As a diver you dream...
Of one day finding treasure. Just the thought of swimming through the gloom and there it is, you see it. A shipwreck. A sheer bit of random luck like that is slim but still probably better odds than the lottery, the idea fills me with such excitement. I grew up in a house that revolved around the sea, by the time I came along my dad had been a diver for years and had worked all over, building bridges and laying cables. He eventually settled on Skye with my mum to farm the sea and grow scallops. So you might not think it but he didn't just bring home wonderful fresh local seafood, he brought home “finds” from the seabed many of which can be seen at the Museum of the Isles in Sleat. So it is no wonder that at a young age I got into the idea of finding treasure. There was also a short period where I wanted to fight sea monsters after watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Luckily I grew out of that one pretty quickly. It wasn't just the finds that had me interested but all the books as well, some with amazing pictures to get the imagination going. So when I started diving with my dad I always wanted to find something special. I have seen some amazing things and had some very special moments under the sea that I feel privileged to have witnessed. Like the time dolphins decided they where going to surprise me 15 meters down while I was minding my own business. It's moments like that, that have cemented my resolve in protecting our marine environment. You know what though, I've never found my treasure.
I have found however, many bottles and jars most of which only date from the 40/50s. It can be very easy to date “finds” like this. A Clear, flat bottomed glass bottle is going to be much newer than a green glass bottle with a rounded bottom. Techniques and processes of how we make glass has changed a lot, so with a quick bit of research you can figure out the age of a bottle.
Well, what do you do if you find a bit of treasure of your own in the sea. The first thing you have to do is not let it dry out. You have to let it soak in water for as long as possible. This also helps with the smell from barnacles. You need to soak it in fresh water to remove all the salt, this gives you the best chance of preserving it and it not just crumbling away, especially if it is ceramic. Once it has had a good old soak (weeks if possible) you can clean it off gently and put your find on display. It is worth noting as well, we are not dragons and you should not hoard your treasure, in fact any shipwreck/treasure should be reported to the receiver of wrecks.
So what are my best finds. Well, some, like the dolphins, are just memories but others like this small glass jar sits pride of place on the living room window sill and protects one of my Wild Seaweed and Peppermint lip balms. Another is this ceramic jug with a broken lip on it, if you look closely it has “Highland Royal Mail” on it. Just to think it probably got broken in the galley of a boat and then tossed over the side where it lay on the seabed for several decades, till I eventually found it.
Even though I am still dreaming of finding a shipwreck one day, I've re-evaluated my dream to just hopefully finding my own bit of proper treasure that a museum might be interested in. You never really know what is out there though till you've found it.
Ben