Captain Kidds Treasure 'silver' (?) ingot

[Jim McDougall]

In 2015, Barry Clifford who had been diving in the harbor in the Isle of St. Marie in Madagascar since 2000, by 2013 claimed he had found several wrecks associated with pirates.
While it seems the 'Fiery Dragon' of William Conden has been authenticated as well as the wreck of the Great Mahomet, the true search was for Captain Kidds ship the ADVENTURE GALLEY.

Most accounts claim that this ship though built in 1695, was literally a leaking wreck by 1698, and said to have been scuttled in 1698 in or around the harbor in St. Marie.

In 2015, allegedly found in the remains of a vessel and ballast mounds, a notably large INGOT was found, and with markings that suggested those found on ingots of precious metal, in this case silver.
The ingot was large and heavy (110 lbs) and without testing etc. Clifford announced this was PROOF he had found Kidd's Adventure Galley.

Within months UNESCO who had taken the ingot for analysis, noted it was over 95% lead, and probably a large ballast 'pig' . The debris assumed to be of a ship, was probably pilings and material from a dock situated in a location where ships were careened.

There are countless media reports throughout 2015 heralding this most important pirate find, both pro and con toward the curious ingot.
After that NOTHING!
There is not a single note in any medium or venue I can find so far that says what became of this mysterious bar.

While the ingot does seem like various types of lead ballast products, which were apparently largely produced in England.......WHY the markings, which seem to concur with the control and assay markings on Spanish treasure bars. WHAT WOULD THESE BE DOING ON LEAD BALLAST BARS?

Despite all the hyperbole creating the quintessant pirate treasure hunt since virtually the day Kidd was hung in 1701......there has never been any evidence he ever buried any great treasure (beyond the small sum found just after his death).

So AFTER the year of hyperbole on this supposed silver bar announced as Kidds treasure in 2015......WHAT BECAME OF IT?
Was any further investigation or discussion ever done?
No follow up on the archaeological activity in Madagascar since 2015?

Any info, insights, suggestions?

The first bar is the Clifford example....
Next a Spanish bar with noted marks of controller, assay bite, marks date

[drac2k]

Very fascinating information Jim. I know nothing about the subject, however let me throw out a couple of goofy thoughts.
Could the lead bars have actually been part of a Spanish treasurer and some dishonest court official substituted lead bars for silver ones to cover up a theft; mixing in a few here and there?
Also have the bars ever been x-rayed?

[CutlassCollector]

Yes, very interesting Jim, took me on a wee google tour. Mostly ballast seemed to be rock or pig iron in those days.

It has occurred to me that perhaps the lead was cargo not ballast. Lead had a lot of valuable uses in those days - pipes for plumbing, water tanks and kitchen pots, roofing joints and not to mention ammunition.
It is probably too big to be the ship's musket ball supply!

Perhaps the marks are the maker's name and confirming the 95% lead content.

Probably too early for radiation shielding!

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks so much guys! Great thoughts and perspective! uh, CC, r
radiation shielding? LOL!!! good one.

Very good points on the uses of lead, one of the key uses obviously in these contexts was ammunition. In most studies of arms I have probed looking for records of arms shipments etc. one of the key commodities was saltpetre for powder.

On that note, mentioning the 'cutting' of commodities by unscrupulous officials was a very real issue. In the Spanish colonies in the 18th-19th c. the use of charcoal on powder was often used for financial gain by these guys, which became so notorious that Mexican powder was regarded nearly useless.

It is a good idea that perhaps this relatively huge ingot was scribed with marks to pose as silver, and IMO very logical thought given these kinds of ploys. The big question is, Kidd is not widely known for the plunder of Spanish ships. However there is an obscure reference of him taking one vessel out of Lima for Spain, and there may have been silver but no detailed references I am aware of.
Other than that, it seems possible that OTHER pirates in this haven in Madagascar might have acquired this sort of 'treasure' (or would be 'silver').
Perhaps even such ingots might have served as decoys on these vessels to detract from actual silver cache?

While I know that lead ballast was indeed produced in ingots, as noted pig iron or stone was more commonly used. There was apparently a notable production of lead ingots for ballast in England often used on Dutch ships as well.
The use of ballast outward voyage, and disposed of in ports of call in place of key cargo seems logical. The lead, as noted, might serve as a usable commodity in these colonial destinations for purposes described.

The DILEMMA here is :
Why has there been no follow up on the disposition of this curious ingot after its 2015 discovery?
Even if not silver, and not definitive proof of finding Kidds "Adventure Galley" (which is still listed as unlocated) it is still a historic artifact.

UNESCO pretty much blasted Clifford for premature announcement and claims to finding Kidd;s ship and ever elusive 'treasure'....with what they showed AFTER testing (which Clifford did not do) was simply lead.
Was this just too embarassing to continue, ? was any further search done in the site?
UNESCO says there was no ship wreckage, only what appears to be pylons or other debris from what may have been a careening dock or structure.

SO WHERE IS THIS BAR NOW? Was it ever tested further? any other items with it? only ONE bar?

I really appreciate you guys answering, and for good ideas. I feel sort of at an impasse here so its good to have your support.

[Bob A]

Fraudulent marking was the first thought that came to my mind as well.

As for UNESCO, their summary dismissal of the "ship" as debris is undercut by the fact of the bar and its description.

While I hesitate to ascribe ulterior, even nefarious, motives generally, when stakes are high, character tends to slip a bit.

[Rick]

Probably.
I find it amazing that Mr. Clifford neglected to bring a Silver test kit with him on his expedition.
If you find more information Jim, please keep us up to date. You could always try to contact him through the Whydah Museum website.

Have you read the book Walking The Plank by Stephen Kiesling yet?

[Jim McDougall]

Bob thank you for answering. The entire case for this being a silver bar and hyped into 'Captain Kidds treasure' seems to be 'on course for the unfortunately sensationalized career of Mr. Clifford.
Rick, I hoped you would come in on this, as for years you have called attention to the character of Clifford and your views were from close personal contact with him in your areas.

I think the use of disguised lead bars as valuable plunder must have been one of those unexplored areas of maritime trade and of course the piracy which becomes part of those contexts.

The nature of the 'ingot' from the Ile St. Marie harbor is first of all, a bit too large and heavy for a silver ingot and from what I can find on the apparently esoteric area of lead ballast bars, this unusual shape concurs somewhat.

The so called markings cut into this bar are 'in the manner' of the assay and control markings on Spanish silver bars, but of course, much cruder and interpretative. Absent are the conventional assay characters and of course the 'bite' marks (chunks for analysis by assayer).

It seems more than irresponsible to announce the locating of the Adventure Galley based on this single bar without proper testing. All I can think of is that the media was already on hand as Clifford had already been in this location seeking the wreck for some time, and they were ready to pounce. Still, Clifford should have cooled things down and followed protocols.
One of the most notable issues with him is the lack of proper archaeological staff on hand to ensure these kinds of protocols.

What I am trying to figure out is what became of this curiously disguised ingot after the year of hooplah in 2015. While clearly not 'treasure' it is still a valuable historic item as it was probably taken by one of the pirate groups who frequented there, and tossed as worthless. That it was found in an area of debris from dock structures rather than wreckage of a vessel seems to support that.

Thank you for the heads up on that book ! Ill check it out
I will see if I can find out more as you suggest, and as always invite any other input from those reading here, it has always been a team effort here.
It seems appropriate that pirate ships so often used ADVENTURE in thier names !!!
It is exactly what they have given us!