SpanishtroopshipSalvador

h p://www.abc.se/~pa/publ/salvador.htm

Wreck at Maldonado Bay, Punta del Este, Uruguay by Atilio Nasti, Director of Maldonado Bay Underwater Archaeological Project heSpanishshipSalvadorsankonAugust31,1812inthe MaldonadoBay.This ymetremerchantshipwasusedfor troopstransportoriginallydes nedtoPeru.A erthe revolu onagainstcolonialpower,intheOrientBandoftheRiver Plate(presentUruguay),itwasdeviatedtoa acktheMontevideo portcapturedbythepatriots.Onboardembark520soldiersofthe Albuheraba alion,alongwithothercrewandpassengers.Takenby surprisebyastrongSWwind,locallynamedPampero,sheran agroundoversandbanks.Theshipbrokeintwopartsandonly130 peoplesurvived. TheMaldonadoBayisinfrontofPuntadelEsteCity,250kmoutside MontevideoCity.Itisanarrowandshallowbay,aexceptthe presenceofGorri island,thebayisopentothestrongSWwindsthat blowstowardsthecoast. During1997theareawasprospectedbylocalprofessionaldiversand archaeologistwithtechnicalsupportofMARE(Mari me ArchaeologicalResearch)totheOxfordUniversitydirectedbyDr. MensunBound,doingtherstmapsofthesite.Duetothewaythat wreckwas,theshipwasdividedintwosectors.OnetowardstoSE (650m)withanpredominanceofthepiecesoftheship,speciallythe stern.TheotherareatowardsNWto600m,hadmanyartefacts chinaware,bo les,wineglass,silvercoins,medicalinstrumentsand severalmilitaryartefactssuchasbronzecannons,bronzeballs cannon,swords,guns,andotherobjectsofwoodsandleather. Amongtheseinstruments,werecoveredthreeop calinstrumentsto naviga on:onesextantandtwooctants.

Stellar navigation
Inancient mesthetermquadrantwasusedforaninstrumentto determinetheal tudeofthestarsontopofthehorizon.Aquadrant wasadivisionoftheNau calRoseorWindsRose. Thesextantwasusedsince16thcentury,butthemarineversionwas developedin1757byCaptainJohnCampbell.Thenamesextant referstoasixthofacircumference,thatis60.Thereforethesextant canmeasureanglesto120.Theoctantoperatesinasimilarwaybut measuressmallerangles. Theinstrumentswererecoveredon9metersdepth,coveredwith sediments.Anoctantwasbuiltoveranebonywoodframeto3.80cm inheightand33cminwidth.Ithasbronzepiecesandanivoryscale. OnehastheengravingSpencer,Pronning&Rust,Londonandonthe

1de3

30/04/201210:58p.m.

SpanishtroopshipSalvador

h p://www.abc.se/~pa/publ/salvador.htm

otheroctantitreadsJames&Wilson(B&R). Wefoundsimilarinstruments(octants)intheNa onalMari me MuseuminGreenwich,England,andinthecollec onsofMuseo NavalinMadrid,Spain.

Conservation
Howwerethendspreserved?Immediatelya errecoveryfromthe ocean(Fig1),theinstrumentsweresubmergedindeionizedwater withaboraxsolu on.DuringtwoyearsthepHconcentra onwas controlled.Nexttothedesalinisedprotocol,theinstrumentswere submergedinethanolto30%progressiveto100%. Theproblemwiththesecombinedartefactswasdismantlingthe instrumentswhilemaintainingtheoriginalscrews.Theebonyframe wassubmergedinpolyethyleneglycol(PEG400)duringtwomonths. Thebronzepieceswereprocessedinelectrolysisandnoabrasive brush.Finallyitwasallmountedandcoveredwithpolyurethanelm (Fig2). Figure1,octantbefore. Figure2,octanta er.

byA lioNas

Related texts
LeatherobjectsfromSpanishshipwreckSalvador Elementosdecuerorecuperadosdelnaufragiodelnavo espaolSalvador

Bibliography
Hamilton,D.1997BasicMethodsofConservingUnderwaterArchaeological MaterialsCulturals.Nau calArchaeologicalProgram.Departmentof AnthropologyTexasA&MUniversity. Green,J.1990Mari meArchaeology,AcademicPress.

2de3

30/04/201210:58p.m.

SpanishtroopshipSalvador

h p://www.abc.se/~pa/publ/salvador.htm

Nas ,A.1999ProyectodeRescatederestoshumanosdelnaufragiodel NavoSalvador. .2000UnderwaterShipwreckTechnology.Underwater Interven on2001.TampaFL. Perason,C.1987Conserva onofMarineArchaeologicalObjects. Bu erworths,London

publishedonNordicUnderwaterArchaeologyDec'00,revsep'06

BacktoNordicUnderwaterArchaeology

3de3

30/04/201210:58p.m.