1986.008.0825
Swivel Rail Gun
Physical Object
1986.008.0825
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
circa 1620
This early, breech loading gun is of a style that was most popular nearly 100 years before the 1622 fleet sailed. It is designed to have mounted on a pivot-point on a ship’s rail, where it could be aimed in any direction using the tiller-like handle. It was used in combination with removable breech chambers that held the gunpowder charge used to blast chunks of iron through the barrel. This piece is the only such gun recovered at the 1622 wreck sites, and when it was found it was oddly rigged with a swivel-link and a length of chain.
Historical evidence suggests that this piece was part of a marker placed between the wrecks of Atocha and Santa Margarita by a Spanish rescue team, immediately after the disaster. A document from 1622 describes how a similar cannon was used as an anchor for a buoy used to mark the sunken ships. See also 1986.008.1946e & 1986.008.1946f.
Historical evidence suggests that this piece was part of a marker placed between the wrecks of Atocha and Santa Margarita by a Spanish rescue team, immediately after the disaster. A document from 1622 describes how a similar cannon was used as an anchor for a buoy used to mark the sunken ships. See also 1986.008.1946e & 1986.008.1946f.
91.5 cm L , Item (Overall)