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
Bom Jesus (1533)
Bom Jesus was an early oceangoing nau, built in Portugal and lost on the coast of today’s Namibia in 1533. It disappeared at sea, never to be seen or…
El Hamdania: Preliminary Study of a Shipwreck, Cherchell
Preliminary study of a shipwreck discovered in the Bay of El Hamdania Beach near Cherchell, Algeria, carrying polished stone blocks dating to the ancient period.
Etoile Shipwreck
This shipwreck was probably found by a group of French sport divers in 2004. The site was described as a mound of copper ingots and perhaps 40 bronze…
IDM-001
Ngomeni Shipwreck
Portuguese shipwreck from the 16 Century in Kenya, possibly the galleon Sao Jorge (1524), or the nau Santa Maria da Graca (1544).
São João Baptista, 1622
On March 1st, 1622 the São João Baptista captained by Pedro de Morais Sarmento left Goa accompanying the Portuguese flagship Nossa Senhora do Paraiso,…
Americas
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…
Bahia Mujeres Shipwreck
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…
Cayo Nuevo Shipwreck
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…
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,…
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.…
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,
Green Cabin Shipwreck, 1618
Highbourne Cay Shipwreck, c. 1525
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…
Jesus Maria de la Limpia Concepción, 1654
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.
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…
Los Astrolabios (Francisco Padre), c. 1630
Localizado al este de Francisco Padre, en el Arrecife de Los Colorados, norte Pinar del Río. Fondo arrecifal
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,…
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 Atocha, 1622
Located by treasure hunter Melvin Fisher in the 1980s off the coasts of Florida, this Spanish ship wrecked in 1622 was salvaged.
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…
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…
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, 1698
Localizado en los bajos de Sibarimar frente a la playa de Guanabo, La Habana. Fondo arenoso
Playa Damas Shipwreck
In July 2003 the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University (INA) was invited by the media group Spiegel to consider the complete…
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…
Punta del Holandés, 1698
Localizado en Punta del Holandés, Sur de la Península de Guanahacabides, Pinar del Río. Fondo coralino, arrecifal.
Saint John's Bahamas Wreck (Santa Clara?), c. 1564
The identity of this ship is unknown, although it has been tentatively identified as the Santa Clara, a 300-ton nao that ran aground on the Little…
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 Agustin, 1594
San Cayetano, C. 1675
This site was salvaged in or around the 1990s, but no information has, to our knowledge, been published about it.
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.
Santíssimo Sacramento, 1668
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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
Asia
Al Hallaniyah Shipwreck
The Al Hallaniyah ship was almost certainly one of the ships lost by the Sodré brothers at Curia Muria Island (today Al Hallaniyah, Oman) in 1503.
Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (Guam, 1638)
A Manila galleon, the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, wrecked off Guam in 1638. It was found and salvaged by treasure hunter William Mathers.
Serçe Limanı
During a shipwreck survey in 1973 along the southwestern Turkish coast, archaeologists from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology hired local retired…
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
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…
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 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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Corpo Santo, c. 1400
Beam: Estimated 5 m, based on the probable height of the runs, which was probably 1.5 m.
Lagos 1 Shipwreck
The remains of a wooden ship were exposed in the 1970s or 1980s, during excavations to lay a pipe at Praça Gil Eanes, circa 140 m from the actual…
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…
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…
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…
Mljet, or Sveti Pavao
Mediterranean coasts with island archipelagoes were often used by mariners for stopovers on long sea voyages (Crowley 2011, 28). The islands of the…
Mortella III
Interest in mapping the submerged Corsican coastline led France's Department of Subaquatic and Submarine Archaeological Research (Département des…
Nuestra Señora del Rosario, 1589
Lost near Tróia, Setúbal, in 1589, and was probably extensively salvaged because it sunk in shallow water. It was found probably in the early 1990s and…
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…
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…
Rondinara
Rondinara Bay, on the southeastern coast of Corsica (roughly halfway between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio), contains the remains of a shipwreck sunk in…
Rye A Shipwreck
Location of the shipwreck Rye A.
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…
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,…
Sardinaux
The Pointe des Sardinaux and its associated skerries are found on the Mediterranean coast of France between Sainte-Maxime and Les Issambres. The…
Studland Bay Shipwreck, c. 1525
Trinidad Valencera
In February 1587, former Queen of Scotland Mary Stuart (1542-60) was beheaded by order of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603) (Wormald 2017, 168).…
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…