Bronze cannon for possible ID

[fernando]

I wonder if the guys within this area are around ...
This cannon was found some thirty years ago at 3 Kilometers from my hometown (Portugal Northern coast), a couple hundred meters from the shore.
A couple young divers, maybe for reasons due to its large dimensions (some 3 meters) decided to give it to the local Naval club; not without resistance from the next city and even Lisbon Museums.
It has been placed at the inland historical club entrance for some thirty years and later moved to the club's marina restaurant entrance, a much more recent construction.
For reasons connected with lack of investigation interest, neither the divers nor the club management (a rather small institution) ever cared to identify this cannon which, in my humble opinion, belonged in a foreigner ship. All i managed to know so far is that there are more where this one came from, although of cast iron, reason why the young divers had no interest in bringing them up, aware that special equipment and immediate treatment were required.
I have taken a couple poor pictures with the intention to post them here in the forum, with the remote hope that its details would sufficient to identify its possible age and provenance.


.

[fernando]

So ... no gunners around ? .
Here is the poorest atempt in dechipering those letters, which meaning ... has no meaning to me

.

[thinreadline]

If it wasnt for the inconvenient couple of letters in the middle it would be 'IRA DEI ' ..wrath of God , which seems a great name for a cannon !

[M ELEY]

To my untrained eye, it looks like the ending is an 'EU' vs 'EI". The last identified letter seems to curve that way. Perhaps ending in '-eus', like 'Perseus' or "Maritaneus'. The construction of the gun itself, being bronze and relatively plain compared to most Spanish and Portuguese pieces makes me think another nation. As most nations highly decorated their pieces, could this perhaps be from one of Portugal's colonies? I keep thinking that it looks rather like many of the early petraroes I've seen. Not as decorative as the lantakas, more plain, but some were undecorated I believe. The Portuguese and Dutch were throughout Indonesia and Borneo. Could it have been made in Brunei or being shipped to such places? Very much thinking aloud, so don't mind me!

Just noticed that the trunnions are not centered on the sides of the barrel. We see this on smaller swivel guns and cannons meant to be angled sharply downwards on a ship. Perhaps this detail may help in identifying nation?

[fernando]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

To my untrained eye, it looks like the ending is an 'EU' vs 'EI". The last identified letter seems to curve that way. Perhaps ending in '-eus', like 'Perseus' or "Maritaneus'. The construction of the gun itself, being bronze and relatively plain compared to most Spanish and Portuguese pieces makes me think another nation. As most nations highly decorated their pieces, could this perhaps be from one of Portugal's colonies? I keep thinking that it looks rather like many of the early petraroes I've seen. Not as decorative as the lantakas, more plain, but some were undecorated I believe. The Portuguese and Dutch were throughout Indonesia and Borneo. Could it have been made in Brunei or being shipped to such places? Very much thinking aloud, so don't mind me!

Just noticed that the trunnions are not centered on the sides of the barrel. We see this on smaller swivel guns and cannons meant to be angled sharply downwards on a ship. Perhaps this detail may help in identifying nation?

Ah, Captain ... i though you'd never come
Not that my eyes are sharper than yours (much older than you ) but i don't see in the faded letters the kind of composition you are aiming at .
I agree that Portuguese (and Spanish) guns would have more decoration, Royal insignias and all. But when you think about great conflicts requiring gun casting under emergency needs, i don't know.
One non solid possibility is that this cannon was equiping a ship of the Invencible Armada which, after all odds, ended up wrecking all over. The basic fleet departure was Lisbon and the return of the surviving ships was in Galicia, not far from my hometown.
... And it is assumed that a great number of the Spanish cannons were made in a hurry and assumedly of low quality.
Yes, we had foundries in Asia (Goa and so), but i don't see them cannons coming all the way to wreck in my shore; and those would be also decorated all the same ... or again, not.
One detail that would put some light into this is the lower short inscription; not being the casting date, as the figures look more like letters than numbers, it could be the foundry place.
Not sure whether the trunions are not centered, or passive of optical ilusion in the pictures; will go around the place where it stays (close from my habitat), to check it at naked eye.
I thank you anyway for your input; it keeps the thing warm

.

[M ELEY]

Yes, I just had to comment on it, as I am the Captain! Your points are all solid and much better than my meager guesswork.
Every time I look at those letters, especially on the end, I think I see something else! Hope someone might be able to get the foundry. That would definitely help.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by thinreadline

If it wasnt for the inconvenient couple of letters in the middle it would be 'IRA DEI ' ..wrath of God , which seems a great name for a cannon !

Thank you for the nice suggestion , although assuming the extra letters impede such composition. Even probable Latin subsidiaries, like Castillian (LA IRA DE DIOS) and Portuguese (IRA DE DEUS) don't do it .