Cannons nicked from wreck

[Cannoneer]

Ten year old article about cannon theft from a British shipwreck off St. Augustine.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/080499/met_2A1CANNO.html

[KABAR2]

This almost sounds like an inside job, the site was not advertised, someone had to have access to a boat capable of flushing away the silt & sand, these are
specialized boats and they stick out like a sore thumb with the huge sheet metal affair sticking off the back, it also had to have a crane on board capable of
lifting over 2000 pounds, that should have narrowed the search down even further not to merntion the fact that the boat it self would have been rather large so it
could carry such a crane..........  I could see thieves going after bronze guns..... but iron guns?
these would have to been put into a tank almost immediately to prevent damage, and it would be years before they would be ready for display.  without
proper treatment they would turn into a pile of iron not really recognizable as a cannon.  It is a shame these people were never caught!    

[thelionspaw]

Now, ten years later, their kids are probably old enough to be wielding cans of spray paint and taging monuments.

[Cannoneer]

The last paragraph of the article states that the Southern Oceans Team were going to try and bring up an iron swivel gun from the wreck the next week, and they were good to their word, because its shown in this website. There are two links near the bottom of the page, and the second link about the conservation of artifacts, (the swivel gun) contains some info about the two stolen guns; evidently they never recovered the guns from the jackasses that stole them.

http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/lamp_industry.php

[Cannoneer]

It would seem that thefts from underwater archaeological sites aren't rare occurrences.

"The cannons from a known archaeological site (a shipwreck) in White House Bay, St. Kitts, have been stolen. The site, recorded in 2003 by the Anglo-Danish Maritime Archaeology Team (ADMAT), was initially discovered with 13 cannons. The vessel, a British troopship sunk during the Battle for Frigate Bay in 1782, was uncovered during a hurricane in the 1990s."

Cannons stolen from British shipwreck, St. Kitts  

[thelionspaw]

AND......nobody sees this going on?   Just be seen with sombody elses wife and the jungle drums begin.

Richard the Pure

[KABAR2]

Pillaging documented sites should bring down the full force of the law,   
I believe that any artifact found should be brought up, conserved and displayed. leaving them in place so a few tourists snorkeling can get a
thrill is a bunch of bull.  replace them with replica's and preserve the originals.... stop thinking about all the tourist dollars spent.
There is at least one NPS site off Florida where they have placed repro cannon for the diving public to find and see.