29 January 2024: Well, that wraps up January 2024. Playoff football (American football) are over and the teams selected for the "Super Bowl" in a couple of weeks. Weather is doing it's wintry thing and generally acting strange - warm and cold, snow and rain and a little sun (from time to time). This will likely be the final edition of Shipwrecks Found as it appears the interest in the first episode has waned over the subsequent second; so with that in mind, we'll post one more and call it a day. Hope you enjoy.
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1998: Batu Hitam
- Year lost: 830
- Location where found: Off Belitung Island, Indonesia
- Found by: Local fishermen
Batu Hitam was an ancient Arabian dhow discovered in 1998 off the Indonesian coast by local fishermen. It was likely traveling from China to Africa along what was called the Maritime Silk Route when it sank, carrying what may be the largest collection of Tang Dynasty artifacts ever discovered – more than 60,000 pieces. Valued at about $90 million, the treasures recovered from the shipwreck are mostly ceramics and pottery, including bowls, spice jars, and funeral urns.
1998: Esmeralda
- Year lost: 1503
- Location where found: Off the coast of Oman
- Found by: Team led by David Mearns
The shipwreck believed to be the Esmeralda, part of the fleet of famed explorer Vasco da Gama was found off the coast of Oman in 1998. It is considered to be the oldest wreck discovered from the Age of Discovery. Among the artifacts found were a ship’s bell, a Portuguese coin minted for trade with India, and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama’s maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda.
1999: RMS Carpathia
Year lost: 1917
Location where found: West of Land’s End
- Found by: Argosy International Ltd
The British passenger liner RMS Carpathia is remembered for rescuing survivors from the Titanic in 1912. Unfortunately, the ship would meet its own doom in World War I, when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1917. The vessel was attacked as part of a convoy traveling from Liverpool to Boston and five people died. The wreck of Carpathia was found in 1999, by Argosy International Ltd., in 600 feet of water, about 185 miles west of Land’s End, England.
2022: Endurance
Location where found: Weddell Sea, Antarctica
- Found by: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust
The Endurance, the lost vessel of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was discovered at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in March. The ship was crushed by sea ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to escape on foot and in small boats. All of the crew survived the ordeal. The demise of the ship was chronicled by filmmaker Frank Hurley. The Endurance was found by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. The wreck is a designated monument under the International Antarctic Treaty and is not to be disturbed. No physical artifacts have been brought to the surface.
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There are many more which, given the recent lack of excitement, we opted not to post about. They include many of the U.S. and Japanese warships located and photographed by the late Paul Allen's research group, and a few treasure ships found by Odyssey (a treasure seeking commercial outfit). Some we have previously posted about in this blog.
Hope you enjoyed what you've seen here; let us know in your comments. Stay warm; Spring is probably coming - sooner or later.
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
