.5 kilograms of silver coins had been found, Mr Alves said. The ship's contents suggest it was bound for India or Asia. "About 70% of the gold coins are Spanish, the rest Portuguese," he said. Precise dating was possible thanks to examination of the coin rims, showing some were minted in October 1525 in Portugal. About 13 tonnes of copper ingots, eight tonnes of tin and more than 50 large elephant tusks together weighing 600 kilograms have also been excavated from the seabed. "The copper ingots are all marked with a trident indent, which was used by Germany's famous Fugger family of traders and bankers in Augsburg who delivered to the Portuguese five centuries ago," South African archaeologist Bruno Werz said. The team includes experts from the United States and Zimbabwe. The salvation efforts were made possible by the erection of sea walls to keep back the fierce Atlantic surf. Namibia's Culture Ministry and Namdeb, the state diamond mining company, had shared the expense, said Peingeondjabi Shipoh, the ministry expert in charge of the recovery project. But that was coming to an end, even though "I believe there is still more to be found", he told reporters. "From October 10, the walls will not be maintained any more and the ship's remnants left to the elements again." At one point it was thought the wreck was the ship of legendary Portuguese explorer Bartolomeo Diaz, the first known European to sail around the southern tip of Africa in 1488. In line with the custom of Portuguese explorers of the time, Diaz that year left a huge stone cross to the glory of his country's king, called a "padrao", at what is today's harbour town of Luderitz, which Diaz baptised Angra Pequena, or "small cove", 750 kilometres south-west of the capital, Windhoek. Around 1500, he and his sailing vessel went missing and were never found. But hope that the Oranjemund find might resolve the mystery ended when it was established that the coins on the shipwreck were put into circulation 25 years after Diaz's disappearance.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundam...ht-on-film.html In 1893, Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his ship Fram were victims of a strange phenomenon as he sailed past the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, north of Siberia. Nansen wrote afterwards: "Fram appeared to be held back, as if by some mysterious force, and she did not always answer the helm … We made loops in our course, turned sometimes right around, tried all sorts of antics to get clear of it, but to very little purpose." Nansen called the effect "dead water", reporting that it slowed Fram to a quarter of her normal speed. Research has already shown that dead water occurs when an area of water consists of two or more layers of water with different salinity, and hence density – for example, when fresh water from a melting glacier forms a relatively thin layer on top of denser seawater. Waves that form in the hidden layer can slow the boat with no visible trace. Now French scientists recreating that scenario in a lab tank have revealed new detail of the phenomenon and even captured the effect on video. The work will help scientists to better understand dead water and the behaviour of stratified sea patches.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-...se_N.htm?csp=34 VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The front yard of a house in a tony British Columbia neighborhood is a little less welcoming for pirates now. Architect Andrew Dewberry and a crew of friends spent Saturday dismantling the pirate ship tree house he's had in his Vancouver yard for two years. He said he had no choice after a court ordered it to be removed for not complying with city bylaws. Dewberry had to explain the situation to his sons Jack, 9, and Sam, 7, before the tree house came down. He said, "They've had a lot of joy with the tree fort." Jack, who stood with a friend and watched the dismantling, said, "We wanted to sleep in it over the summer one time, but we didn't get around to it and now we can't." In July, the judge in the case admired the workmanship of the ship, complete with plastic cannons, in a perch 6{ feet up a large, leafy tree in front of the family's home. But the judge said its merits were irrelevant to whether the tree house violated city bylaws. Dewberry said the tree house would be auctioned for the Boys and Girls Club of Vancouver. The benefit is set for Oct. 16.

For anyone interested in Mediterranean or African pirates, this is listed as an Italian pistol circa 1700 http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/hh...&db=kat53_s.txt The barrel is engraved '1631', roughly .70 caliber and the pistol's overall length is 23" long! (73cm)

Aye-yup. Which is why I never hesitate to dumpster dive. PS: more details. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/aug/15/3 The 500-page diary of George Hodge, a self-educated seaman, features sea shanties and paintings, as well as erratically-spelled tales of drownings and girls "brot onboard".

Received via email: From Mystics to Chemists By MARK YOST August 20, 2008; Page D9 Corning, N.Y. Alchemists have a much-deserved bad reputation. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, many of them were nothing more than mystical con men, hell-bent on bilking European royal families, aristocrats and anyone else with a spare coin into believing that they'd figured out how to "make" gold and other precious metals. But from about 1650 to 1750, alchemists had what was arguably their greatest -- and most honest -- century. "Glass of the Alchemists," a special exhibit at the Corning Museum of Glass through Jan. 4, tells this story well and features some of the finest lead-crystal and gold-ruby pieces produced during this extraordinary period of advancement in the art and science of glassmaking. Laying the historical groundwork, the exhibit opens with a reproduction of a 17th-century alchemist's workshop. Here he would have toiled to prove the alchemist's central thesis that everything is made up of four essential elements -- earth, air, fire and water. But it was during this period that some of alchemy's practitioners began to transform from "mystics to chemists," said David Whitehouse, the museum's executive director, who leads a free tour on Wednesday mornings. Indeed, he reminds us that Sir Isaac Newton remained a devout alchemist long after his important discoveries in the physical world. Before this renaissance in glassmaking, most glass was still made from three basic elements: silica, potash and chalk. Most of the glass produced before the 17th century was colorless and of good quality. And while there was engraved glass, intricacy and depth were limited by the thinness and fragility of the glass. George Ravenscroft, an English glassmaker, first started adding lead to his formula in the mid-17th century. It was not an easy process. He not only had to have the right formula, but the materials -- which were superheated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- had to be cooled slowly. To do this, Ravenscroft and others built elaborate kilns that had hot spots for melting and strategically placed vents that created controlled drafts for cooling. A ½-scale model of one of these ovens -- which would have been about 16 feet tall and perhaps 20 feet around -- is on display here. When done properly, the process created a glass that was -- pardon the pun -- crystal clear, because the lead changed the way the glass refracted light. According to a large display panel here, the proper formula was 150 pounds sand or flint, 100 pounds of potash, 20 pounds of chalk and just five ounces of manganese. Get this formula wrong, however, and the finished glass would be unstable. It would continue to absorb moisture from the air and become cloudy in a process called grizzling. Thanks to the wonders of modern atmospherically controlled display cases, you can see one of Ravenscroft's early mistakes (it looks like a frosted mug). Once he'd perfected his formula and process, Ravenscroft foiled forgers by putting a small bead on all his pieces with a raven's head. Several of these highly valuable pieces, including a rum goblet made at Ravenscroft's Savoy Glasshouse in London c. 1676, are on display here. The other contribution from alchemists during this period was ruby-gold glass, which has a distinctive red hue. The problem had long been dissolving the gold down to precise nanoparticles. If the particles were too small, they wouldn't scatter the light along the proper spectrum and the glass would appear clear. Too big, and the glass had a turbid, brownish color. One of the simplest but most beautiful pieces on display is the Covered Goblet with 'Fruit Children.' The key breakthrough came in 1659, when alchemist Johann Rudolf Glauber published a paper describing how to make purple of Cassius. Using an ancient formula called aqua regia, a mix of nitric and hydrochloric acid used to dissolve gold, Glauber added a small amount of tin, which reacted with the gold to produce perfectly sized particles. Glassmaker Johann Kunckel used the purple of Cassius formula to make the first ruby-gold vessels in the 1680s. The coloring of the pieces is exquisite. Thanks to cooperation from museums around the world, the Corning Museum has brought together some of the finest examples of these works. One of the simplest but most beautiful pieces is the Covered Goblet with "Fruit Children," on loan from the Focke-Museum in Bremen, Germany. The goblet itself is an almost cylindrical bowl with a beveled rim and rounded bottom, cut into 12 panels. The color is a light raspberry. Of course, there were mistakes. The Overlay Beaker is a Bohemian piece from the late 17th century on loan from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The glassmaker used copper instead of gold in the mixture. The result is a piece that's almost pitch black. While the exhibit is almost exclusively focused on the good that alchemists did during this period, it concludes with the tale of Johann Friedrich Böttger, an alchemist who was imprisoned by Augustus the Strong, king of Saxony and Poland. Augustus put the ultimate alchemist's challenge to Böttger: Make me gold. Böttger claimed that he did just that, and won his freedom in 1714. The nugget, which has been certified to be gold, is on display here. The final panel of the display asks, "Did Böttger really make gold?" The answer, of course, is "no." He obviously used some old alchemist's trick to fool the king. But as this exhibit makes clear, alchemists did much to advance the art of glassmaking in the 17th century. To learn this story and see these pieces up close, it's well worth the trip to upstate New York.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hamps..._auction_in_nh/ LONDON—"Fish for dinner." Not surprising for a sailor, perhaps, but the laconic observations of George Hodge, who went to sea in 1790, have stirred interest in his native land. Hodge's self-illustrated journal, recording an adventurous life as a sailor and a prisoner of the French during the Napoleonic Wars, is being offered at auction Saturday by Northeast Auctions in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The auctioneer estimates the journal, a rare record of the life of an ordinary sailor, will fetch US$35,000 to US$50,000.

Wow, I think I feel a case of scurvy comin' on just looking at them! Seriously, these guys have a good 'NC Wyeth' feel to them. I'll be looking them up, when I get back from Baghdad.

Great Jesu' on a floating breadbox, you mean to say you have more balls than your husband????

An ivory cue ball, a wooden base and piece of brass for a cradle - damn, that's just nice work. http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-Authentic-Scri...1QQcmdZViewItem Not my auction, posted merely to inspire. Antique Recycled PRE-BAN African Elephant ivory cue ball with scrimshaw work by west coast scrimshaw artist Kurt Sperry. The antique cue ball is from ca. 1920 is in excellent condition but does have some typical age cracking near the poles. Kurt has masterfully engraved a 15th century latin map complete with ships, sea monsters and a compass rose incorporating his signature. The globe is completed with a stand made from cocobola, brass and PRE-BAN African Elephant ivory. Antique cue ball globe 2 1/4" dia, 4 1/2" tall.

I was under the distinct impression that the thrifty and frugal could collect said earwax, and after a period of time coat his cartridges for faster loading at a later date. Perhaps I was mistaken....[/size=1]

Complete article (and photo) at http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A...T/80711060/1031 When you’re on the beach, keep an eye out for a black flag on the horizon — pirates are coming. They’ve got guns, swords, ships and stench — and it’s all historically accurate. The Sea Rats Atlantic is a historical maritime crew that recreates the world of pirates. With 144 members with about 60 active crewmen, the Sea Rats take to land and sea to teach people about real-life pirates that roamed the waves. “The recent movies don’t help a lot,” says Joe Ruggiero, the captain of Sea Rats Atlantic. “They add an air of goofiness to pirates. It’s hard to rise above that.” Ruggiero and his crew are trying to counter this by offering historically accurate recreations, demonstrations and battles that both thrill and educate. SEE ALSO[/color=red] http://www.searatsatlantic.com/

By BRIAN SKOLOFF Associated Press Writer OFF THE TREASURE COAST, Fla. (AP) -- The fever is contagious. Gold fever, that is. Symptoms? Unwavering optimism. "Today's the day," legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher would say as he set out to sea each summer in search of the ocean's secrets. Before his death in 1998, he found more than $1 billion worth of treasure, including gold and silver bars, emeralds, coins and artifacts. As salvage season begins - roughly from May to August when the seas are calmer - a select few carry on Fisher's work up and down Florida's coasts, hoping to hit the mother lode. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TRE...LTAM&SECTION=US

Tackling rising threat of piracy By Robin Brant BBC News, Malacca Straits The old problem of piracy at sea is not only still a threat to ships across the world - it is on the rise. Figures for 2007 from the International Maritime Bureau show a 10% increase in the number of attacks. The narrow Malacca Straits between Malaysia and Indonesia, a crucial shipping lane, has been a notorious hotspot for years. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7391004.stm Office of Naval Intelligence piracy reports, online: http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/maritime/?e...ec24fd73927a759 Six killed in clashes between Somali pirates and Islamists http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5huZX1j...f7juvNifVKrMboQ 1 day ago MOGADISHU (AFP) — At least six people have been killed in clashes between Islamic fighters and Somali pirates in a Somali port, local elders said Saturday. The Islamist fighters attacked the pirates in Hobyo, 450 kilometres (270 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu on Friday, just after they had released a Jordanian-flagged cargo ship seized nearly a week earlier. Somali pirates release Jordanian-flagged ship www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-25 14:49:02 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/...ent_8248754.htm AMMAN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released the MV Victoria, a Jordanian-flagged ship owned by a company of United Arab Emirates, which was hijacked on May 17 off the Somali coast, Jordanian Minister of Transport Alaa Batayneh told local daily the Jordan Times on Saturday. "We have been informed by the ship's owner, Marwan Shipping and Trading Company, that the ship and its crew and cargo were released on Friday," he said, adding that he was unaware of any deal with the pirates on the ship's release. (Yeah, right)

http://lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx?id=7016 I'll be honest: I didn’t follow all the Disney rules. I played Jack like he was real, and if a woman flirted, I would flirt back. Women loved it. But there were also women who would have too many beers at California Adventure or smuggle in alcohol you could smell on their breath, women who were clearly sloshed. Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: “I will give you a xxxx xxx on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.” I would also get offers from women in my ear: “Anything you want, just find me.” I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park. yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me....

Three photos here http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/01...k.ap/index.html WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) -- Geologists searching for diamonds have stumbled upon a shipwreck loaded with gold and silver coins, ivory and cannons to fend off pirates. An archaelogist told The Associated Press on Thursday that the ship dates back some 500 years -- around the time Vasco de Gama and Columbus were plying the waters of the New World. The Namdeb Diamond Corp. had reported Wednesday that geologists discovered the shipwreck on April 1 during a search for diamonds off Namibia's southwest coast. Astrolabes and other period navigational tools were discovered. * Spanish gold coins, Portuguese silver coins minted in the late 1400s or early 1500s were found, as well as dividers used for measuring distance on a map during navigation. The reverse of the some of the gold coins depicts Ferdinand and Isabella, two Spanish monarchs of the time

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-0...tial-arts_N.htm SEATTLE — The golf cases propped up against the walls are full of swords, daggers and the occasional bit of chain mail. The halls of the community center ring with the clash of steel, the thud of shields and the quick snip-snip of rapiers. The books quoted are as often as not in medieval German or Latin. Welcome to a Western martial arts conference. Not a cowboy or lariat in sight. Western in this case is Western European, as opposed to the better-known Asian variety.

Mar 6, 6:52 PM EST Explorers May Have to ID Shipwreck Find By MITCH STACY Associated Press Writer http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SHI...LTAM&SECTION=US TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Deep-sea explorers who found a shipwreck last year yielding about $500 million in treasure might be forced to provide Spain their "best available hypothesis" on the ship's identity, a judge said Thursday. An attorney for the Spanish government has complained that Odyssey Marine Exploration of Tampa has not complied with a judge's order to hand over enough information to determine if Spain has a claim to the 17 tons of colonial era coins salvaged from the wreck last year. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday wrote in his ruling that if Odyssey doesn't fully satisfy the order to hand over details of the wreck, the company will be forced to tell Spain the name of the ship the company suspects it has found.

http://www.thm-online.dk Swanky inspiration.

China Raises 800-Year-Old Sunken Ship AP Posted: 2007-12-21 16:37:04 Filed Under: Science News BEIJING (Dec. 21) - After 800 years at the bottom of the sea, a merchant ship loaded with porcelain and other rare antiques was raised to the surface Friday in a specially built basket, a state news agency reported. The Nanhai No. 1, which means "South China Sea No. 1," sank off the south China coast with some 60,000 to 80,000 items on board, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Wu Jiancheng, head of the excavation project. Archaeologists built a steel basket around the 100-foot vessel, and it took about two hours for a crane to lift the ship and surrounding silt to the surface, Xinhua said. The basket was as large as a basketball court and as tall as a three-story building. Green-glazed porcelain plates and shadowy blue porcelain items were among rare antiques found during the initial exploration of the ship. Archaeologists have also recovered containers made of gold and silver as well as about 6,000 copper coins. The ship dates from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was discovered in 1987 off the coast near the city of Yangjiang, in Guangdong province, in more than 65 feet of water. The Nanhai No. 1 was placed on a waiting barge. It will be deposited in a huge glass pool at a museum where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where it has lain on the sea bed. Feng Shaowen, head of the Yangjiang city cultural bureau, said visitors will be able watch the excavation of the ship through windows on the pool. The recovery of the Nanhai No. 1 was originally scheduled for Saturday, but organizers decided to raise it a day early because of favorable weather.

* One year later...* Shipwreck Sheds Light on Florida's Past By GARRY MITCHELL, AP Posted: 2007-10-11 23:39:21 Filed Under: Science News PENSACOLA, Fla. (Oct. 11) - In 1559, a hurricane plunged as many as seven Spanish sailing vessels to the bottom of Pensacola Bay, hampering explorer Don Tristan de Luna's attempt to colonize this section of the Florida Panhandle. Almost 500 years later and 15 years after the first ship was found, another has been discovered, helping archaeologists unlock secrets to Florida's Spanish past. The colony at the site of present-day Pensacola was abandoned in 1561, and no trace of it has been found on land. Teams of University of West Florida archaeology students last summer discovered what they thought was the shipwreck, picking up pieces of artifacts from the site. A 32-by-24-foot barge now covers the site to give divers access. Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning joined divers Thursday for a close look at the shipwreck, partially buried in sand about 12 feet below the water surface. It was "incredible" to touch something that has been submerged for centuries, Browning said. "It was in good condition. As far as pieces of pottery, you could feel the bowls," he said. The discovery is "another piece of the puzzle" of Florida's Spanish ancestry, Browning said, adding that he does not expect the ship to be removed from the water. About 650 artifacts, mostly pieces of pottery and wood, were on display Thursday for about 100 people, among them members of the public, who gathered on land about a half mile from the shipwreck. "It's an amazing site," said Gregory D. Cook, a University of West Florida nautical archaeologist. Test excavations suggest about 60 to 66 feet of preserved hull from a small to medium-size vessel, he said. The ship would likely have been built a few years before 1559, said Dr. Roger C. Smith, the state's underwater archaeologist. The first de Luna ship was found in 1992 in the same area, near what de Luna founded as Florida's initial European settlement. Researchers believe as many as five other vessels were lost in the hurricane Sept. 19, 1559. The search for the others continues. "These sites are unique doorways into Florida's past," Smith said. They also give archaeology students an unusual opportunity for research. Siska Williams of Atlanta, a West Florida graduate student in archaeology, said she has made about 100 dives at the site. In one, divers recovered seeds and rat skeletons, she said. The ship apparently held food stocks and other supplies for the colonization campaign, a carefully planned expedition financed by the Spanish crown. After the storm, only three ships were still afloat, including two small barks and the expedition's only caravel. No human remains were found at the site, Williams said: "Most of the crew had gone ashore because of the hurricane."