Salvaged Cape Cod Shipwreck Wood is the 1626 Sparrow-Hawk, Says Study

.ancient-origins.net ^ | 27 MARCH, 2022 - 23:00 | NATHAN FALDE

[BenLurkin]

An extensive new analysis published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has produced new and impressive evidence supporting the idea that the shipwreck found in 1863 was the Sparrow-Hawk, something shipwreck historians have long believed but were never able to prove.

Through the application of techniques that can accurately date wood and trace it to its place of origin, the scientists involved in this study have linked the pieces of timber found on a Cape Cod beach in 1863 to the shipbuilding industry of late 16th and early 17th century England. The 40-foot small pinnace ship that was scuttled just off-shore in Cape Cod in 1626 was built in England, and there are no other known shipwrecks in the region that match the characteristics of this vessel.

After leaving England in 1626, the small pinnace ship that came to be known as the Sparrow-Hawk crossed the Atlantic largely without incident. But near the end of their voyage, rough seas became more common, and before they could reach the colony of Virginia (their planned destination) they were thrown hopelessly off-course and battered into submission by a sudden and terrible storm. With control of the ship lost, its wrecking was inevitable, and it eventually sank in the shallow waters off the eastern shore of Cape Cod Peninsula near the settlement of Orleans, Massachusetts.

Following the wreck, two survivors were rescued by the indigenous Nauset people, who took them to the Plymouth Colony . Governor William Bradford dispatched men in a boat to rescue the remaining passengers and crew (there were 25 people on the Sparrow-Hawk in total), and it was Bradford’s written account of this incident that helped keep the memory of the shipwreck alive.

[BenLurkin]

I guess it was fairly common?

The earliest Lurkins came over in 1640. Don’t know what ship and it never occurred to me that they might have made the trip in something that small.

[Poser]

“Sparrowhawk! Makes me think of that enjoyable sequence of books!”

Or Three Days of the Condor!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger and 21twelve for the pings. The ship that carried my surname ancestors only made a couple more west to east crossings and one less east to west crossing, sinking on its last return trip. Given that the general locale of the sinking is recorded, I'd guess that there was enough traffic that the survivors got picked up by another returning vessel.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I was surprised to learn they sailed it across the ocean. Of course, Columbus' first ships weren't much bigger. The Nina and the Pinta were 50 to 70 feet. His flagship Santa Maria was 117 feet. The Mayflower was 80–90 ft on deck, 100–110 ft overall.

The story of Benedict Arnold's fleet on Lake Champlain 150 years later is quite fascinating. He built ships on the lake. The British disassembled their warships and hauled them to the head of the lake where they reassembled them. One of the best books about that episode and the battle is Rabble in Arms write in 1933 by Kenneth Roberts. The book concerns the events leading up to the Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga, but a a memorable part of the story is devoted to Benedict Arnold’s construction of a fleet of American ships on Lake Champlain that engaged a more powerful British fleet at the Battle of Valcour Island and bought needed time for the American forces. The naval battle delayed the British one season and enabled the victory at Saratoga.

[Beowulf9]

Interesting. Stonehenge rocks are part of the older houses surrounding the area of Stonehenge.

The little scavengers!

[nascarnation]

When I was there in 2015 the actual stones are all fenced off. I guess peeps were chiseling off to much for souvenirs.

Same thing happened to Elvis’ grave marker.