Why ARE 100-year-old rubber blocks washing up on shores all over Britain and northern Europe?

Identical tablets have washed up in Newquay, Northumberland, Channel Islands, Brittany, Holland and Germany

They are stamped with the word ‘Tjipetir’ - a populated part of West Java in Indonesia



One wild theory is that they could have come from the wreck of Titanic



Mystery surrounds the origin of cargo thought to be 100-years-old that keeps being washed up around the shores of Britain and northern Europe.



The most recent discovery was four rubber squar es stamped with the word ‘Tjipetir’ - a populated part of West Java in Indonesia - which were found in Newquay, Cornwall.

Tjipetir is the name of an early 20th century rubber plantation and the tablets are made from the sap of the gutta-percha tree, a tropical tree native to Asia and northern Australia.

Netherlands: Jan Kuiper with a tablet which was discovered in Vlieland, Netherlands Louise Mamet who discovered a tablet on the coast of Brittany, France Fiona Mesney who found a Tjipetir block at Portelet beach in Jersey Netherlands: Jackie Kuiper who found a Tjipetir block in Vlieland in the Netherlands Gutta-percha tablets, widely used to insulate underwater cables, were listed on the Titanic’s manifest before it sank on April 15, 1912. Experts say the tiles found in Cornwall could have come from the wreck of famous ship - but admit it may also have been part of cargo from another stricken boat. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Epic adventures: National Geographic showcases breathtaking... Is this really human? DNA tests on six-inch skeleton of... Share this article Share The two tablets were found on the beach by retired Newquay fisherman Bill Brain. He said: 'I’ve been wandering the beaches since I packed up fishing ten years ago but I’ve never come across a mystery like this.

Mysterious: Cargo with the word Tjipetir is washing up on northern European shores

Discovery: The most recent discovery was four rubber squares stamped with the word ¿Tjipetir¿ in Newquay

'There’s an outside chance it came from the Titanic, which would be incredible.

'Apparently the wreck is starting to break up more and this is the type of thing that would have survived in good condition.'

Jenny Wittamore, assistant curator at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall, admitted it would be 'very difficult' to trace the exact origin of the rubber.

She said: 'There will have been many ships carrying this as cargo over the years and the Titanic was not the only one.'

Tjipetir is the name of an early 20th century rubber plantation in Indonesia (pictured)

Gutta-percha tablets were listed on the Titanic's manifest before it sank on April 15, 1912

Similar debris has been found on beaches in Jersey, Holland and France, where film crews are making a documentary about the blocks.



The mystery has further deepened after sheets of rubber were discovered in Newquay with the name Senawang.

It is not known if the rubber came from the same shipwreck as the tablets.

Mr Brain said: 'It’s just good to get people talking about this.



'It’s amazing to think these things could have been under the ocean for a hundred years.'

Theory: One speculation is that the blocks could have come from the Titanic (pictured)

Historic finds: The blocks have been discovered in Newquay, the Netherlands, Jersey and Brittany





