Archeologists marvel at crate of 20 P53 Enfield rifle-muskets found by fishing trawler
Twenty rifle-muskets, with walnut stocks and brass fittings, sit in a partially intact wooden crate at the department of archeology at Memorial University in St. John’s, where they are being conserved.
The iron barrels have corroded, but the P53 Enfield rifle-muskets are in remarkable shape after spending close to 150 years at the bottom of the ocean.
They were dragged to the surface in 2011 by the Newfoundland Lynx, fishing 150 nautical miles east off Cape Freels in 800 metres of water.
Since then, the P53 Enfields have spent most of the time submerged in a tub of chemicals, including polyethylene glycol, a bulking agent that prevents the wood from collapsing.
Conservationist Donna Teasdale has been working on the crate of P53 Enfields since 2011. (Todd O’Brien / CBC)
Donna Teasdale, a conservator at the university, said the British-made weapon was common in the 1850s and ’60s.
“The interesting part is that they’re in a crate. [That’s] very rare, and we only know of one other example and that was found in Chesapeake Bay.”
It’s very rare to find P53 Enfield rifle-muskets in their original crate. (Todd O’Brien / CBC)
More than a thousand hours of work has gone into restoring the crate of guns alone.
That is nearly complete, and once they spend a few weeks in a vacuum freeze dryer, they’ll be ready for display.
But it’s not settled where they’ll go from here.
“My hope sincerely is that somewhere like The Rooms takes them and puts them on permanent display,” said archeological conservator and graduate student Alexa Spiwak.
“They’re a fantastic find. They have such huge heritage value. They’re such a one of a kind thing. And I think the public loves them and they deserve to be seen.”
The P53 Enfield was ubiquitous in the British army and used during the American Civil War and the Crimean War.