Provenance of Coals Recovered from the Wreck of HMAV Bounty

Abstract

Coal samples from HMAV Bounty were analysed using standard techniques to shed light on their provenance. Petrographic analysis indicated they were Carboniferous, with high vitrinite and liptinite content and a mean random reflectance of vitrinite of 0.99%. Palynological analysis indicated the samples were derived from the Middle Coal Measures, Westphalian B. Combining coal rank (vitrinite reflectance), age, knowledge of seam distributions and coalfield history indicates the most like source to be the Durham Coalfield, possibly the Hutton or Low Main Seams. These coals were mined along the valley of the Weir in the latter part of the 18th century.

A thermal maturity map based on vitrinite reflectance of British coals

“…Coals from along the Variscan orogenic front can be identified, and a regional distinction can be made between northern England and regions to the north and south. Consequently, where reflectance has been used for provenance in archaeological studies (Smith 1996(Smith , 2005Erskine et al 2008), the results are confirmatory rather than definitive.…”

Organic Petrology: An Overview

“…Petrologic methods have been also used to investigate the provenance of organic objects and artifacts from archeological and similar sites (e.g., Smith, 2005). Moreover, the organic petrography also helped in the assessment of trading patterns of coals during the past two centuries in relation to (e.g.,) the shipwrecks (Erskine et al, 2008). Forensic geology is mainly concerned with studies of rocks, sediments, minerals, soils and dusts and it can be defined as the discipline that uses geological methods and materials in the analysis of samples and places that maybe connected with criminal behavior or disasters (Murray, 2004;Ruffell, 2010).…”