This pipe is from the wreck of a Dutch warship discovered in Scarborough Harbour, Tobago. The ship sank in the 1677 Battle of Rockley Bay. An investigation of the wreck site is being led by Dr. Kroum Batchvarov of the University of Connecticut. To learn more about this artifact, and dozens more discovered under the sea, visit http://tobagoshipwrecks.com/
This pipe probably belonged to a poor sailor. info_outline Most of the pipes found on the wreck appear to have been amongst the cheapest available during the 17th century. They had simple decorations (if any) that appear to have been hastily applied. Many of the pipes also had evidence of exfoliation and pitting, a sign that the pipe makers used low quality clay with impurities that had expanded and flaked off during the firing process. These were the possessions of humble seamen, and not wealthy merchants.
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