Site Visit Report, Reported Find of a Cannon

At the direction of David Crass, Archaeological Services Unit manager, I visited Tybee Island to investigate a reported find of what was thought by the finders to be a cannon. For the purpose of investigating the "find" site, Mr. Joe Thompson, Wormsloe Historic Site manager, coordinated a meeting on Tybee Island for February 14, 1998, at 3:00 p.m. Timing was critical to insure low tide for the most exposed beach during the investigation.

I arrived at the designated meeting location on Tybee Island at about 2:45 p.m. on a dry, sunny, mild day to find Ms. Wood, Mr. Brown and others waiting. A person from WSA V-TV and a reporter from the local Tybee Island newspaper were present. We then followed the informant, Mr. Jerry Reeves, and the finder, Mr. Michael Liddell, down to the beach. A backhoe with a driver had been provided by the city or county if needed. Mr. Liddell with his metal detector marked the "hit" for us. Danny Brown and his two staff members began digging. I took slides of the exposed metallic object as the sand was removed. After about 15 minutes of digging, the object exposed was identified as an old stove top. The entire object was uncovered, exposing burner openings. Judy Wood noted that a hotel had once been located nearby. Apparently, this area for many years had served as a solid waste dump. The other marked "hit" was uncovered, exposing a piece of pipe. Neither object was removed and both were reburied where they were exposed (see Figure I).

We profusely thanked Mr. Reeves for his effort to keep the location of the "finds" secure until someone from the Historic Preservation Division could get to the coast. We assured him, in spite of kidding he was already receiving, that he had responsibly acted by protecting knowledge of the location of the possible cannon until someone from the state office could supervise an investigation of the site. Judy Wood and I took measurements and compass bearings from a post higher on the beach near some steps. Hopefully we can plot the site on a map in order to avoid a similar "find" in the near future.