Shipwrecks
Artifacts help identify mystery wreck
Artifacts like this toy soldier or helping archaeologists identify a shipwreck off the Delaware coast. Likely suspects include the Severn, lost in 1774, and the Commerce, lost in 1771. Both ships were making runs from England to the colonies when lost.
Recent beach restoration work by the Army Corp of Engineers uncovered thousands of artifacts and wreckage. Local treasure hunters and metal detectorists located many more items on nearby beaches. State archaeologists were brought in and identified a wreck site just off shore. They are planning another dive on the site soon.
via “Delaware Online”:http://www.delewareonline.com
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Diving for scraps of gold
The high price of gold has one treasure hunter going back to a previously salvaged wreck looking for the scraps. Only five bars of gold were left unaccounted for on the wreck of the Royal Merchant Ship Niagara, but those could now be worth more than $2 million New Zealand dollars (about $1.2 million US).
The ship was sunk by a German mine at the onset of World War II in 1940. Salvage operations in 1941 and 1952 recovered 585 bars of gold, leaving five bars resting on the bottom. Recent increases in the price of gold are making the 120 meter dive look profitable so Keith Gordon, of Tutukaka-based SeaRov Technologies, is going after them.
Via “The Northern Avocate”:http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/
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Treasures of the RMS Titantic on tour
The touring Titanic artifact exhibition is wrapping up its 2006 touring schedule with stops in five more cities nationwide. Since 1991, the touring expedition has been seen by over 15 million people worldwide. Schedule stops include:
* Des Moines
* Long Beach
* San Francisco
* Las Vegas
* Miama
Along with treasures like this diamond ring, the tour features stock certificates, personal artifacts, coins, and even currency. Models and other exhibits round out the tour.
The show features 100 authentic artifacts recovered from the ship’s debris field. Tour what guest’s state rooms looked like aboard the ship that sank and come face to face with a real iceberg.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for kids.
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A profile of legendary treasure hunter Bob Marx
Bob Marx, considered by many to be one of the World’s top treasure hunters, is profiled in a great piece in Florida Today. Marx has dove on countless shipwrecks, written several books on treasure hunting, and explored the ruins of Port Royal, the infamous pirate town that sank into the sea following a massive earthquake.
My favorite story from the article is how Bob Marx turned down $50,000 to consultant on the first Pirates of the Caribbean film because the producer was an ass and wouldn’t put on his cigar in their initial meeting.
In his 60’s Marx has been hunting nearly all his life, following his first shipwreck discovery at age 15. This story and lots more are in the article, it’s a very interesting read.
Anyone have any interesting Bob Marx stories to share?
Via Florida Today
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In search of Blackbeard’s flagship
This month’s issue of “National Geographic”:http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0607/feature6/ magazine has a great story about the excavation of a shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina that researches believe to be _The Queen Anne’s Revenge_, the flagship of the notorious Blackbeard the pirate.
The 300 ton merchantman, if indeed this is the right wreck, carried upwards of 40 guns, and was probably the most heavily armed pirate ship of its day. Ran aground in 1718, the wreck was discovered in 20 foot of water in 1996.
The “North Carolina Maritime Museum”:http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime/Blackbeard/wreck.htm has a lot of detail about the wreck, as well as Blackbeard himself. Furthermore, check out the official “project website”:http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/qar/default.htm.
No substantial treasure, apart from the canon and other archaeological relics, has yet been found on the wreck.
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Odyssey Marine Exploration expands fleet
Noted shipwreck recovery company Odyssey Marine has purchased another research vessel, complete with ROV and advanced side-scan sonar equipment.
The additional ship will allow Odyssey to pursue three different expeditions this year, a first for the company.
Odyssey is best know for their “recovery of the S.S. Republic”:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1201_031201_republic.html, a Civil War era side wheeler loaded with gold bullion.
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