There’s a tendancy for flotsam beached on high tides to return to the sea on the next high tide. But sometimes it never returns. It might get dragged or blown further inland beyond the reach of the waves. It could disintegrate on the spot. Or it might embed in the beach sediments. From a palaeontological and archaeological perspective, it is interesting to track the process of incorporation or disintegration to see how natural and man-made objects change with time.
I first saw the old collapsed cable drum, pictured above, on Rhossili beach in January this year. It hadn’t shifted position much by February. By April 9th it had been made into a piece of beach art (as above), with adornments of driftwood and fishing net flotsam. Sadly, the decorations didn’t last long because heavy seas and high tides stripped them off and flipped the drum over by the 11th April.
I am wondering how long the cable drum will remain intact. The paint is mostly peeled off. The iron bolts are rusty and loose. The timber is riddled with woodworm. How long before the drum falls apart and is dispersed or buried?
Have a look at the slideshow to see what has happened so far. I will look out for the drum to track its fate next time I’m in Gower.
Revision of a post first published 18 May 2009
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Jessica's Nature Blog 
Great post. I love stuff like that – watching and recording the same object through time.
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Glad you like it, Chris. I have my eye on a couple of other changing things on Gower beaches as well. So perhaps there will be more of the same sort of post later. It’s interesting to observe the processes of disintegration and burial of objects first hand. On beaches it is all so much more obvious and accelerated. Environmental archaeologists spend a lot of time trying to unravel what has happened before, during and after the burial of things.
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You are right; this is a fine example of creative art ; and a great shot to boot!
In fact you have a brilliant and inspiring blog;
among my favourites is this one; https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/blue-flotsam-blue-jellyfish-at-rhossili/
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Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy it. I will also be regularly visiting your blog from now on.
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