Historic England
Historic England Maritime Object Material
Originally used for recording the construction materials of maritime vessels and, where appropriate, their cargoes. Now generally used for recording the material of an object
Glass Fibre
Fiberglass
Fibreglass
A material made from extremely fine fibres of glass and is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products.
Cornelian
Carnelian
A brownishred mineral commonly used as a semiprecious gemstone. A variety of the silica mineral chalcedony coloured by impurities of iron oxide.
Utahlite
Variscite
Aluminum
Aluminium
A white ductile metal used, for example, in alloys, for instruments, and in aircraft construction.
Brass
Easily formed metal alloy composed of copper and zinc.
Bronze
Hard, corrosive alloy of copper and tin.
Copper Alloy
An alloy where the predominant component metal is copper.
Pewter
An alloy which is composed predominantly of tin (c.8599 percent).
Steel
A strong, durable alloy of iron and carbon.
Quartzite
Medium grained, hard, white/grey coloured stone consisting of quartz and often silica, produced by the metamorphosis of sandstone
Lead Alloy
Metal alloy with lead as the principal component.
Alloy
A metallic substance made by combining two or more elements at least one of which is a metal. Use more specific terms where known.
Copper
Metal used primarily for roofing and ornamental purposes, being lighter and stronger than lead.
Gold
A malleable, ductile ferromagnetic metal widely used for structural and decorative purposes.
Iron
Lead
Metal used primarily for roof coverings and window fittings. It is easy to work, can be worked cold and does not rust which makes it suitable for holding or repelling water.
Silver
A precious metal of lustrous white colour with great malleability and ductility.
Tin
A soft, lustrous lowmelting crystalline metallic element that is malleable and ductile at ordinary temperatures and that is used as a protective coating, in tinfoil, and in soft solders and alloys.
Zinc
Bluewhite metal, obtained from ore, and used commercially for roofing, galvanizing iron, or in alloys. Also used in the 19th century as sheathing for ship's hulls.
Slag
Waste material or dross separated from metals during smelting or refining.
Metal
Class of elements and alloys that are characteristically lustrous,ductile, fusible and malleable. These are extracted from ore minerals originally existing in nature and processed before becoming a recognisable metal.
Amber
A semiprecious, fossilised resin usually used for ornamentation and jewellery.
Chert
A hard silica rich rock, black or brown coloured, commonly found in nodular form.
Clay
A fine grained earth which becomes more plastic when water is added and can be moulded and dried to make bricks, tile, pottery, etc.
Concrete
Composed of sand, stones or other aggregate and cement mixed with water which sets in a hard mass. The material is usually associated with modern building but was developed by Romans where cement was obtained from quicklime.
Enamel
A coloured, glasslike substance (opaque or partially opaque) that is fused to the surface of metal or glass or pottery for decorative or protective purposes.
Faience
A glasslike compound first made in ancient Egypt. It involves coating a core material of powdered quartz with a vitreous alkaline glaze. Also the name given to a tinglazed earthenware.
Flint
Hard, durable, dark grey stone, the purest native form of silica, which can either be used decoratively or as a main material. Predominantly found in East Anglia and the South East.
Jet
A hard, black form of lignite that takes a brilliant polish. It is used in jewellery and for ornamentation.
Obsidian
A form of volcanic glass with similar properties to FLINT and often used in the manufacture of sharpedged tools.
Graphite
Crystalline allotropic form of carbon used in pencils, as a lubricant etc.
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals: gypsum and calcite. The finer kinds of alabaster are employed as an ornamental stone, especially for internal decoration as it's softness allows it to be carved into elaborate forms.
Coal
Use for objects made from coal or for stray finds of coal where the association with a wreck site is not proven and thus cannot be stated as either cargo or bunkers.
Plaster
A building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster can refer to gypsum plaster (also known as plaster of Paris), lime plaster, or cement plaster.
Garnet
A silicate mineral used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Found in many colours including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink and colourless.
Emerald
A green coloured gemstone. A variety of the mineral beryl coloured green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.
Sapphire
A blue coloured gem variety of the mineral corunndum, made up of aluminium oxide.
Mineral
Natural inorganic substance possessing a definite chemical composition in a crystalline form.
Horn
Horn is a hollow, bonelike projection consisting mainly of keratin, found on certain animals (sheep, cows, goats etc.)
Leather
Animal skin that has been hardened or treated by a tanning process.
Shell
Hard, protective covering made largely of calcium salts secreted by soft bodied invertebrate animals.
Wool
Animal fibre that consists of protein held together by lipids obtained from sheep.
Animal
Material derived or formed from the corporeal parts of a member of the animal kingdom.
Ceramic
A hard material formed by firing clay. For pottery, use POTTERY.
Rubber
Elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical plant or synthetically.
Bakelite
An early plastic formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde which was developed by Leo Baekeland in 1907.
Paper
A thin, flexible material made from the pulp of wood or other fibrous matter which is then pressed and dried to form sheets.
Charcoal
The black, lightweight and porous residue of partly burnt wood.
Object Material
Materials used in the manufacture of objects.
Antler
A form of bone, which grows on the heads of members of the deer family and is shed annually. Antler can be used by man for a variety of purposes.
Bone
Any of the pieces of hard tissue consisting largely of calcium phosphate that make up the skeleton of a vertebrate animal.
Mortar
A mixture of lime or more recently cement with sand and water used for bonding stones or bricks.
Cement
Originally obtained by burning limestone to produce quicklime. Now a fine grey powder made from a mixture of limestone and clay used with water and sand to make mortar or with water, sand and aggregate to make concrete.
Earthenware
A claybased ceramic fired at low kiln temperatures (c.8001200 degrees). Essentially, earthenwares are porous and require glazing for most applications. This term has been used interchangeably with TERRACOTTA and with POTTERY
Terracotta
Hard, unglazed, brown, versatile earthenware which can be used as a tile or moulded into statuary.
Porcelain
Hard semitranslucent ceramic material made out of kaolin, quartz and feldspar which is biscuit fired at around 1000 degrees Celsius and glaze fired at around 1300 degrees Celsius.
Pottery
A ceramic made from clay and fired in a kiln or oven. This term has been used interchangeably with EARTHENWARE and with TERRACOTTA
Glass
Transparent, hard substance made by fusing sodasilica which solidifies from a molten state.
Granite
A hard, coarse grained, durable igneous rock. Can be used decoratively or as a main material. Found throughout the country.
Greenstone
Geologist's term for any dark coloured, slightly metamorphosed igneous rock. Index with specific stone type where given.
Lava
A hard, igneous rock formed from the cooling of molten volcanic magma.
Limestone
Sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium carbonate. Varying in grain size, colour and hardness, quarried and used throughout the country.
Marble
Collective name for, in a true geological sense, a metamorphosed limestone, eg. Carrara marble, and, in the British sense any decorative stone that will take a polish, eg. Purbeck marble. In the latter's case index with specific stone type where given
Sandstone
Geologically sandstone consists of particles of quartz naturally cemented together by either silica, calcium or iron. It is this geological composition that accounts for the varying colours and grain sizes found in the many building sandstones.
Shale
Soft, very fine grained, dark coloured, sedimentary rock which splits easily.
Slate
Collective term for a hard, fine grained, dark coloured metamorphic rock, which splits easily; hence its common use as a roofing and flooring material, and a functional description for any rectangular, sheet, roofing material.
Dolerite
Coarse basaltic rock.
Schist
Medium to coarse grained metamorphic rock, colour being determined by its dominant mineral. Often used for floor and wall claddin
Amphibolite
A coarse grained metamorphic rock that is composed maily of green, brown or black amphibole minerals and plagioclase feldspar. Amphiboles are usually members of the hornblende group.
Siltstone
A sedimentary rock primarily composed of silt sized particles.
Mudstone
A sedimantary rock composed of fine grained clay particles. Flaky mudstone is called shale.
Argillite
A finegrained sedimentary rock composed mainly of indurated clay particles which is not as fissile as shale.
Soapstone
A talcshist and type of metamorphic rock commonly used for carved stone objects. Also known as Steatite.
Andesite
An extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite.
Gritstone (Sandstone)
Carboniferous sandstone varying in grain size from coarse to fine and in colour from white, yellow, pink to brown. When only Gritstone is mentioned, unless otherwise specified, assume it to be Gritstone (Sandstone), as this is the more common usage.
Stone
Rock of definite form and size, usually artificially shaped.
Ivory
A hard, white, finegrained substance forming the main part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, hippos and narwhals.
Tooth
A hard, bonelike material obtained from animal teeth.
Jadeite
A hard, translucent variety of jade which is rarer than the other varieties of nephrite as a result considered to be the best and very desirable.
Oak
A native hardwood of the Beech family with hard and durable characteristics which traditionally made it appropriate for structural work.
Fir
The wood of the evergreen coniferous tree characterized by single needlelike leaves and errect cones.
Elm
A hard, durable wood obtained from trees of the genus Ulmus.
Pine
A straightgrained, durable and often resinous timber obtained from trees of the genus Pinus.
Spruce
A light, soft, moderatelystrong wood obtained from trees of the genus Picea.
Tamarac
North American wood, the name being applied either to the American Larch; or to the Black or Ridgepole Pine of inland areas; and the Scrub Pine of maritime regions.
Beech
A deciduous tree in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America.
Birch
The timber from genus Betula, found in Europe and North America, particularly in northern regions.
Teak
A strong durable wood originating in India and southeast Asia.
Ebony
Dark and dense hardwood timber which may be sourced from various species of true ebony from southern Asia and Africa, but the name may also be given to dark hardwoods from elsewhere, e.g. the Americas.
Hazel
A commonly coppiced wood from the genus Corylus.
Larch
A deciduous conifer native to Britain and Europe supplying durable and waterproof timber suitable for shipbuilding features such as masts.
Ash
A native, broadleaf tree of the Fraxinus species, native to Europe.
Alder
Wood from trees of the genus Alnus in the birch family Betulaceae.
Wood
A hard, compact, unprocessed, fibrous cellulose substance. The roots, trunks and branches of trees and shrubs consist of this tissue.
Onyx
Onyx is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. It is a semiprecious stone that is usually cut as a cabochon, or into beads, and is also used for intaglios and cameos.
Amethyst
A purple or violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. Amethyst is a semiprecious stone which owes its violet colour to irridation, iron impurities, and the presence of trace elements, which result in complex crystal lattice substitutions.
Quartz
Hard, transparent, often coloured mineral. Can be found on its own as crystals and veins but also as a major constituent of rocks such as granite. Often used decoratively.
Flax
The fibrous stalks of the plant, Linum usitatissimum, which can be processed and used to manufacture linen.
Plant
Any material derived from a tree, shrub or herb of cellulose form, normally subsisting in soil and producing its food through photosynthesis.
Antimony
A metallic element often used in alloys and historically used in pottery and glassmaking, paints, enamelling, and in cosmetics and medicine. Often derived from its sulphite ore, stibnite.
Felt
Fabric of fibrous materials consolidated by heat and mechanical action so that the fibres are matted together.
Textile
A woven or bonded fabric or cloth.
Jade
An ornamental green stone of the mineral nephrite.
Totternhoe Clunch
A relatively hard type of chalk that is sufficiently strong for use as a building stone. Quarried at Totternhoe, Bedfordshire.
Chalk
Soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite.
Hertfordshire Puddingstone
A conglomerate rock comprising well rounded flint pebbles in a very hard matrix of fine pale coloured sand, bound together by hard natural silica cement. The pebbles are usually coloured ochre or red and have black rims.
Puddingstone
Conglomerate consisting of rounded flint pebbles held together in a natural silica and sand cement.
Plastic
Any of large class of polymers based on synthetic resins or modified natural polymers which may be moulded, extruded or cast while soft or liquid, which then set rigidly or slightly elastic in form.
Hydrocarbon
An organic chemical compound composed exclusively of hydrogen and carbon atoms.
Picrite
A type of basalt rich in the mineral olivine.
Basalt
A dark finegrained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a columnar structure, typically composed largely of plagioclase with pyroxene and olivine.
Vegetal
Pertaining to or deriving from a botanical living organism. Use narrower concepts where possible.