[Bell Historians] Fwd: Shipwreck bell photo - resent [1 Attachment]

[Timothy Hurd]

Hi Robert


Really hard to tell from the photo (the overall scale of the bell, notwithstanding) - and not knowing what various surface de-contamination or conservation steps may have already been taken, post-recovery, on the shipwreck bell. Best to ask the correspondent on this. 
On the surface, it looks a bit like some normal, albeit eccentric, burnishing around a dedicated clapper-to-bell contact 'strike spot' - the lateral striation within the burnished zone could just be a casting flaw (there are others evident), this exacerbated & highlighted by extensive salt water exposure. I take it that nothing remains of the previous clapper... as bronze (brass?) tends to last longer than wrought iron under water. Has the parent metal of the bell been 100% identified?
One important thing to consider: if the oblong 'burnished' spot is, indeed, indicative of the true strike axis, there was probably some external rope/wire guide to keep said strike
 axis reasonably true with the fairly small clapper strike point - usually, ship's bells tend to have crownstaple arrangements that permit a wide angle of strike incidence relative to the inner lip (e.g. 'hook & eye' clapper suspension, etc.), ringing through whatever a hand-held rope stroke would provide on the 'near' inside of the bell. This usually results in a 'long sand beach' wear mark on the inner lip which, in this instance, would appear not to be the case. 
So the question arises as to whether this is actually the 'ship's bell', or another (church?) bell -used previously, elsewhere- being transported by sea.
One might consider the condition of other 'submersibles', dredged up from time to time, as examples of bronze cannon, etc. and the length of time these have been exposed to salt water immersion, to gauge any other identifying parameters.
Just a thought...

Cheers,Timothy 
--- On Fri, 1/3/13, Robert Lewis <editor at N9iQJMecFsWuKeeYPEa617_fIIWsyfguG05utllQZHIsVnv-uYgr7XuG4RG2W1DJWX1c-i3VqrPcvjp3cukJiG0.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

From: Robert Lewis <editor at N9iQJMecFsWuKeeYPEa617_fIIWsyfguG05utllQZHIsVnv-uYgr7XuG4RG2W1DJWX1c-i3VqrPcvjp3cukJiG0.yahoo.invalid>
Subject: [Bell Historians] Fwd: Shipwreck bell photo - resent [1 Attachment]
To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com
Received: Friday, 1 March, 2013, 1:12
 AM
















 



  


    
      
              
        [Attachment(s) from Robert Lewis included below]
        
      
      

Can anyone help with this please?


The theory sounds a bit unlikely to me, but ...


RAL





From: Sean Kingsley <sean at qalvHQjg793MepjMNUbUPoWgMVZEGRW5EouQwguwZfp-SNndj5esZZXt2WiJ-WALPj64TDumHolW2is.yahoo.invalid>

Subject: Bell Markings?

Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:31:58 +0000

To: editor at N9iQJMecFsWuKeeYPEa617_fIIWsyfguG05utllQZHIsVnv-uYgr7XuG4RG2W1DJWX1c-i3VqrPcvjp3cukJiG0.yahoo.invalid

X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.1283)


Dear Sir/Madam,


I wonder if anyone at The Ringing World could help with an unusual
enquiry?


I am currently publishing a brass bell from a shipwreck found off the
coast of England that dates to the last quarter of the 17th century.



The object has a strange incised marking  on the inside base of the
bell, as attached. It has been suggested that this might somehow be a
mark signifying the strike tone. Have you possibly ever seen anything
like this?


Any light you may be able to shed on this matter would be very gratefully
received.


Best wishes,


Sean

        

Dr Sean Kingsley

Director, Wreck Watch Int.

Tel. 0208 964 8568

Mobile 07967 353959


www.wreckwatch.com

blog.wreckwatch.com






    
     

    
    






  








           
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ringingworld.co.uk/pipermail/bell-historians/attachments/20130301/dac70461/attachment.html>