Beach project brings fresh sand, fresh artifacts from ocean floor

WILMINGTON (WWAY) — A project to re-nourish Holden Beach is bringing beach-goers more than just fresh sand: it’s also bringing in fresh scavenge.

Dozens of people were out Thursday afternoon combing the newly-formed beach for hidden treasures.

Gerald Rorkman, a retired Marine ammunition and explosive officer, says he has discovered coins, jewelry, and other special items on his searches. But today, he found something that had great personal meaning: several bullet heads and casings from World War Two.

Rorkman said that the sand being pumped from the ocean floor onto the shoreline is bringing long-buried artifacts with it.

“This is the first time I’ve found as many of these as I have. Normally it’s very little of this, just a lot of coins and stuff. Now they’ve got a lot of old artifacts being pumped in. And we’ll probably see a lot of it as we begin to search the island even more,” he said.

The dredging project is expected to be complete in just a few weeks.

In meantime, many beach-goers say they are happy about the progress being made, and even more excited about what they may find.