A shipwreck believed to date from the 19th century has washed up on the snow-covered shores of Canada’s Newfoundland.
A team of archaeologists worked to uncover the ship’s mysterious past, extracting parts of the 30-meter (100 feet) long ship before tides pull it back to the ocean’s depths.
The team worked this past weekend and took detailed photographs, video and measurements and collected wood core samples to try and determine the origin of the wreckage.
“We’re hoping to identify the wood species and age of the wood and to identify the make-up of the metal. Those things will give us clues as to its age and origin,” archaeologist Jamie Brake told a news conference on Tuesday.
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An aerial view of an old shipwreck on the shore of Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada on January 30, 2024. (COREY PURCHASE/AFP via Getty Images)
Brake said that the shipwreck’s placement along Canada’s Atlantic coastline is “not ideal” as it continues to get “pummeled” by the ocean.
“It’s in a dangerous spot,” he said. “It’s being pummeled by the ocean and so on. It’s not ideal conditions to try to learn more from it.”
Jamie Brake and Stephen Hull, archaeologists from the Archaeology Office of Newfoundland, take a core sample from a piece of the wreckage of an old shipwreck on the shore of Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada on February 3, 2024. (COREY PURCHASE/AFP via Getty Images)
The wreck was first discovered on the shore of J. T. Cheeseman Provincial Park in late January in an area known for its numerous shallow rocks that have historically been a shipwreck graveyard.
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According to Newfoundland’s Archaeology Office, there are potentially “thousands of shipwrecks” among the rocky coastline.
“There are potentially thousands of shipwrecks in the waters around the Island of Newfoundland and it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of this vessel,” the organization said in a press release.
Neil Burgess, president of Shipwreck Preservation Society Of Newfoundland and Labrador, a non-profit organization which promotes the preservation of shipwrecks throughout the province, explains how you can see the rings of a tree on this piece of wood from the wreckage on February 3, 2024 in Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. (COREY PURCHASE/AFP via Getty Images)
Some believe that Hurricane Fiona, which hit Canada’s Atlantic coastline in September 2022, may have dislodged the ship from the ocean floor.
The community has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to help preserve and transport the vessel.
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“This wreck has captured the imagination of people all over the world and has brought international attention to this humble community of approximately 300 people,” the GoFundMe said. “We believe this shipwreck drifted into Cape Ray for a reason and we want to help tell its story.”
