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Two historic cannon found on Porthcawl beach | Two historic cannon found on Porthcawl beach |
(35 minutes later) | |
Two Georgian cannon have been uncovered on a beach in Porthcawl following the recent storms. | Two Georgian cannon have been uncovered on a beach in Porthcawl following the recent storms. |
The cannon are approximately 5ft (1.5m) and 3ft (0.9m) in length. | The cannon are approximately 5ft (1.5m) and 3ft (0.9m) in length. |
One of the cannon, which were found on Pink Bay by two dog walkers, needed a team of around 17 lifeboat crew members, coastguards and local lifeguards to move it from the beach. | One of the cannon, which were found on Pink Bay by two dog walkers, needed a team of around 17 lifeboat crew members, coastguards and local lifeguards to move it from the beach. |
Porthcawl Museum will now work on preserving the find and carry out research into their history. | Porthcawl Museum will now work on preserving the find and carry out research into their history. |
Carl Evans from Porthcawl RNLI was one of the team involved in the removal last Friday evening. | Carl Evans from Porthcawl RNLI was one of the team involved in the removal last Friday evening. |
He said the recent stormy weather had washed away a lot of the sand from the beach. | He said the recent stormy weather had washed away a lot of the sand from the beach. |
Wheelbarrow | |
"Somebody was walking along the beach and saw the bit of metal and when they moved some stones they found the cannon. | "Somebody was walking along the beach and saw the bit of metal and when they moved some stones they found the cannon. |
"Paul Joseph from Porthcawl Museum went down there and found two cannon next to each other. | "Paul Joseph from Porthcawl Museum went down there and found two cannon next to each other. |
"He managed to get the 3ft cannon from the beach in a wheelbarrow. | "He managed to get the 3ft cannon from the beach in a wheelbarrow. |
"With the 5ft one he called me to see if we could move it and some some members of the lifeboat crew, the coastguard and Rest Bay lifeguards came along. | "With the 5ft one he called me to see if we could move it and some some members of the lifeboat crew, the coastguard and Rest Bay lifeguards came along. |
"We managed to move it using the trailer from the lifeguard hut." | "We managed to move it using the trailer from the lifeguard hut." |
Mr Evans said the cannon was too heavy for six of them to lift. | Mr Evans said the cannon was too heavy for six of them to lift. |
At one stage, because of sand erosion, the team had to take it in turns to help lift the trailer over a 30ft (10m) stretch of rocks in front of the slipway. | At one stage, because of sand erosion, the team had to take it in turns to help lift the trailer over a 30ft (10m) stretch of rocks in front of the slipway. |
Museum staff believe the cannon date from around the end of the 18th Century or the early 19th Century. | |
Ceri Joseph, a historian at the museum, told BBC Wales: "It's an incredible find for this area because it's a very rare piece of marine archaeology that we've never had before. | |
"We have got pieces from last century but this is quite something. | |
"We know there are wrecks off the coast here. At the moment we don't know if it's French or British. | |
"If it was a Navy ship, it could be that it was taking men from Bristol to Ireland. | |
"It could be from the Napoleonic war blown off course or it could just be a merchant ship caught in a storm, because of course in those days they would have carried cannon for protection." |
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