heavy chain in the deeper ravines indicate that the ship may have run hard onto the higher coral ridges, opening a substantial portion of her lower hull. (We found similar pig iron ballast during previous field work on both the Pearl and Hermes wreck sites, British whalers lost at the atoll later named for them in 1822.) Measurements of these three-foot-long ballast pieces correspond to 320-pound Admiral tystyle iron pigs (3 feet x 6 inches x 6 inches). 9 The anchors, three large wooden-stock iron anchors (length 10 112 feet) and a smaller kedge anchor (8 114 fee t), lie in the shallower substrate some 75 yards closer to the reef crest, showing where the vessel eventually became permanently lodged. The fo ur an chors lie in close proximity to each oth er-stowed at the time and not deployed, typical for a ship running agro und unexpectedly. The arms of these anchors, unlike the straight designs of the circa 1800 anchors found on rhe Pearl and Hermes sires, begin to show a gentle curve, som ething prevalent in many styles later in the nineteenth-century, particularly fo llowing Richard Pering's parented design improvements of 1819 . H eavy iron pieces, encrusted in to the coralline substrate, may be the rryworks knees from the brick structure o n deck used to render whale blubber into oil. A portion of a rrypor, reveali ng bricks and part of the copper pan or sheathing, li es under a deep overhang. One small can non (3 1/2 feet long) is also visible, as well as at least one cannonball; early British whalers sailing in the Pacific were usually armed. None of these artifacts seem inconsistent with what we wo uld expect to find on a whaling vessel from the early nineteenth century. D espite the presence of these large pieces, most of the ship has, obviously, disintegrated. A survey of the adj acent back reef area insid e rhe lagoon revealed only a few mino r items. Only the heaviest artifacts have survived rhe years of exposure to rhe full force of the North Pacific. Many of the smaller pieces either have been swept away or buri ed, and all of rhe organic
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The atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (above right). The Gledstanes wreck site lies close to the reef crest at Kure Atoll. Pig iron ballast lies in the sand channels seaward (middle) . Following the channels towards the reef, archaeologists located four huge anchors (right), cannon, and other large iron pieces, wedged in the coral.
SEA HISTORY 127, SUMMER 2009
25