Lead ingots from a shipwreck off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, east coast of India: Evidence for overseas trade and their significance
View/ Open
Date
2003Author
Tripati, S.
Parthiban, G.
Vora, K.H.
Sundaresh
Bandodkar, S.N.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Various types of lead ingots have been reported from a number of shipwrecks from different parts of the world. In 1991 exploration of a wreck off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, east coast of India, at a depth of 19 m yielded a gun, rudder gudgeon, gunpowder boxes and a variety of lead ingots. The most significant ingots are those marked W: Blackett and D with a crown symbol on the obverse and 1791, 1792 and some merchant marks on the reverse. These are similar to Blackett lead ingots found in England, the Netherlands and Sumatra. Pb-isotopic analysis has revealed their source as the North Pennine lead mines of England. Further, the lead used was of high purity approx. 93%. Records show that Blackett was a well-known lead-exporting company in England since 1694. The wreck off Poompuhar may be a Toni type cargo ship carrying traded lead ingots of different manufacturers
Collections
- Scholarly literature [8765]