Cruisader sword found in Isreal

M ELEY · 21st October 2021, 06:18 AM

This is indeed an incredible find! The encrusted pieces literally take years to soak and clean. I just read an indepth volume on the archaeological preservation of the QAR wreck. The cannons soaked for over over 7 years! The pistol and sword fragments 3-4 years, etc. Even smaller items take several years. Still, I think there might be enough of the blade left under the 'crud'. Iron of course corrodes at a rapid speed in a saline environment, but if it became encrusted before degradation, the elements might have literally sealed off the destruction of the iron. Unfortunately, we'll all have to wait half a decade to see this beauty restored!

fernando · 21st October 2021, 12:18 PM

Hopefuly the item is completely sealed by concretion, with no air leaks. Exposure to oxygen is another issue. Immersion in water tanks is a must; Cook's 'Endeavor' cannons were carried to the mainland in tanks filled with sea water. Then followed a series of treatments; electrolytic reduction, distilled water washing, wax impregnation, heat treatment, caustic soda bath ... you name it.
Easy to assume that often iron artifacts lose their chance to be recovered from the bottom of the sea, in opposition to those in bronze; specially considering that this kind of findings is due to freelancers, lacking the means or not whilling to handle such complexities.
It is estimated that there are circa ten thousand shipwrecks in all the (tiny) Portuguese coast. I am still waiting, for a few years now, for the nearby city authorities to decide recovering half dozen cannons (mostly culverins) from the sea, closest from the shore, from a 1600's shipwreck. The excuse is the sea conditions.

21st October 2021, 06:18 AM	#1
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,184	This is indeed an incredible find! The encrusted pieces literally take years to soak and clean. I just read an indepth volume on the archaeological preservation of the QAR wreck. The cannons soaked for over over 7 years! The pistol and sword fragments 3-4 years, etc. Even smaller items take several years. Still, I think there might be enough of the blade left under the 'crud'. Iron of course corrodes at a rapid speed in a saline environment, but if it became encrusted before degradation, the elements might have literally sealed off the destruction of the iron. Unfortunately, we'll all have to wait half a decade to see this beauty restored!

21st October 2021, 12:18 PM	#2
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Hopefuly the item is completely sealed by concretion, with no air leaks. Exposure to oxygen is another issue. Immersion in water tanks is a must; Cook's 'Endeavor' cannons were carried to the mainland in tanks filled with sea water. Then followed a series of treatments; electrolytic reduction, distilled water washing, wax impregnation, heat treatment, caustic soda bath ... you name it. Easy to assume that often iron artifacts lose their chance to be recovered from the bottom of the sea, in opposition to those in bronze; specially considering that this kind of findings is due to freelancers, lacking the means or not whilling to handle such complexities. It is estimated that there are circa ten thousand shipwrecks in all the (tiny) Portuguese coast. I am still waiting, for a few years now, for the nearby city authorities to decide recovering half dozen cannons (mostly culverins) from the sea, closest from the shore, from a 1600's shipwreck. The excuse is the sea conditions.