Page 5 - Kennemerland VOC ship, 1664 - Published Reports

voyage, and the deposit had evidently accumulated very quickly to form an undisturbed 17th century horizon.
Site G was found to contain two areas which were heavily tar-impregnated and within which there were several substantial timbers (two of them 0.84m long) set in considerable puddles of tar. Two of these timbers (the only joined timbers in the wreck) were nailed together and probably represent a piece of planking with a length of anti-worm sheathing attached. The organic layer within the S of the area was particularly productive of artefacts, notably rope, footwear, pottery and clay pipe fragments.
The 'organic matte' is interpreted as having been formed relatively rapidly and soon after the ship was wrecked, explaining the clean and unabraded condition of the artefacts included. Although not certain, it appears most probable that this material was derived from the bilges and was thus waterlogged before deposition. Heavier items found in sites F and G included a concretion which contained cheap jewellery and ornaments, bone dice, thimbles, silver coins, tobacco boxes, brass bodkins and a pocket sundial in quantities indicative of (illegal) private trading. A Bellarmine flagon was also found to have been buried in the organic level of site G and then broken into 55 pieces without being subsequently disturbed. This debris clearly derives from a specific part of the ship which broke away at the point where the seabed slopes steeply upwards.
The area around Stoura Stack was further investigated, and the location of discovery of over a hundred lead ballast-pigs recorded in a gully only 10m from the corner of the stack. Although they were found sunk up to four deep in the gravel and aligned with the direction of the gully, this must indicate the area in which the ship first struck.
Other finds in the gully comprise considerable numbers of yellow Dutch bricks ('Overijsselsde Steen') and iron cannon balls of various sizes, which were also derived from the ballast.
It is suggested that the ship suffered major damage on hitting the stack, initially spilling heavy items from the bilges as the bottom split open. The floating remains then drifted northwards, driven by the southerly gale, so that the final location of theremains was determined by the state of the tide. If the wreck took place within about an hour of Low Water, an eastwards- setting tidal current would have washed debris ashore at Old Man Stack or beyond; this would account for the two cannon found in this area although a substantial portion of the ship would have to remain intact to support them. Under this theory, the area of wreckage to the SW of the stack must have been deposited later, possibly when it floated back through the South Mouth on the morning after the disaster. Alternatively, if the ship were wrecked within the other nine hours of the tidal cycle, distribution of the remains would have been controlled by the strong tidal flow out of the South Mouth, the cannon off Old Man Stack being unassociated with this loss.
The following finds are specifically noted:
Coins: a further seven coins (of various metals but none of them diagnostic) were found to add to the 59 silver coins found in two piles within site F.
Jewellery, ornaments and thimbles: objects found of this class included four brass tobacco- boxes, three heart-shaped pendants of pewter or similar alloy, and a variety of cheap jewellery (as noted above).
Clay pipes: over 400 varied fragments were found, all apparently made at Gouda.
Salt-glazed stoneware: a further complete flagon was found, to add to the four found previously. Over 800 fragments have also been found.
Oil-jar pottery: the discovery of 28 fragments is noted, apparently from a massive storage vessel.