"There is a Spanish legend that tells of a community that retired its old bells for new ones. They also became lax about ringing them faithfully as was always done before. On each Christmas Eve to follow, the old bells rang furiously throughout the night in their anger over loss of respect for the tradition they represented. The villagers were offended and opted a plan to get rid of the old bells forever. "'An excellent plan', they all agreed. 'A ship is sailing to New Spain in a few weeks. We will put the old bells on board with the decree in writing that they shall never return to Spain. The ship sailed with the bells. It came almost to the shore of Mexico; but before it could land, a violent storm drove the ship upon the rocks, and it sank with all its freight on board. The bells went down, but even the shipwreck could not keep their voices silent on Christmas Eve. And it is said that they ring under the water, pealing merrily, from midnight on Christmas Eve until after the sun rises on Christmas morning. Who would not rise early and go down to the shore to hear them?" (From The Book of Bells by Satis N. Coleman, The John Day Company, NY, 1938)

REPORT ON "IHS MARIA" BELL RECOVERED FROM 31CR314
Compiled by Mark and Joseph Wilde-Ramsing
December 2002

Researchers Connie Mason, Jim Craig, and Joseph Wilde-Ramsing ring the IHS MARIA bell for the first time since its loss 284 years ago off the coast of North Carolina.

 

This research discussion provides information recently gathered on a bronze bell recovered from the shipwreck believed to be Queen Anne's Revenge, which is embedded on the ocean floor a short distance off the North Carolina coast. This spectacular artifact was recovered on the day the site was discovered. When cleaned, the bell revealed an inscription "IHS MARIA" and an apparent date "ANO 1709". While this information did not confirm the exact identity of the shipwreck remains, it provided good chronological evidence since Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship lost by the pirate Blackbeard in 1718. Discovery of the bell, along with a handful of diagnostic artifacts convinced state archaeologists to announce the discovery as the likely site of Queen Anne's Revenge and commit major resources toward its study. After six years, evidence continues to support the identity of the shipwreck as that of the notorious pirate.

FIGURE 1. IHS MARIA bell prior to cleaning

As researchers continued to study the shipwreck, significance of the bell lingered. Could the IHS MARIA bell provide a hidden clue would clearly identify the shipwreck as Queen Anne's Revenge or, to the contrary, lead to another lost vessel? Beyond this specific goal, the IHS MARIA bell begs many questions concerning why it is part of the shipwreck's artifact assemblage and what it represents. While many of these questions may never be answered, an effort was launched to see exactly what could be learned. The groundwork for this study was begun by Christopher Lange, a project intern during the summer of 2000, and greatly facilitated by the efforts of Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, whose fluency in Spanish and connections in Spain have been invaluable to the study. Collectively, Lange and Wilde-Ramsing, working on behalf of the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project, were able to engage four of Spain's leading bell experts and ask them a series of questions concerning the IHS MARIA bell. Their responses provide the basis for this in-depth analysis.

The IHS MARIA bell (Figure 3) recovered from 31CR314 weighed 9.54 kg (21 lbs.) measured as follows: base diameter- 21 cm (8.27 in.; bell height - 22 cm (8.66 in); handle height- 10.5 cm (4.13 in.); crown diameter- 11.1 cm (4.37 in.) and rim width - 2.2 cm (.87 in.)

FIGURE 2. IHS MARIA bell

With the assistance of Connie Mason, North Carolina Maritime Museum curator and professional musician, the bell's ring produced a tone of G sharp. Dr. James Craig, analyzed samples recovered from a small boring into the bell's interior. He found that the composition of the metal averaged 81% copper and 19% tin.

Some interesting characteristics are observable on the IHS MARIA bell, principally the fact that the casting sprue or pour hole on the handle is still attached, which suggests that it was not finished or represents poor craftsmanship. The handle, or argent, is called a "git top" or "peg argent," which was common on bells of this size. The letters are single block type and show uneven spacing, particularly the "IHS" and "ANO" (not shown in the Figure 2). The iron clapper was lost due to galvanic action. A casting made of the concretion cavity, provided measurements of 11 cm (4.3 in) in length tapering from a diameter of 1.7 cm (.67 in) to 3 cm. (1.2 in.). A small channel is impressed on the bell's interior under the argent to provide an attachment for the clapper. The IHS MARIA bell has been restored and is now on display in the Maritime Museum's traveling exhibit on Queen Anne's Revenge and Blackbeard.

On August 17, 2000, Chris Lange sent out letters of inquiry on behalf of the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck project to nine Spanish bell foundries in hopes of finding people with expertise to help provide a better understanding of the IHS MARIA bell's origin and manufacture. Lange provided a brief description of the bell, a profile drawing produced by David Moore, the bell's artifact data form, and a material analysis of its metal composition. Two of the foundries, Campanas Quitana of Panencia and the Fundacion Joaquin Diaz of Valladolid, responded to Lange's inquiry by providing a basic interpretation of the bell.

In November 2001, Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, while serving an internship in Madrid at the American Embassy, contacted Dr. Francese LLOP i BAYO of the Gremi de Companers Valencians in Valencia and Dr. Felix Lopez of the Spanish National Center for Metallurgical Research in Madrid. They were both provided with documentation and responded. Wilde-Ramsing on behalf of the Queen Anne's Revenge project provided follow-up information including the latest analytical studies and detailed images of the IHS MARIA bell and received letters in response from three of the four bell experts. Their collective responses are examined through the following line of inquiry.

Can we infer anything from the bells form?

There is agreement among experts that the IHS MARIA bell is the more common "cow bell" type. This is based on the width of the shoulders, which in "Roman" type bells are narrower. Dr. LLOP i BAYO indicates that this distinction is only meaningful to Castillians and elsewhere the IHS MARIA bell would simply be classified as a small bell. Because it has only one handle (peg argent) it was meant to be stationary, "as on a boat or in the interior of a church".

Can we infer anything from the style of the inscriptions on the bell?

All experts concur that the lettering can technically be classified as Capital Humanistic, which was common in the 18th century.

Can you infer anything from the actual inscriptions on the bell?

Based on collective comments concerning bell's inscription, the following interpretations were proposed. "IHS MARIA" is Spanish, translated "Jesus and the Virgin Mary," and was a common inscription found on bells cast during the 17th and 18th century in Spain. The lack of an accent mark over the "I" in MARIA, which is standard in the Spanish language, would not be unusual, particularly with upper case lettering. Similarly, the omission of a tilde over the "N" in ANO, may not be significant. The possibility that the bell is Portuguese, however, where the tilde is not used, shouldn't be ruled out.

Interestingly, various explanations were put forth regarding the uneven spacing of the letters in IHS and ANO. Joaquin Diaz attributes it to a technological cause due to either difficulty or carelessness in getting the letters set properly or because letters often "dance together" during casting. Dr. LOPP i BAYO provides a sociotechnic focus by attributing the spacing error due to illiterate casters who "considered the inscriptions 'drawings' and therefore ignored the literal meaning of inscriptions as well as where to separate them." He goes on to imply that economics, not art, was the driving force in casting this rather "ordinary" bell.

Undoubtedly the most surprising revelation was their finding that the inscription denoting the bell's casting date is almost certainly 1705, not 1709 as commonly believed. Several examples were provided as demonstration of the writing form for a "5" that was common in Spain at the beginning of the 18th century (Figure 3).

FIGURE 3. Various examples provided by LLOP i BAYO and Joaquin Diaz showing the "5" written as it is found on the IHS MARIA bell.

 

Can you infer anything from the metallurgic composition of the bell?

The general agreement is that the 19% tin alloy identified in the IHS Maria bell is a common "bell metal" composition for the 18th century.

Who made the bell and was it made specifically for a ship?

For numerous reasons, such as the roving nature of most bell casters, poor record keeping and the loss of records through wars and fire at most established foundries, information concerning the making of ships' bells is generally absent from the historical record. Consequently, their lack of understanding or familiarity with bells cast specifically for shipboard use appears to contribute to their disagreement on where a ship's bell might be cast. Dr. Felix Lopez believes the bell casting took place at an arms factory where the ship's cannon were made. He qualifies his opinion by pointing out that the bell would not have been made of cannon metal ("gun metal"), which contained considerably less tin and provides the following explanation:

"The typical alloy of an Italian cannon in 1530 is 13.9% Sn and 1.3% Pb; in France in 1638, we find cannon alloys with 4.1% Sn, 0.9% Pb, and 1.4%Zn; in this country [Spain] in 1700 we also find cannon alloys of 7.8% Sn and 0.7% Zn. Thus, the bronze alloys found in cannons of this time period had tin contents far inferior to those of bell alloys. This fact affirms that the bell with which we are concerned was not cast from cannon material; its alloy fits that of bell bronze".

On the other hand, Joaquin Diaz suggests that the bell caster and cannon caster were one and the same, but doubts it was done in the same location. "Bells were made at the foot of a tower or in corrals prepared for bell casting while cannons were made in arms or harquebus factories". Dr. LLOP i BAYO, recognized as the top Spanish bell expert by his colleagues, feels that since the bell is of common quality it was produced by an independent caster, rather than at an arms factory.

Dr. LLOP i BAYO concludes that while little information can be derived from the IHS MARIA bell due to its "ordinary" characteristics, we can seek a higher meaning and appreciation by writing,

"The restoration of the bell is magnificent, and I suppose that you can still hear its beautiful music. This cultural aspect is of utmost importance because it is the only sound of Blackbeard's ship that we can experience in its original totality. Bells are the only living music of the past because they always sound the same throughout the centuries."