Among the many small bits and pieces recovered from theMonitorwas this odd fitting. It was found inside of the turret. It is made of iron or a high iron alloy but has not rusted to anywhere near the extent of the other iron artifacts from theMonitor. It also had very little concretion attached to it. It appears to be made of 2 pieces. 1 piece is the majority of the object including rectangular block and sloped fin in the middle. The other piece is a 1/8” thick sheet of metal partially wrapped around the bottom of the first pieces and possibly torn along the edges.
The second piece appears to be a whiter alloy than the first. We have not yet had the chance to conduct x-ray fluorescence analysis to determine the alloy, but both strong rare earth and weak magnets will stick to all parts of the object so it has to have a fair bit of iron in it. Due to the unusual shape, the crispness of the edges, and the low degree of rusting and concretion we feel that it is likely a modern object that intruded into the site, but we aren’t 100% certain of that. It could be from one of the research submersibles used to investigate the wreck, or a WWII depth charge, or fishing boat that passed overhead. It is probably not from any of the equipment used during the actual recovery process as it did have some concretion attached, indicating that it had spent some time on the bottom. Can anyone out there shed any light on this for us? Have you seen a fitting like this? Do you have something like this on your boat or on any of your tools?
It is about 1-9/16” long x 1-1/4” wide x 1-1/8” high, with a 3/16” diameter hole drilled through the sloped fin.
-Josiah
Josiah, Hi, I thought I sent this earlier today but did not see the comment now. I was wondering if you could post larger images so we could really see the detail? Also, was this recovered when the turret was still on the ocean floor or after the turret was recovered? What I really mean is do you know at what depth inside the turret it was found and if there were other artifacts associated with it? Is it likely it was near the surface and tumbled down during the excavation or was it lodged deep with other items? Thanks, Fran
Hi Fran, the provenience note for this object says
“TURRET 2:00 Port. Resting on mud wall”
Based on the “2:00 port” description it was found during excavation inside the turret at the museum, as that was when the clock mapping system for the turret was implemented. The accession number is 2002.01.674 but everything from the turret was numbered 2002 whether it was actually discovered that year or later. “674” is a pretty high number suggesting that it was found late in the excavation process, lower down in the sediment layers or roof beams. I would need to dig through the files to find more specific info. I can email you some larger pictures directly. Josiah
This looks like the lower jaw portion of a modern pipe wrench. The smaller protrusion slots into the handle of the wrench and is pinned into place through the hole. They are meant to be replaceable as the teeth dull with use.
Dan, you are definitely correct! Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.