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On September 28th, current investors Gene Marek and Glenna Poland Marek generously donated an Atocha
Arquebus Barrel to the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society. The barrel, recovered in 1975, was
presented to Madeline Burnside, the society’s director. The arquebus is a smooth bore, match lit
firearm consisting of a metal barrel resting on a wooden stock with a brass serpentine to the right.
Several of the arquebuses recovered from the 1622 Fleet exhibit expert craftsmanship and design.
The hexagonal sides remain clearly defined and the mark of the gunsmith is visible at the butt of
the weapon. These constituted a small portion of the arms on board, all belonging to the senior
ranking members of the fleet. A far greater majority of the arquebuses recovered exhibit slack
design with rounded out barrels and varying sizes; thus having much less precision when aiming.
The regular soldiers/sailors on board carried these ‘rough hewn’ barrels. Archeologist James
Sinclair will present an extensive article in the next investor newsletter.
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Gene and Glenna with Dylan Kibler of the Heritage Society signing the papers to donate the Arquebus.
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Gene and Glenna, Madeline Bernside and Dylan Kibler.
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Glenna and Gene inspecting the Iron Arquebus Barrel.
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The Mareks donating their Arquebus to Madeline Burnside and the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society.
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