What was in fact the purpose of the U-shaped wooden structure mentioned above?
We have already mentioned the possibility the U-shaped wooden structure is the remains of a scaffolding to support tarpaulins spread over the beach during rainfalls, to increase the efficiency of the salt works. However, I personally incline to the view that the U-shaped structure is the remains of a treasure digger’s cofferdam (it is known treasure diggers have built at least two cofferdams at Smiths Cove in futile attempts to block off the alleged flood tunnel) or alternatively might have been a structure to dry fish, the drying and salting of fish having being the only practicable means of preserving fresh fish before the invention of refrigeration in the late 1800s. Is the proposed saltwater works dependent on the presence of a saltwater spring? The answer is “no”. If there was in fact no saltwater spring on the beach at Smiths Cove, then all it means is that the controlled inundations of seawater through the dyke would have had to have been somewhat larger. Conclusion Everything t
