Shipwrecks | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/shipwrecks/RSS feed for ShipwrecksenWed, 26 Aug 2026 18:45:17 +0000A Brittle Coating on a 2,200-Year-Old Roman Shipwreck Reveals How Ancient Sailors Kept Their Ships Afloathttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brittle-coating-on-2200-year-old-roman-shipwreck-revealing-how-ancient-soliders-kept-ships-afloat-180989394/Traces of pine tar and beeswax preserved on the vessel reveal the painstaking techniques shipbuilders millennia ago used to protect their ships from the briny deepWed, 26 Aug 2026 18:45:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brittle-coating-on-2200-year-old-roman-shipwreck-revealing-how-ancient-soliders-kept-ships-afloat-180989394/Shipwreck Hunters Discover the Ruins of a British Destroyer That Split in Half During a Tragic Peacetime Accident 118 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-hunters-discover-the-ruins-of-a-british-destroyer-that-split-in-half-during-a-tragic-peacetime-accident-118-years-ago-180989379/Minutes after it collided with a 10,000-ton cruiser, the HMS "Tiger" sank to the bottom of the English Channel. Divers and historians have spent the past four years searching for the Royal Navy vesselFri, 21 Aug 2026 18:04:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-hunters-discover-the-ruins-of-a-british-destroyer-that-split-in-half-during-a-tragic-peacetime-accident-118-years-ago-180989379/Historic Submarine Restoration Reveals a Hidden Connection to a Lost Sister Ship That Sank During World War IIhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historic-submarine-restoration-reveals-a-hidden-connection-to-a-lost-sister-ship-that-sank-during-world-war-ii-180989340/Experts working on the USS "Silversides" found a flood valve that appears to have been destined for its sister ship, the USS "Trigger." The vessel sank in the East China Sea on March 28, 1945Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:01:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historic-submarine-restoration-reveals-a-hidden-connection-to-a-lost-sister-ship-that-sank-during-world-war-ii-180989340/Shipwreck Divers Discovered a 162-Year-Old Bottle of Guinness Brewed During the Reign of Queen Victoria—and They Want to Take a Swighttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/The beer was preserved in a sealed glass bottle and may be safe to sample. The team is also hoping to sequence the DNA of the yeast to recreate what the stout would have tasted like in the 19th centuryWed, 12 Aug 2026 17:28:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/Off the Coast of Sicily, Divers Discovered a Roman-Era Shipwreck With Hundreds of Amphorae, Ancient Jars Frequently Used to Hold Winehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/off-the-coast-of-sicily-divers-discovered-a-roman-era-shipwreck-with-hundreds-of-amphorae-ancient-jars-frequently-used-to-hold-wine-180989307/The site could offer fresh insights into Mediterranean trade routes more than 2,000 years agoMon, 10 Aug 2026 21:53:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/off-the-coast-of-sicily-divers-discovered-a-roman-era-shipwreck-with-hundreds-of-amphorae-ancient-jars-frequently-used-to-hold-wine-180989307/The Danube River Has Fallen to Record-Low Water Levels, Revealing Nazi Warships, Bombs and Woolly Mammoth Bones In Its Channelhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-danube-river-has-fallen-to-record-low-water-levels-revealing-nazi-warships-bombs-and-woolly-mammoth-bones-in-its-channel-180989255/Residents and researchers are finding historic and prehistoric relics as Europe's second-longest river driesTue, 04 Aug 2026 18:20:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-danube-river-has-fallen-to-record-low-water-levels-revealing-nazi-warships-bombs-and-woolly-mammoth-bones-in-its-channel-180989255/Australia’s Most Notorious Shipwreck Tells a Story of Murder, Slavery, Mutiny—and, Now, ‘Surprisingly Sophisticated’ Trade in the 17th Centuryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/When the Dutch East India Company’s flagship "Batavia" sank in 1629, it went down with large, carved sandstone blocks in its hold. The stones are now shedding light on trade at the dawn of global capitalismThu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/This Medieval Byzantine Shipwreck Boasts More Gold Treasures Than Any Other Vessel Found Beneath the Mediterraneanhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-medieval-byzantine-shipwreck-boasts-more-gold-treasures-than-any-other-vessel-found-beneath-the-mediterranean-180989217/The vessel sank in the Adriatic Sea in the seventh or eighth century C.E. Its cargo included a gold signet ring likely associated with the emperor Heraclius and gold belts encrusted with rubies, emeralds and pearlsTue, 28 Jul 2026 20:07:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-medieval-byzantine-shipwreck-boasts-more-gold-treasures-than-any-other-vessel-found-beneath-the-mediterranean-180989217/This Ship Sank in the Baltic Sea With Presents Bound for a Romanov Czar. Its Cargo Included Champagne, Luxury Mineral Water and Rare Meteoriteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-ship-sank-in-the-baltic-sea-with-presents-bound-for-a-romanov-czar-its-cargo-included-champagne-luxury-mineral-water-and-rare-meteorites-180989198/New research suggests that a shipwreck discovered off the coast of Sweden in 2024 may have been transporting gifts from the German Duchy of Nassau to Alexander II of Russia in the immediate aftermath of the Crimean WarMon, 27 Jul 2026 13:19:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-ship-sank-in-the-baltic-sea-with-presents-bound-for-a-romanov-czar-its-cargo-included-champagne-luxury-mineral-water-and-rare-meteorites-180989198/This Letter Penned on the ‘Titanic’ Days Before It Sank Shares the Perspective of the Ship's Second-Class Passengershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-letter-penned-on-the-titanic-days-before-it-sank-shares-the-perspective-of-the-ships-second-class-passengers-180989174/The letter, now up for auction, describes good weather and bustling activity as the "Titanic" prepared to set off across the Atlantic OceanWed, 22 Jul 2026 17:59:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-letter-penned-on-the-titanic-days-before-it-sank-shares-the-perspective-of-the-ships-second-class-passengers-180989174/New Close-Up Images Reveal the Wreckage of Ernest Shackleton's Last Ship, Now Draped in Discarded Fishing Gear and Teeming With Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-close-up-images-reveal-the-wreckage-of-ernest-shackletons-last-ship-now-draped-in-discarded-fishing-gear-and-teeming-with-life-180989139/The vessel "Quest," found in 2024 off the coast of northeastern Canada, has become a home for corals, anemones and fish. It also holds the leftovers from decades of commercial fishing that happened above it after it sankFri, 17 Jul 2026 16:26:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-close-up-images-reveal-the-wreckage-of-ernest-shackletons-last-ship-now-draped-in-discarded-fishing-gear-and-teeming-with-life-180989139/This Viking Longship Crossed the Atlantic Before Starring in Christopher Nolan's 'Odyssey' as Odysseus' Greek Galleyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thisviking-longship-crossed-the-atlantic-before-starring-in-christopher-nolans-odyssey-as-odysseus-greek-galley-180989137/Hollywood stars including Matt Damon went to rowing camp to learn how to operate the vessel for the new filmThu, 16 Jul 2026 20:27:45 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thisviking-longship-crossed-the-atlantic-before-starring-in-christopher-nolans-odyssey-as-odysseus-greek-galley-180989137/Once the World’s Biggest Passenger Ship, This Metal Marvel That Crossed the Atlantic and Took Immigrants to Australia Has a New Museum Homehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-the-worlds-biggest-passenger-ship-this-metal-marvel-the-ss-great-britain-that-crossed-the-atlantic-and-took-immigrants-to-australia-has-a-new-museum-home-180989130/A new museum dedicated to stories surrounding the S.S. "Great Britain" is about to open in Bristol, where the ship is permanently dry-dockedWed, 15 Jul 2026 20:34:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-the-worlds-biggest-passenger-ship-this-metal-marvel-the-ss-great-britain-that-crossed-the-atlantic-and-took-immigrants-to-australia-has-a-new-museum-home-180989130/Take an Exclusive Look at Three Newly Discovered Medieval Shipwrecks in Menorca's 'Cove of Mysteries'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/take-an-exclusive-look-at-three-newly-discovered-medieval-shipwrecks-in-menorcas-cove-of-mysteries-180989092/Meteorological tsunamis likely sank the 13th-century trading vessels, whose cargo included objects from both Christian kingdoms and Moorish communities on the Iberian PeninsulaThu, 09 Jul 2026 12:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/take-an-exclusive-look-at-three-newly-discovered-medieval-shipwrecks-in-menorcas-cove-of-mysteries-180989092/