IU archaeologists hot on the trail of Columbus' sunken ships

Indiana University ^ | July 27, 2006 | Tracy James

[SunkenCiv]

Indiana University archaeologists are confident they are closer to discovering some of Christopher Columbus' lost ships -- and the answer to a 500-year-old mystery, "What was on those ships?"

"The discovery of a Columbus shipwreck, let alone the finding of the flagship Mariagalante, would be a tremendous contribution to maritime archaeology," said Charles Beeker, director of Academic Diving and Underwater Science Programs in IU Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. "Perhaps more important would be the cargo. Were the ships laden with native Taino Indian artifacts heading to Spain? Such a find would shed new light on the nature of the contact period between the Old and the New Worlds."

[SunkenCiv]

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The IU research team carries the anchor from La Isabela Bay.

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[SunkenCiv]

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[RightWhale]

Decked or open bottom?

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, that's kind of a personal question...

[Publius6961]

This is a subject near and dear to me, as I spent the first few years of my life on the "mosquito coast".

The area east and north of the Zelaya Department of Nicaragua consists of thousands of square miles of shallows, extending an average of 100 miles off the coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras.

In fact, during his fourth and final voyage, Columbus lost a few ships in a huge storm, and it was only rounding the eastern tip of Honduras/Nicaragua that his fleet found relief, and to this day the area is known as Cabo Gracias a Dios or "Cape thanks be to God".

That there are many ships in the area, in addition to his, comes as no surprise. It is subject to seasonal tropical storms and it's a long way to the edge of the continental shelf.

[SunkenCiv]

thanks.