Page 225 - Loss of the VOC Retourschip Batavia, Western Australia, 1629

This would then give the following pattern:
GunportNo. Port-upper Port-main Starboard-main Starboard-upper
Stem - I 2 - I-34- 2 23 24 25 20 3 7 8 5 22 4-96- 5 - 10 21 - 6 - 11 12 - 7 - NU.. NU.. -
8 - 14
9 - 15 10 - 17 11 19(bak) 26
Bow 28 (bak) -
broken off. Possibly this carried the guns with it. Note that therelativepositionsofthegunsontheupperdeckmaybe wrong and they may be closer to the waist.
Assuming that there were eleven gunports on each side oftheshiponthegundeck,includingthepairforthegalley, and that the Batavia was45 m between the stems and there was4.5 m to the first aft gunport and, say, a bit less forthe fIrst fore gunport, that would leave 37 m for 11 gunports, giving a separation of 3.7 m for the guns, which seems reasonable. Alternatively, if we assume that there were no guns in the Bak, then there would have been 13 gunports giving a separation of approximately 3.1 m. However, there is not enough archaeological evidence available at present to resolve this question.
One other interesting finding was that the diameters of the smallest class of shot (85 mm see Fig. 33) do nOl correspondtoanyoftheboresofthegunsrecoveredtodate (Table above Fig. 30). Until all the guns are recovered from the site and their bores measured, it will not be certain whether the shot were intended to match the guns on the Batavia. Some of the shot of this class were grenades, but certainly the majority were solid. The shot may have been supplies for the Indies, but one would have expected these to be carried in the hold. It was noted also that there was a second shot locker in the forward part of the ship near the
position where the galley was thought to be.
Navigation equipment
The presence of the small astrolabe BA T 3400 in the
stem part of the ship (grid reference 1(0108), close to the ship's bell BA T 3404, indicates that it had been left in the cabin of one of the senior officers. The other astrolabe BAT 3720 recovered during the excavation was found near the large coin concretion (grid reference 180108), suggesting that this had been moved into the waist of the ship with the chests ofmoney. This was done at the time of the wreck in preparation for the abandonment of the ship.
13 -
16 -
18 -
27 Pelsaert (bak)
- Pelsaert (bak)
The surgeon's equipment
During the excavation of "'le stem section of the ship,
particularlybetweengridreferences060105 and080108, a large quantity of tin-glazed alberelli or drug jars were found. This material, which includes small lead-glazed earthenwares, is thought to be the typical contents of the surgeon's or apothecary's chest. Although most of the larger drug jars were found to be empty, one in particular was found to contain a bright, orange-red substance. The contents, on chemical analysis, was found to be mercuric oxide, a well-known chemical used in the treaunentof skin ailments. While it cannot be certain that these jars were from such a chest, the fact that many of them were found within the same area suggests that they were associated.
Domestic ceramic material
There is a large quantity ofceramic material, including
the beardman jugs that do not seem to fit into any clear group.
SHIP'S EQUIPMENT Bronze bell
This bell was found in the stem part of the ship (grid reference 100108) and was mentioned above in relation to the astrOlabe. The bell would have been, it is assumed, placed on the quarter-deck and used for signalling the watches.
Anchor
The presence of nine anchors on the site seems at first
to be unusual. As discussed above, we know that four of them would have been stored in the hold and were probably either additional anchors or supplies for the Indies. Van Dam (l701) states 'Met een schip van 160 voet werden medegeven 9 anckers, wegen als volgt: 3600, 3500, 3400, 3300,3200,3100,900,850, and 180P01l1' suggesting that all the anchors could, in fac~ have belonged to theBatavia.
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