What ship? Who fired the cannonballs at the wall in Akko? An archaeometallurgical and historical study
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Published
Nov 9, 2021
Abstract
During renovation of the El-Shazliya Mosque in Akko, several cannonballs were discovered inside the inner western wall facing the sea. One of the cannonballs, a 32-pounder, was retrieved for archaeometallurgical analysis. The investigation included composition, microstructure and density analyses, and demonstrated that the cannonball was made of high quality grey cast iron and cast to a high standard. There was no evidence of gas porosity or sand-casting cavities, probably due to the presence of manganese combined with the use of advanced technology. Based on its manufacturing process and its high manganese content, it must have been manufactured after 1839. A British-Austrian-Ottoman fleet bombarded Akko from the west in 1840. Considering the cannonball’s location as found in the wall, its estimated firing direction, the location of the western squadron, and the heading of the ships during the bombardment, it is suggested that this shot was fired from HMS Pique.
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References
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Anderson R C 1952, Naval Wars in the Levant 1559–1853 (Liverpool).
Anonymous 1841, ‘St. Jean d’Acre’, Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, 23.137, 622–8.
Awty B G 2007, ‘The development and dissemination of the Walloon method of ironworking’, Technology and Culture 48, 783–803.
Caporaso A L, Carlson-Drexler C G and Masters J 2008, ‘Metallurgical analysis of shell and case shot artillery from the Civil War battles of Pea Ridge and Wilson’s Creek’, Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3, 15–24.
Clowes L 1901, The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol VI (London).
Colledge J J and Warlow B 2006, Ships of the Royal Navy. The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (London).
Dobrotă D and Iancu C 2013, ‘Researches regarding structural modifications that appear in the material of the tools used for rubber waste attrition’, Metalurgija 52(2), 247–50.
Durand-Viel G E 1935, Les campagnes navales de Mohammed Aly et d’Ibrahim, Vol II (Paris).
Fras E, Górny M and López H F 2012, ‘Mechanism for the role of silicon on the transition from graphite to cementite eutectic in cast iron’, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 43A, 4204–18.
Goodway M 1996, ‘History of casting’, in H J Frissell (ed), ASM Metals Handbook Vol 15: Casting (Ohio), 12–29.
Hodgkinson J 2008, The Wealden Iron Industry (Stroud).
Hosadyna M, Dobosz M and Kusiński J 2012, ‘Influence of over-cooling the nodular cast iron to the graphite form in the surface layer’, Archives of Foundry Engineering 12(1), 43–6.
Hunter W P 1842, Narrative of the Late Expedition to Syria under the Command of the Hon. Sir Robert Stopford, G.C.B. G.C.M.G., Comprising an Account of the Capture of Gebail, Tripoli, and Tyre; Storming of Sidon; Battle of Calat-Meidan; Bombardment and Capture of St. Jean d’Acre, Vol I (London).
Lambert A 2001, ‘Within cannon shot of deep water: The Syrian Campaign of 1840’, in P Hore (ed), Seapower Ashore: 200 Years of Royal Operations on Land (London), 79–95.
McConnell D 1988, British Smooth-bore Artillery: A Technological Study to Supp ort Identification, Acquisition, Restoration, Reproduction, and Interpretation of Artillery at National Historic Parks in Canada (Ottawa).
Menon R and McKay T 1996, ‘Welding of cast irons and steels’, in H J Frissell (ed), ASM Metals Handbook Vol 15: Casting (Ohio), 1136–40.
Mentovich E D, Schreiber D S, Goren Y, Kahanov Y, Goren H, Cvikel D and Ashkenazi D 2010, ‘New insights regarding the Akko 1 Shipwreck: a metallurgic and petrographic investigation of the cannonballs’, Journal of Archaeological Science 37(10), 2520–28.
Napier E 1862, The Life and Correspondence of Admiral Sir Charles Napier, K. C. B., from Personal Recollections, Letters, and Official Documents, Vol II (London).
Nicolas P H 1845, Historical Record of the Royal Marine Forces, Vol II (London).
Park J S and Hall M E 2005, ‘The use of white cast iron in ancient Korea’, Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies 25, 9–13.
Rajani B 2012, ‘Nonlinear stress–strain characterization of cast iron used to manufacture pipes for water supply’, Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology 134, 1–7.
Rustum A J 1926, Notes on Akka and its Defences under Ibrahim Pasha (Beirut).
Simpson B L 1948, ‘Development of the metal casting industry, American Foundrymen’s Association’, in H J Frissell (ed), ASM Metals Handbook Vol 15: Casting (Ohio), 29–54.
Stefanescu D M 1996, ‘Classification and Basic Metallurgy of Cast Iron’, in K M Zwilsky (ed), ASM Metals Handbook Vol 1: Properties and Selection: Irons, Steels, and High Performance Alloys (Ohio), 13–38.
Wayman M L 2000, ‘Archaeometallurgical contributions to a better understanding of the past’, Materials Characterization 45, 259–67.
White C V 1993, ‘Gray iron’, in K M Zwilsky (ed), ASM Metals Handbook Vol. 1: Properties and Selection: Irons, Steels, and High Performance Alloys (Ohio), 38–88.
Williams D J and Johnson W 2000, ‘A note on casting iron cannon balls: ideality and porosity’, International Journal of Impact Engineering 24, 429–33.
Wiltzen T S and Wayman M L 1999, ‘Steel files as chronological markers in North American fur trade sites’, Archaeometry 41, 117–35.
Xu W, Ferry M and Wang Y 2005, ‘Influence of alloying elements on as-cast microstructure and strength of gray iron’, Materials Science and Engineering A 390, 326–33.
How to Cite
What ship? Who fired the cannonballs at the wall in Akko? An archaeometallurgical and historical study. (2021). Historical Metallurgy, 46(2), 98-110. https://hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/117
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How to Cite
What ship? Who fired the cannonballs at the wall in Akko? An archaeometallurgical and historical study. (2021). Historical Metallurgy, 46(2), 98-110. https://hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/117