Treasure Hunting in the Twentieth Century

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 23, 20 December 1929, Page 3

Treasure Hunting in the Twentieth Century

Radio Apparatus Successful where Others have Failed

OME .two hundred and fifty years ago, Henry Morgan and his crew of free-booters sacked and burned Panama ti City. There are fairly well ’ authenticated legends that the inhabitants, forewarned, buried their wealth in tunnels, cisterns and wells, which to-day are» located among ruins covering hundreds of acres. Numerous attempts to locate the hidden treasures of Panama have been made, but. beyond the recovery of a few pieces plate and some ancient household + ina .they have proved unsuccess372

TTT Ena ’ Recently, , however, Lieutenant Wiljams, formerly a gwadio officer in the Sz itish Navy, became interested in the recovery of the Panama treasure, and endeavoured. to apply an ingenious adaptation of radio principals to aid him in his search.: That his quest has met with at least a measure of success is evidenced by the gold plate and other relics already brought to light. ‘The apparatus used by Lieutenant Williams was developed by him initially for a totally different purpose, namely, for the detection of submarines in war-time. During the World: War, the great problem confronting the Allies was the menace of the Ger-, man submarines. It was only natural that Lieutenant. Williams should become interested in the idea of detecting the presence of submarines by ‘electrical or radio methods. Underwater microphones, called hydrophones, were available for detecting the noise made by the ‘propellers; but if the submarines were stationary beneath the. surface of the water -the

hydrophones were useless. By experiment it was demonstrated that metallic substances /submerged in-~ salt water acted like batteries and could be detected by magnetometers or magnecic needles, which would indicate the presence, approximate size, and pproximate depth -of the submerged metallic substances. ' By making a magnetic survey of a body‘ of water in‘the vicinity of a spot where @ large metallic object was supposed to be submerged, and by plotting the isodynamic lines, it was possible to, discover variations from the normal and plot the approximate location of the submerged object. ‘It is: obvious that this method was too slow and exacting to be practical for war-time use, but Lieutenant Williams became eonvinced of its usefulness for peace-

time salvaging work and retired from the Royal Navy to take a position with a company which was salvaging ships sunken off the coast of Ireland. During his frequent voyages on the Salvage ships,. Lieutenant Williams, in considering the various methods used to locate sunken ships, wondered why these same methods would not apply to a search for minerals or metdis buried beneath the surface of the earth... Being a seafaring man, be knew nothing of geology, but he had read of the buried treasure of Panama Gity, and determined to try and suceceed where others had failed. More than 250 years had elapsed since the sack of the city. Soldiers, sailors, and

beachcombers had all tried to locate the hidden wealth of the ruined city, but none had met with any great success. ‘ Leaving his employment with the salvage company, Williams proceeded to Panama, where by chance he secured a Government grant allowing him the exclusive right to search for buried treasure, provided he would accept three-quarters ‘of the value of whatever he:unearthed. He then commenced operations, employing the apparatus he had evolved for salvage purposes. For some reason or other, this method proved unsatisfactory, and he commenced experiments with a view to perfecting a more efficient equipment to aid him in his search. He accordingly selected a clearing in the jungle and proceeded to experimeut

with a galvanometer, a few dry cells and hollow ‘copper rods, until he evolved a method of exploration which was sensitive and apparently sound. This method was given a trial near the ruins, and though it proved quite ‘satisfactory in locating large metal objects, it was not sensitive enough to satisfy the treasure-hunter. He therefore. proceeded to construct an apparatus which would embody the same principle and yet have a stronger transmitter’ and more sensitive receiver. As a ‘result’: he evolved the apparatus which is in successful use to-day. Two electrodes made of three-foot lengths of zine-coated iron pipe with copper. wires ‘soldered at the upper

ends, are driven, into the ground to be explored, They are connected to a generator ‘having a frequency of 500 cycles.. ‘The receiving cabinet is suspended from a-tripod and the receiving coil is mounted on the tripod so that it can be swung in either a vertical or horizontal plane. Four audio-stage valves and two audio transformers are used. A 250,000-ohm modulator is employed to regulate the signal volume, and headphones are used for reception, In exploring a certain area, the receiving coil is .rotated until the minimum sound is heard in the ’phones. The intensity of the disturbance indicates roughly the amount of metalli-

ferous substance discovered, and its position is found by plotting equi-. potential lines and comparing them with a plan of normal estimated equi--potential lines. This method of exploration has proved successful, and a great variety of treasure has ‘been recovered. Gold and silver candlesticks, platers, incense pots, sanctuary lamps, necklaces, bracelets, and rings haye been found in wells and cisterns. "Pieces of eight" were. found in. earthenware, caked with dirt, and had to be broken oper and soaked in water in order to extract the coins. Pesonal effects such as keys, Toledo swords, and daggers were found mixed indiscriminately with eopper kettles, bronze stirrups, and irons. The most valuable finds were the statues and altar pieces buried by the priests, but the coins and other common. objects have a_ historical value. Lieutenant Williams still expects to find chests of gold ingots which were hidden by the Treasurer of Old Panama in the tunnels. ‘connecting the monasteries: and. churches. The discov-

ery of a single such chest or of the fabulous, life-size golden statue of the Virgin would enrich the inventor far beyond his wildest dreams and enable him to finance his proposed expedition to "Cocos Island," the scene of Robert Louis Stevenson’s "Treasure Island." These searches, the one now proceeding at Panama, and that contemplated at Cocos Island, are, of course, only two possible applications of a device which seems to-hold many interesting possibilities.