HOT NEWS !

 By Meagan O'Toole-Pitts - The Battalion Online

Texas A&M's Nautical Archaeology Program is bringing history to life -- literally.

Students of the New World laboratory, which focuses on the study of ship evolution within the past 500 years, are in the midst of recreating "The Heroine," a Mississippi River steamboat built in 1832 that sank in the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma in 1838.

"At the time they weren't keeping records; there's a lot we don't know about early boats -- how they designed and built them - this opens early steam boating in the early west, how they operated on the river and how it was to live and work on them.

We want to know what our ancestors lived through," said Kevin Crisman, associate professor of nautical archaeology. "This is the oldest Mississippi steamboat studied by archaeologists."

The wreckage of the boat was discovered in 2002, and students spent the past six years excavating the site by diving 20 feet down into the murky waters of the Red River and digging up the steamboat, piece by piece.

"The paddle wheels and other parts of machinery were still on the boat," Crisman said. "We found barrels of picked pork and corncobs. You don't really know what you're going to find until you start digging it up."

By Anna Passante - Bay View Compass

Three 19th-century Great Lakes sailing ships, the Boston, the Sebastopol, and the Alleghany, had two things in common.

All three were shipwrecked off the shore of St. Francis, Wis., and all three were shipwrecked as a result of an inadequate Milwaukee harbor.

Milwaukee’s original harbor (located about a half-mile south of the present-day harbor) had a shallow harbor entrance, which kept larger ships from entering the inner harbor. These larger ships were forced to anchor outside the harbor entrance at extended piers to unload their goods.

Without the protection of the inner harbor during fierce lake storms, many of the ships risked great damage or destruction.

Also, due to inadequate navigational lighting, ship captains found it difficult to find the harbor at night, especially during a storm, resulting in ships running aground.

Between 1846 and 1855, the three previously mentioned sailing ships were doomed because of these inadequacies.

Fate of the Boston

The side-wheel steamship Boston was built in 1845 and measured 210 feet in length. On Nov. 24, 1846, the Boston arrived in Milwaukee from Buffalo, N.Y., but was unable to enter the inner harbor due to the shallowness of the harbor mouth. The ship instead docked at the extended pier to discharge its cargo.

At around 8pm that evening a horrific storm came out of the northeast. Seeking safety, Captain William T. Pease again attempted to take the ship through the harbor mouth into the inner harbor, but the Boston was caught by the powerful gale and lost its smoke stacks, rendering the engines useless.

Anchors were lowered, in hopes of riding out the storm, but the strong winds dragged the Boston southward and around 11pm the ship struck bottom about 150 feet off the shore of the present-day St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis. Help arrived and all the crew and passengers were rescued.

The surf broke over the ship, which filled with water. The remaining smoke stack hung limply over the side. An organ destined for an Episcopal church was rescued, as well as cabin doors and panel work, and the vessel’s engine.

Full story...

By Jake New - Indiana Daily Student

The only pirate cannon ever recovered from the Caribbean has made its way to IU.

The centuries-old, chloride and coral-covered cannon that once belonged to the infamous Captain William Kidd was unveiled Thursday in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

One of 26 cannons beneath the clear waters just 70 feet off of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, it was first examined by Archeologist and IU’s Office of Underwater Science Director Charlie Beeker and his team in 2007.

The 17th-century cannon is believed to have come from the Cara Merchant, a ship commandeered by Kidd, which he then abandoned in 1699 shortly before he was tried and hanged for piracy. The ship had been missing ever since.

“When we first looked at it, we knew that the Captain Kidd wreck was being hunted for by treasure hunters in this area,” Beeker said.

“As an archeologist, it just looked like the right time period. We read through all of his testimonials from his trial, and it just seemed like it was matching.

So we wrote a report to the government saying, ‘We’re going to do more research, but this could be Captain Kidd’s shipwreck.’”

With funding provided by a partnership between IU and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the cannon has been carefully transported to HPER’s underwater research lab for a five-year study.

The 300-year-old weapon will undergo a series of tests and experiments in its stay, but Beeker said the primary concern is conservation.

Read more...

Beaucoup a été dit ou écrit sur l'histoire du trésor du Pollux et de sa tentative de récupération en 2000, mais bien peu sur l'histoire complète et la réalité des faits.

Et surtout, l'ignorance de la majorité s'est rapidement transformée en nouvelles légendes qui laissent tout un chacun rêveur, pour ne pas dire amusé.

Cette fois, la vérité a enfin été mise à jour grâce à l'excellent documentaire sur le magazine télévisé Thalassa (FR3) du vendredi 29 janvier, "Les Chasseurs de Trésors", L’affaire du Polluce, un reportage de Régis Michel et Ettore Malanca de Pacifico Island Productions.

Toutes les responsabilités ne sont pas là où les biens pensant le suggéraient !

D'ailleurs, les histoires de naufrages commencent toujours par plus de questions que de réponses, celle incroyable du Pollux, en 1841, n'échappe en rien à cette règle fondamentale.

L'histoire de ce drame de la mer et des diverses tentatives de sauvetage sont les pièces maîtresses d’une chronique rocambolesque couvrant plus d’un siècle et demi, et mélange  tragédie, mensonges, cupidité, passion et même politique. Digne des plus grands épisodes romanesques.

Cette véritable histoire a défrayé les chroniques maritimes et judiciaires jusqu'à nos jours, et pourtant, épisode jusqu'alors parfaitement inconnu du grand public.

Une dépêche émanant du Consulat de France à Civitavecchia indique en 1841:

« Le  Pollux (sarde), capitaine Lazzolo, de Civitavecchia à Livourne avec 45 passagers, parti le 17 juin à 5 heures du soir s’est perdu en collision, près de l'île d'Elbe, à 11 heures du soir avec le Montegibello (napolitain), de 200 chevaux, venant de Livourne dans son premier voyage.

Le Pollux a coulé à fond rapidement. Un seul passager, le capitaine napolitain Castagnola s’est noyé. Les passagers ont tout perdu et ont été conduits à Livourne. Le Pollux a coûté 450.000 Francs et désormais les passagers préfèrent voyager sur les bâtiments de guerre plus sûrs.

Parmi les passagers, se trouvait un capitaine de commerce napolitain dont le navire avait lui-aussi naufragé le mois dernier. Il se rendait à Marseille pour prendre un autre commandement.

Ce malheureux marin, le seul qui a péri, était remonté à bord pour prendre des papiers dans sa chambre et a coulé avec le navire ainsi que deux cents colis et onze groups d’or et d’argent ». L'histoire du trésor englouti est né, avec toutes ces légendes...

En 1936, les opérateurs de la célèbre SORIMA (Società Ricuperi Marittimi) avait bien essayé de repérer l'épave, mais le mauvais temps les avait vite obligé à renoncer. Puis le Pollux fut oublié..

Ce n'est qu'en 1992 que la COMEX, par l'intermédiaire de son Président, Henri Germain Delauze, décide d'aller repérer l'épave grâce à l'épais dossier que j'avais patiemment réuni dans mes recherches en bibliothèques et autres dépôts d'archives dans toute l'Europe. Le site de l'épave est alors repéré avec le navire Minibex en moins d'une heure et quasiment identifié.

Pourtant, ce n'est pas le Pollux qui sera déclaré aux autorités maritimes, mais un autre bateau naufragé dans les parages... Cinq ans passèrent et notre contrat de collaboration devint caduque.

An 2000 : Je négocie un contrat avec un groupe d'Anglais qui créé une société à cette occasion et décide de récupérer le trésor du Pollux, à l'occasion de  d'un autre contrat qu'ils avaient pu obtenir auprès des autorités anglaises pour la récupération d'une cargaison d'étain perdu par le Glenlogan lors de la Première Guerre Mondiale, coulé lui-aussi, dans les eaux italiennes !

Manipulations ? C'est sûr ! Mais comment les autorités de Toscane de l'époque ont pu laisser travailler un bateau de 50 mètres pendant plus d'un mois et à seulement quelques milles de leurs côtes, sans demander plus de précisions ??

Un véritable trésor en pièces d'or et d'argent, bijoux, pierres précieuses et autres objets de grande valeur est remonté à la surface... Avec une benne-preneuse.

Je suis alors pris aussi dans un tourbillon que rien ne peut arrêter; les anglais sont les maîtres d'œuvre et je ne peux que les suivre dans leur projet qui est aussi le mien à l'origine.

Le trésor remonté arrive ensuite à Londres pour être vendu aux enchères, mais un coup de téléphone anonyme averti les Carabinieri italiens, qui appellent Interpol à leur tour et Scotland Yard. Tout est saisi et sera rapidement envoyé au musée de Florence, en Italie.

Mais l'histoire est encore bien plus compliquée que cela, avec son épilogue en 2008, car un procès a lieu à Porto-Ferraio, île d'Elbe, à l'issu duquel les faits sont finalement prescrits par le juge en fonction.

Entre temps, un journaliste italien véreux "s'appropriera" l'histoire et la découverte du Pollux. Plusieurs expéditions officielles italiennes seront mises en place et encore plus d'objets précieux seront récupérés...

Aujourd'hui, cette saga est d'autant plus d'actualité, qu'un livre est désormais en préparation, ainsi qu'un film de fiction...

Peut être le prochain James Bond !?

La suite au prochain épisode...!!!

From Ana Mpa

The Culture Ministry intends to designate a shipwreck off the tiny uninhabited Cycladic isle of Polyaigos, in the central Aegean, as a "underwater archaeological site" after completion of an initial examination of finds that surfaced during recent marine digs, according to a ministry announcement.

Divers on the maritime excavations in November 2009 recovered vases dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC from depths of 25-49 meters off the coast of Polyaigos

Aquatic archaeologists brought up such artifacts as amphorae used for carrying, and small table ceramic vases, all intact, as well as fragments of the shipwrecked vessel's anchor.

A team from the the underwater antiquities Ephoreia comprised of archaeologist-divers Elias Spondylis, George Koutsouflakis and Efstathios Stathis, depth technicians Petros Tsampourakis and Ludwig Mersenier, and underwater photographer/cinematographer Vassilis Mentoyiannis, in November made an initial exploration of the wreck site, which had been spotted in 2004.

The ancient vessel was loaded with amphorae, which are scattered around the wreck in two main concentrations.

An analysis of the amphorae recovered dated the wreck to between the end of the 5th century BC and the first half of the 4th century BC.

At least three types of amphorae were identified, of which one originated from ancient Peparithos (the island of Skopelos), while the others were closely identified with Classical Era amphorae workshops of the northern Aegean.

Four of the intact amphorae recovered were pointed-bottom carrying vessels, while the other two intact amphorae were smaller ceramic table vases.

From the Indiana University

The first pirate's cannon recovered in the Caribbean is resting in a Hoosier underwater science lab at Indiana University Bloomington under the watchful eye of archaeologist Charles Beeker and other researchers and students.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the world's largest children's museum, announces its partnership with IU to provide funding for the transport of the 17th century relic.

Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science in IU Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, has been authorized by Dominican Republic authorities to bring the cannon to his lab for five years of study and conservation.

"This is a great opportunity for Indiana University faculty and students to obtain hands-on experience during the conservation of this unique artifact that has created such international interest," said Beeker, who traveled to the Dominican Republic recently to oversee the shipping.

Read more...

By Ashley Newman-Owens - Wrightsville Beach Magazine

The story should stop at the testimony of the first mate. But, of course, it doesnt.

Had you been among the hundreds enjoying the beach that late summer Sunday afternoon, chances are you would have seen her the three-masted schooner William H. Sumner, making her way northward. Built in Camden, Maine, in 1891, she registered 489 net tons, measured 165 feet in length with a 35-foot beam. 

The Puerto Rican-owned ship was chartered for the phosphate trade and was, on this day Sunday, September 7, 1919 bound from San Juan for her home port in New York, carrying 850 tons of phosphate, as well as 56 mahogany logs and 30 tons of iron wood.

The boat was in the hands of a crew of eight. They were the West Indian seamen Leonida Edassarias, Aylando Frank, Aylando Quinonnes and Ramon Gonzales; the steward, Charles Wallace; the second mate, P. J. Antione of Louisiana; the first mate, Charles Lacey, of Mobile, Alabama; and the skipper, Robert E. Cochrane (Cockram, Corkum) a 24-year-old from Bath, Maine, voyaging on his first command.

Cochranes recent promotion had come at the end of five years, during which he and Lacey served as first and second mates under former Captain Williams.

Had you happened to be possessed of nautical savvy, it might have struck you as peculiar perhaps worrisome for the craft to be drifting so close to shore that Sunday afternoon.

Around 5 p.m., perhaps 5:30, you might have puzzled over what difficulties the captain must be having.

But you would have gone home to dinner, and the rest of the night would have passed without event. It wouldnt have been until noon the following day that word of any mishap would have traveled to shore.

The bearer of that word ? The first mate, Charles Lacey.

By David Moore - The Arab Tribune

An underwater archaeological team has been diving and excavating core samples for the past week from Browns Creek.

The purpose was to ensure that a new intake line Arab Water Works wants to bury in the creek bed will not destroy old graveyards or other significant archaeological sites that have been underwater since TVA flooded the wide creek plain in 1939 while creating Guntersville Lake.

The good news for AWW is that preliminary findings show the route for the 36-inch lines - part of a $6.6 million upgrade - shouldn't disturb anything more than sediment and clay.

That was expected, but from a purely archaeological standpoint, said Dr. Michael K. Faught, the findings were less than spectacular.

"It was not exactly Atlantis," he laughed, lighting up a weathered face under a braided ponytail.

"But it's intriguing and a good way to make a living and protect resources."

Read more...