Stock Bells, Top View 01

Artefact recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard. This iron clipper was wrecked on Mutton Bird Island in 1878 while travelling from Gravesend, England to Melbourne.
A consignment of animal bells made by James Barwell of Birmingham were in the hold of the Loch Ard. The largest bells were for bullocks, while the smaller sizes would bell camels, cows, goats, horses and even turkeys.

While seemingly strong and robust, metal artefacts are frequently the most fragile in maritime archaeology collections. After years under the sea the thin metal on these bells is brittle and corroded.