Free Republic

Marine archaeologist Alexandre Monteiro has said that the coast of Portugal between the Azores and Madeira islands holds golden treasure-laden shipwrecks. This region is said to contain close to 8,620 ships, and 250 of them are said to hold a significant amount of gold treasure. Monteiro is an investigator who works with Nova University in Lisbon and has built a database that records shipwrecks dating back to the XVI century when historical records become more easily accessible. In an interview with a local outlet, Lusa, Monteiro claims to have documented more than 7,500 shipwrecks off Portugal’s continental coast, 1000 near...

Spanish archaeologists have successfully removed a 2,600-year-old shipwreck from waters off the country's southeastern coast...It was discovered in 1994 off the coast of Murcia in southeastern Spain, near the town of Mazarrón, according to Spain's Ministry of Culture.Now called the Mazarrón II, this shipwreck was one of two located in that same general area. The first, called Mazarrón I, was initially located in 1993, lifted from the water in June 1995, and put on display at Spain's National Museum of Underwater Archaeology in 2005 after undergoing years of conservation treatments, the museum said.Mazarrón II is of particular interest to archaeologists...

Research on a Phoenician-era shipwreck off Xlendi in Gozo can help us better understand our past, Professor Timmy Gambin told The Malta Independent...“This is one of seven Phoenician shipwrecks in the world so any proper study that comes out of these seven shipwrecks is absolutely important.”Following the four-year excavation project of the Phoenician shipwreck that is located off the coast of Xlendi, the team of international experts, led by the University of Malta, has recently begun a new four-year Post-Excavation Project (2022-2025)...Gambin gave a brief overview of a few different methods within the post-excavation project.Firstly, he spoke about the method...

Archaeologists have discovered a 1,500-year-old shipwreck near the ancient Greek city of Kydonies, now known as Ayvalık, on Turkey’s Aegean coast. This remarkable find, part of the “Turkish Sunken-Ships Project: Blue Heritage,” sheds new light on ancient maritime trade and the region’s historical significance. Researchers from Dokuz Eylül University’s Underwater Research Center (SUDEMER) identified the shipwreck located 2.5 miles offshore at a depth of 43 meters. Led by Associate Professors Harun Özdaş and Nilhan Kızıldağ, the team worked with the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Underwater robotic systems were crucial in locating and studying the site. Largest...

A shipwreck dating to the sixth or fifth century b.c. has been discovered near Sicily along with a collection of ancient anchors, according to a report from CBS News. The wreck was found buried under sand and rock 20 feet underwater off Santa Maria del Focallo, at the southern tip of the island. The excavation was carried out by underwater archaeologists from the University of Udine in collaboration with Sicily's superintendent of the sea. Researchers determined that the ship's hull was built using a simple early shipbuilding technique known as "on the shell." Further study of the wreck may help...

The Zuytdorp shipwreck was likely caused by a storm, not navigational errors, according to new research. Flinders University archaeologists analyzed historical and environmental data, showing the crew had sufficient skills to navigate but were overcome by severe weather...The study, published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology by Flinders University archaeologists Dr. Ruud Stelten and Professor Wendy van Duivenvoorde, examined ship logs, historical maps, navigational practices, and weather patterns of the era to uncover the causes of the wreck.The Zuytdorp is one of four Dutch shipwrecks discovered off the Western Australian coast in the past century, with the Batavia and the...

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday that a natural gas company's standard survey of the Eastern Mediterranean floor had uncovered the most ancient ship ever found in the deep seas.The discovery of the remains of the ship from the 14th-13th century BCE proves that Late Bronze Age mariners could navigate the seas without a line of sight to the shore, contrary to what was previously believed, the IAA said.The approximately 3,300-year-old ship with a cargo of hundreds of intact amphorae was found 90 kilometers off northern Israel's coast, at a depth of 1.8 km...The exciting...

...In addition to the amphorae, archaeologists found ropes, shoes, a wooden drill and organic "dunnage" or matting, made from vine shoots and grass, that was used to protect the ship's hull from the cargo, Cau said...Many of the amphorae contained the remnants of fish sauce, while others held oil from plants — likely olives, wine, and perhaps olives preserved in vinegar. The distinctive amphorae for different products were labeled with painted inscriptions known as "tituli picti" in Latin, he said...Previous studies found that many of the oil amphorae had seals stamped with a "Chrismon," or Christian monogram — similar to...

The Republic of Colombia announced Wednesday in a press release that they designated the wreckage of the San Jose galleon as a “Protected Archaeological Area.“ The Colombian government called the San Jose wreckage “one of the most important of the colonial period in America” and announced they were also launching a multiphase research project around the ship, the press release reads. The San Jose, a ship belonging to the Spanish crown, was sunk by the British navy in 1708 with only a few of its 600-strong crew surviving the incident, CBS News reported. The ship was reportedly believed to be...

As American scientists prepare to announce the location of the remains of Endeavour, a battle is expected over whether Britain, the United States or Australia gets the wreck of James Cook's famed ship. A team of marine archaeologists from Australia and the US said they believe they may have found the resting place of the ship – used by the British explorer on a voyage of discovery to Australia in 1768 - 25 years after beginning their search. They are expected to announce on Friday 'one or two' sites in Newport Harbour in Rhode Island, where the Endeavour was scuttled...

Breakthrough evidence likely reveals the final resting place of the HMS Endeavour. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly two years after an Australian research team made the claim that a Rhode Island shipwreck was Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour, the team says they have more evidence to back up their assertion. A Rhode Island-based research group originally said it was too premature to call the shipwreck Cook’s vessel. New findings regarding the pump well and bow further point to this ship in fact being HMS Endeavour. Residents of New England and those with British ties are once again in a scuffle. This time, the debate...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet declared Oct. 31 that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is, indeed, the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238). "After reviewing the records and information, we are certain USS Wahoo has been located," said Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander. “We are grateful for the support of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, and appreciate greatly the underwater video footage of the submarine provided by our Russian navy colleagues, which allowed us to make this determination. This brings closure to the...

The race is on for One-Eyed Willy's treasure, as part of the shipwreck of the boat that inspired 'The Goonies' has been found. Marine archaeologists have recovered timbers from the hull of the 17th-century Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos in sea caves in Oregon, USA.

Dunwich is the iconic lost city -- in the early Middle Ages this town was one of the largest in England, and its outer walls stood nearly two miles beyond the present shoreline. Since then coastal erosion, and particularly several huge storms in the late 1200s and early 1300s, have almost entirely destroyed the town. Only the old Greyfriars Priory and a solitary gravestone survive of the old town... The project also found a new shipwreck off the coast of Dunwich. Dive team leader, Professor David Sear from Southampton University, reports from the Underwater Dunwich dive on the site's newly...

The remains of a 300-year-old warship are to be raised from the sea bed, according to reports. The wreck of HMS Victory, a predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, was found near the Channel Islands in 2008. The British warship, which went down in a storm in 1744 killing more than 1,000 sailors, could contain gold coins worth an estimated £500m. The Sunday Times says the Maritime Heritage Foundation is set to manage the wreck's raising.

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – An anchor from what's believed to be the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard's flagship has been raised from the ocean floor off the North Carolina coast. Archaeologists believe the anchor recovered Friday is from the Queen Anne's Revenge, which sank in 1718. That was five months before Blackbeard was killed in a battle. The artifact is the third-largest item at the shipwreck, outsized only by two other anchors. Researchers retrieved the anchor from the shipwreck about 20 feet under water... The anchor is about 11 feet long.

(© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be redistributed or FR.)

Researchers exploring the waters off the Greek Island of Kefallinia have unearthed one of the largest Roman-era shipwrecks ever found.As Julia Buckley reports for CNN, a team from Greece's University of Patras located the remains of the ship, as well as its cargo of 6,000 amphorae—ceramic jugs used for shipping—while conducting a sonar scan of the area. The 110-foot-long vessel, newly detailed in the Journal of Archaeological Science, was situated at a depth of 197 feet.According to the paper, the "Fiscardo" wreck (named after a nearby fishing port) was one of several identified during cultural heritage surveys undertaken in the...

Colombia is hoping to expedite its mission to recover a three-century-old sunken treasure worth as much as $20 billion as the ownership of the fortune lies in legal limbo amid an ongoing court battle. President Gustavo Petro ordered his administration to exhume the “Holy Grail of shipwrecks” — the Spanish galleon San José — from the floor of the Caribbean Sea as soon as possible, the country’s minister of culture told Bloomberg last week. Petro wants to bring the 62-gun, three-masted ship to the surface before his term is up in 2026 and has requested a public-private partnership be formed...

A remarkably well-preserved ancient Roman ship has been discovered on the seabed off the coast of Sardinia. The 2,000-year-old wreck was found at a depth of 150ft by a specialised diving unit of the Italian police, working in collaboration with archaeologists, in the strait that separates Sardinia from Corsica. The ship was carrying a load of terracotta tiles, which are also in a good state of preservation. The roof tiles, believed to have been produced in or around Rome, were packed into the hold of the vessel, which is 60ft long and 23ft wide. They were probably going to be...