MARINE ARCHAEOLOGISTS STUDYING SHIPWRECK DISCOVER 2 OTHER SUNKEN SHIPS
What’s better than studying one shipwreck? Finding two more shipwrecks nearby! In July 2013, scientists were studying a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. While they were studying that shipwreck, they discovered two other ships. Scientists think that all three ships went down during a storm in the 1800s.
The ships were found in deep water. They were 1.3 kilometers down below the surface. Those three ships are the deepest Gulf or North American shipwrecks that scientists have found. Scientists don’t know much about the ships. They’re not sure about where the ships were sailing or the year that they sank.
The first ship was discovered in 2011. A crew from the Shell Oil Company found it. Workers weren’t sure if it was a shipwreck. They decided to inform the scientist in the U.S. about it. A year later, scientists used an underwater robot to take a look at the wreck. It was 25.6 meters long and 7.9 meters wide. It had six cannons. It looked like a warship.
Were all three ships sailing together? Did they sink at the same time? Scientists think this is what happened. They took thousands of photos of all three ships. The wrecks were within 8 kilometers of one another. It’s likely each ship was carrying fifty to sixty men. They probably all died when the ships sank.
In July 2013, scientists recovered more than 60 artifacts from the first ship. There were gun parts, ceramic cups and dishes, bottles, clothing, and even a toothbrush.
Scientists are excited. They hope the artifacts and pictures will help them learn about the ships’ histories.