In an analysis of an interesting artefact such as the ‘Egyptian Plate’ it is important to establish its provenance or provenience. In this blog Bob Sheppard from Heritage Detection Australia looks at the provenance of the plate.
Russell and Winkworth (2009:15) define provenance as ‘the life story of an item or collection and a record of its ultimate derivation and its passage through the hands of its various owners.’ Rogers describes provenience as ‘a shorthand expression for the accuracy and completeness with which archaeological data are recorded (Rogers 2009:188)’.
In the case of the ‘Egyptian Plate’ it is not possible to establish either the provenance or provenience using these definitions. We do not know who the various owners were from the date of creation until the present and the archaeological data was not rigorously recorded.
For this artefact I prefer to use a definition created by Myren who says, ‘Provenance refers particularly to where the artefact was found, what was found with it, and what its find spot reveals about the history of that artefact. It also includes ‘the chain of custody’ of an artefact from the time it was discovered to the present (2010:1).’
I also do not believe an artefact is worthless if it has not been recorded in a professional archaeological fashion; a view at odds with some of my colleagues.
In this blog I will examine the chain of custody and where the artefact was found.
Newspaper reports state the date of the discovery was around 1960. The Geraldton Guardian newspaper report (5 May 1962) says the plate was located two years before, and in a letter to a Mr Bovell (October 1973), Wally Fish’s father Bill, records, ‘Averting to our conversation during your visit to Busselton a few months ago when you kindly expressed your willingness to take to the British Museum for their judgement, the age and origin of the brass plate which my son unearthed in Geraldton in 1961.’
Construction of the Geraldton silo circa 1961. John Lancaster image.
The historical evidence suggests the brass plate was located by Wally Fish in 1961. There is no recorded contention about his discovery and no one has suggested Wally’s version was incorrect or contrived. Jenny Michalzyc, recalls her father found the plate during the silo excavations and stored the corroded artefact in a box under the house until he became curious as to what it was and cleaned it early in 1962. This is corroborated by the May 1962 Geraldton Guardian newspaper article.
Jenny’s uncle, John Lancaster, also worked on the silo construction and remembers the discovery.
The plate remained a treasured family heirloom by Wally and was recently passed on the Jenny Michalzyck.
For me this, and other, historical and documented evidence satisfies questions about ‘the chain of custody’ of the artefact ‘from the time it was discovered until the present’. In my view this facet of provenance is secure.
Next we look at ‘where the artefact was found‘.
The reports of the discovery are consistent. The plate was found during the excavations for the Geraldton silo around 1961. Documents from the Fish family archives say the plate was located about 28 feet below ground level.
Fortunately for us Wally Fish was an amateur artist and he drew a section drawing of where he discovered the plate in the silo excavation. However, we do not know when Wally created this drawing and it may have been much later. Indeed it was two years after the discovery before Wally became aware the plate could be significant.
The Fish family archives reveal there is a second section drawing.
In the newspaper article the word ‘limestone’ has been highlighted and is replaced with ‘clay’. Other correspondence in the Fish archives supports this description.
If we consider for a moment that the stratigraphy as described by Wally is secure (has not been disturbed since the artefact was deposited), and accept the brass plate was located on ‘an old seabed, coarse grit’ and associated with large shells, perhaps these shells provide the clue to the origin of the artefact?
Thanks
Thanks to Jenny Michalzyck and the Fish family for making their archives available to Heritage Detection Australia.
At HDA we are passionate about heritage, history and archaeology.
References
The source of the newspaper image of Wally Fish and the plate is unknown. It is likely from the Geraldton Guardian circa 1962.
Anon. 1962 Mystery Plate Has Been Found. Geraldton Guardian. 5 May 1962.
Myren, R. 2010 Provenance Factors for Antiquities Acquisition. SCA Proceedings 24:1-13.
Rogers, A. 2009 Museum Collections and Provenance: Examples from the Maturango Museum. Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology 1:184-189.
Russell, R. and K. Winkworth 2009 Significance 2.0: a guide to assessing the significance of collections. Rundle Mall, South Australia: Collections Council of Australia.
heritagedetection 