Shipwrecks
This section deals with information recovered from shipwreck sites. From the beginning, the NADL was concerned with a number of questions pertaining to:
- the standardization of the collection of information from a shipwreck site;
- the standardization of the storage of the different supports and types of information retrieved from a shipwreck site during the survey and excavation phases;
- a reflection on the most effective ways to publish primary information;
- a reflection on the best ways to interpret and reconstruct ships from their archaeological remains.
Shipwreck Projects
Africa
Kenya
Ngomeni Shipwreck
Portuguese shipwreck from the 16 Century in Kenya, possibly the galleon Sao Jorge (1524), or the nau Santa Maria da Graca (1544).
Santo Antonio de Tanna (1697)
Portuguese frigate sent from Goa to relieve Fort Jesus, lost at Mombasa, Kenya, in 1697, excavated in the 1970s and recently rebuilt as a 3D model.
Mozambique
Americas
Bahamas
Highbourne Cay Shipwreck, c. 1525
Mystery Wreck of MAREX
Also known as the Tumbaga wreck, this site is said to have been discovered by Marex International in 1992. The treasure hunters found high-alloy gold,…
Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, 1656
Lost in 1656 was presumably found by treasure hunter Robert Marx in 1972, the Little Bahama Bank and salvaged by a treasure hunting company named Marex…
Saint John's Bahamas Wreck (Santa Clara?), 1564
The 300-ton Carrera de Indias galleon Santa Clara, owned by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, ran aground on the Little Bahama Bank on 6 October 1564 and was abandoned after its silver and people were saved.
Six Shilling Cays Shipwreck, C. 1550
In October 1994, John de Bry of the Center for Historical Archaeology visited Mr. Maillis's residence on Russell Island, North Eleuthera, and examined…
Bermuda
San Pedro, 1596
Spanish Wreck, (Circa 1575)
Found by Teddy Tucker in Bermuda this wreck consisted of a large portion of a hull extending over an area of 14 x 8.5 m. Treasure appraiser Mendel…
Stonewall Wreck
Located and salvaged by Teddy Tucker in 1950 in Bermuda. Never excavated but recorded in 1975 by Dr. Edwin Dethlefsen. Presumably dating from the…
Urca la Viga, c. 1639
May be one of two small ships lost in Bermuda in 1639. It was salvaged by Bermudan wreckers soon after its loss. Found by Teddy Tucker in 1959 it was…
Western Ledge Reef Wreck, 1584?
This wreck was found by treasure hunters in 1964 in the Western Ledge Reef, Bermuda, and salvaged intermittently until 1988, when a team from the East…
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Conquistador, 1741
The English siege of Cartagena de Indias between March and May in the year 1741 produced a large number of shipwrecks throughout the bay of the city,…
Mercante de Manzanillo, 1741
The 1741 siege by the English Crown of the Spanish colonized Cartagena de Indias brought a great deal of destruction to both sides. The English fleet,…
Salmedina I
Bajo de Salmedina, located in the open sea west of Cartagena de Indias, is one of the sites with the greatest archaeological potential in Colombia due…
San Felipe, 1741
During the English siege of Cartagena de Indias, during the War of Jenkins´ Ear (1739-1748), between March and May 1741, a large number of both English…
San José, 1708
San José was a 64-gun Spanish warship that sank in battle in 1708 and was found around 2015 in Colombian waters.
Cuba
Adelaide, 1714
Este pecio se encuentra en la costa sur de Guanahacabibes, Pinar del Río en un paraje llamado el Alto del Negro a 250 m de la costa, aproximadamente al…
Bajo Nicolau I, c. 1750
Localizado en el Bajo Nicolau perteneciente a los Jardines del Rey, costa norte de la provincia de Villa Clara. Fondo de arrecife coralino Se hallaron…
Cayo Arena, c. 1750
Localizado en el arrecife de Los Colorados en línea norte-sur con el faro de Cayo Arena, en el placer bajo de la costa norte de Pinar del Río al este…
Fuxa Wreck, C. 1610
Found at Los Colorados, Cuba, in 1989, the wreck was excavated by CARISUB in the early 1990s. It was initially thought to be the Nuestra Señora del…
Goleta Arrow (Los Muñequitos), 1815
Situado en el arrecife de Los Colorados entre cayo Levisa y cayo Paraíso, en la costa N de Pinar del Río, Los Colorados,
Ines de Soto (Circa 1572)
The identity of this ship is unknown. This ship sunk sometime after 1572 during an unrecorded voyage. Found and excavated by Carisub. There were no…
La Galera, 1563
This site was salvaged in or around the 1990s, but no information has, to our knowledge, been published about it.
Lingote I, c. 1650
Localizado al oeste de Cayo Levisa, costa norte de Pinar del Río. Fondo thallassias y cascajos
Lingote II, c. 1630
Localizado al oeste de Cayo Levisa en el Arrecife de los Colorados, costa norte de Pinar del Río. Fondo arrecife.
Los Astrolabios (Francisco Padre), c. 1630
Localizado al este de Francisco Padre, en el Arrecife de Los Colorados, norte Pinar del Río. Fondo arrecifal
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, 1698
Localizado en los bajos de Sibarimar frente a la playa de Guanabo, La Habana. Fondo arenoso
Punta del Holandés, 1698
Localizado en Punta del Holandés, Sur de la Península de Guanahacabides, Pinar del Río. Fondo coralino, arrecifal.
San Cayetano, C. 1675
This site was salvaged in or around the 1990s, but no information has, to our knowledge, been published about it.
Zorrita – La Tabla, 1696–1723
Localizado entre los faros Zorrita y La Tabla, en el Arrecife de los Colorados, norte de Pinar del Río. Fondo rocoso
Dominican Republic
Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, 1641
Nuestra Señora de la Pura y Limpia Concepción was a 600-ton nao built in La Habana, but fitted and armed as a galleon in Spain. Concepción was built in…
Punta Cana (c. 1545)
Tentatively identified by the treasure hunters as Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, this site was located in shallow water, between 4 and 7 m deep at Punta…
Saona 1 (c. 1550)
Between January and July 1983, treasure hunter Burt Webber carried out a survey in the Mona Passage, between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico,…
Saona 2 (c. 1550)
Between January and July 1983, treasure hunter Burt Webber carried out a survey in the Mona Passage, between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico,…
Saona 3 (c. 1550)
Between January and July 1983, treasure hunter Burt Webber carried out a survey in the Mona Passage, between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico,…
Puerto Rico
Cerro Gordo 4 (Ca. 1621)
The site was found by fisherman between Cerro Gordo and the first submerged cay. In the 1970’s Richard Fontánez - President of the Sociedad…
Tinajas (c. 1600)
This site, referenced as San Juan 1, is located adjacent to the shoreline of Isla San Juan on the western side of El Morro. The area surveyed measured…
United States
Dry Tortugas Shipwreck
Emanuel Point 1, 1559
Emanuel Point 2, 1559
Emanuel Point 3, 1559
Espiritu Santo – 41 WY 3 (1554)
A fleet of forty-eight vessels sailed on November 4th of 1552 from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain under the command of Captain-General Bartolomé Carreño.…
Green Cabin Shipwreck, 1618
Loggerhead Key, 1622
A site corresponding to this shipwreck was found in 1971 by the National Park Service, during a survey coordinated by George Fischer. In 1981 and 1982…
Nuestra Señora de Atocha, 1622
Located by treasure hunter Melvin Fisher in the 1980s off the coasts of Florida, this Spanish ship wrecked in 1622 was salvaged.
San Agustin, 1594
West Turtle Shoals
Treasure hunters from Doubloon Salvage located the remains of a shipwreck along the Florida Keys at the beginning of the 1970s. The company was awarded…
Asia
Northern Mariana Islands
Turkey
Cape Gelidonya, c. 1240–1200 BC
Serçe Limanı
During a shipwreck survey in 1973 along the southwestern Turkish coast, archaeologists from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology hired local retired…
Uluburun, c. 1310 BC
Yassiada 16th Century
In 1958, Peter Throckmorton discovered the remains of several shipwrecks lost along the extended reef system of the small, uninhabited island of…
Europe
Belgium
Denmark
France
Baie de Briande, c. 150 BC
Baie de l’Amitié, second half of the 1st century AD
Barthélémy B, second quarter of the 1st century AD
Calanque de l’Âne 1, late 1st century AD
Calvi 1
In 1979, Antoine Roucayrol reported finding a shipwreck within Calvi harbor. Luc Long, from DRASSM, examined the site and noted significant hull…
Cap Béar 3, third quarter of the 1st century BC
Cap Bénat, 1st century BC
Cap de l’Estérel, 1st century BC
Cap Gros, late 2nd–mid-1st century BC
Cap Lardier 1
The wreck was known to local divers by 1960 but was not reported to authorities until 1969. Situated close to the rocky shoreline and buried in sand,…
Cavalière, c. 100 BC
Caveaux 1, late 2nd–early 1st century BC
César 1, late 6th century BC
Chrétienne A, c. 75 BC
Chrétienne C, second third of the 2nd century BC
Chrétienne K
Much like Pointe des Sardinaux, the rocky coastline and shallow reefs of Antheor, France, are a hazard to passing ships. Archaeologists have frequently…
Conque des Salins, AD 15–236
Dramont A, first half of the 1st century BC
Dramont C, second quarter–mid-1st century BC
Dramont F, second half of the 4th century AD
Dramont I, 1st century AD
Fos 1 (Fournon), third quarter of the 1st century BC
Galera de César (Musée des Docks), before the 3rd century AD
Giraglia 1, c. AD 20
Grand Ribaud F, 515–470 BC
Ile Plane 4, c. 50 BC
Jarre 4, second half of the 2nd century BC
Jeaume-Garde B (Baie du Langoustier), early 1st century BC
Jules Verne 7, second half of the 6th century BC
La Bourse (Lacydon), late 2nd–early 3rd century AD
Laurons 1, 3rd–4th century AD
Laurons 2, late 2nd century AD
Laurons 3, late 3rd–early 4th century AD
Laurons 4, late 3rd–early 4th century AD
Madrague de Giens, 75–60 BC
Marinières 1, early 15th century
Miladou, late 2nd–first half of the 1st century BC
Mortella III
Interest in mapping the submerged Corsican coastline led France's Department of Subaquatic and Submarine Archaeological Research (Département des…
Ouest Giraglia 2, 1st century AD
Perduto 1, 1st century AD
Pointe de Pomègues, first half of the 1st century BC
Pomègues, second half of the 3rd century AD
Port-Vendres 3, mid-2nd century AD
Rabiou, turn of the era
Roche Fouras, 150–100 BC
Rondinara
Rondinara Bay, on the southeastern coast of Corsica (roughly halfway between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio), contains the remains of a shipwreck sunk in…
Saint Gervais 3, mid-2nd century AD
Saint-Honorat 1
Between the islands of Saint-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat off the coast of Cannes, France, lie the remains of a shipwreck originally reported in…
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer 24 (SM24), AD 40–75
Sardinaux
The Pointe des Sardinaux and its associated skerries are found on the Mediterranean coast of France between Sainte-Maxime and Les Issambres. The…
Sud Lavezzi 3, first quarter of the 1st century AD
Sud Lavezzi 5, AD 50–150
Tiboulen de Maïre, AD 130–150
Titan, second half of the 1st century BC
Tour Fondue, 250–225 BC
Tradelière, last quarter of the 1st century BC
Villefranche (Lomellina, 1516)
Villefranche-sur-Mer became the French Mediterranean port of call for foreign ships in the nineteenth century. The dredging of the port to accommodate…
Greece
Italy
Agropoli Shipwreck, 1550-1600
The wreck was reported in 2000 to the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Naples and Caserta (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di…
Bacàn 1, 1450s
Bacàn 2, 1420s
Boccalama A, before 1328
Boccalama B, before 1328
Cavoli, 1440s
Contarina I
Flooding of the Po river valley on Italy's Adriatic coast in 1882 emphasized the inadequacies of the canal network meant to channel overflow away from…
Contarina II
Flooding of the Po river valley on Italy's Adriatic coast in 1882 emphasized the inadequacies of the canal network meant to channel overflow away from…
Fiumicino 1, 4th–5th century AD
Gela 2, c. 425 BC
Ladispoli, turn of the era
Lake Garda (fusta), 1509
Over most of its initial existence, Venice operated as a thalassocracy focused almost exclusively on controlling the Adriatic and the eastern maritime…
Mariposa A, late 15th-early 16th century
Mariposa B, early 16th century
Marsala (Punic ship) and Sister Ship, mid-3rd century BC
Marsala A
After an intense storm off Sicily in 1983, reports of archaeological material exposed along the seabed south of modern Marsala, Italy, prompted swift…
Marsala B
After an intense storm off Sicily in 1983, reports of archaeological material exposed along the seabed south of modern Marsala, Italy, prompted swift…
Napoli A, late 1st century AD
Napoli B, late 2nd–early 3rd century AD
Napoli C, Roman Imperial period
Olbia Wreck 10, 1405-1440
Olbia Wreck 4
The construction of a tunnel along the waterfront in downtown Olbia, Sardinia, uncovered 24 ancient wrecks in 1999. Archaeological excavations over the…
Precenicco
Out of the many river networks between the Alps and the Adriatic coastline, the Stella River holds a prominent place. The groundwater-fed river…
Spain
Albufereta 1, second half of the 1st century AD
Binissafúller, 325–275 BC
Bou Ferrer, 1st century AD
Cap del Vol, late 1st century BC–1st century AD
Colonia Sant Jordi (Sant Jordi 1), 100–80 BC
Les Sorres X
Barcelona, in the Catalonia region of Spain, was chosen in 1986 to host the 1992 Olympic Summer Games. Infrastructure construction before the event…
Mazarrón 1, 550–500 BC
Mazarrón 2, 550–500 BC
Palamós, 100–50 BC
Ribadeo, Santiago de Galicia (1597)
Surviving ships from the 1588 Spanish Armada limped back to Spain, with many being lost along the northern coastline of the British Isles, others at…
San Giorgio e Sant'Elmo (Cadiz-Delta 2), 1587
Plans for a new container terminal in the Port of Cadiz, Spain, included dredging within the proclaimed 'Archaeological Easement Zone'. As a result,…
Sweden
United Kingdom
Cattewater, c. 1500
In 1973, a dredging operation accidentally brought up timbers in the mouth of the River Plym. After a quick survey, the National Maritime Museum…
Church Rocks
A snorkeler swimming along the coast at Church Rocks located a Venetian bronze saker sticking out of the sand in 1975, after a season of winter storms…
Rye A Shipwreck
Location of the shipwreck Rye A.