Treasures of the whydah

Chris Macort,, left, teaching at the Whydah Pirate Museum. Macort : When we dive on the Whydah site, we are discovering treasures that go back to the 17th century. But, when we bring them back to the laboratory we are discovering all over again. And this time, museum visitors are experiencing the revelations right alongside us.

It begins with identifying the shadows and shapes of a coin, pistol, a piece of jewelry encased in the concrete. Visitors can view the tantalizing possibilities right on our screens. Then, we have to agonizingly chip away and extract the artifacts with tiny tools.

Look right there, you see. Those are silver Spanish coins, but that long shape that looks like it is wrapping around the X-ray. Why are all the concretions, from the giant one in the middle of the lab to the smaller ones on your workshop — including the one labeled as gun parts -immersed in water? Macort : If they are allowed to dry, the concretion surrounding the object begins to fall apart.

Regular tap water works for storage, but rain water and distilled water have a higher PH level that allows them to inhibit corrosion much more efficiently. Macort : For very large concretions, we can use an air scribe, which is like a mini-jack hammer that gently taps it without harming the artifacts inside.

And as soon as we extract the artifacts, we have to keep them wet while cleaning and then conserving them. Once exposed to air and light, it is critical to eliminate all the sodium chloride, salt, which will begin corroding the artifact. Macort: Concretion is what protects and preserves so many of the artifacts you see at the museum.

When iron is submerged in sea water, they undergo electrolytic reactions. The metal starts to disintegrate and combine with the salts present in the ocean water. While the concretion stays submerged in salt water, most of the objects inside stay relatively stable.

But when the concretion is brought to the surface and allowed to dry, the objects inside will deteriorate, as I explained before. On average, they weigh about pounds. The big concretion in the middle of the laboratory is about 2, pounds and there are enough artifacts encased within it to open up a small museum. But DNA tests later confirmed that the bone did not belong to the famed pirate, Clifford said. There are about concretions in the laboratory that have yet to be opened, including one that weighs about 13, pounds, Clifford said.

Although they have recovered enough material to fill a museum, Clifford said that there is still a lot left to pull from the ocean floor. Bellamy captured the Whydah in early For more information, visit discoverpirates. Tucked away in the gallery district on the eastern side of Provincetown, nestled between hedges and a white picket fence,…. The enduring nature of tile, not to mention the untold scope of styles lends it to all aspects of a…. Owner of innerglow yoga and Cape Cod Yoga School, Michelle Itzkowitz has been practicing yoga and studying nutrition for over….

In fact, one such treasure that is still missing is the rumored bounty of the pirate ship the Whydah which sank just off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass.. The Whydah had a dark past before it was captured by pirates, as it was originally a merchant slaver used within the Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage. The pirate crew was led by Samuel Bellamy, or Black Bellamy, and the ship was soon loaded up with plunder as they made their way across the seas.