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Shipwrecks

Bound for Chicago with a hold full of Christmas trees, the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands in a November gale in 1912.

The Newest National Marine Sanctuary Is in Lake Michigan. Here’s How to Explore It

Covering 962 square miles, the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary includes 36 known shipwrecks

A view of the schooner-barge Michigan, which sank in Lake Superior on October 2, 1902, alongside the M.M. Drake

Cool Finds

Three 19th-Century Shipwrecks Discovered in Lake Superior

”[W]e have never located so many new wrecks in one season,” says the director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society

The timbers of a 500-year-old ship rest on the floor of the Baltic Sea. Scholars and divers are studying the legendary wreck.

An Extraordinary 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Is Rewriting the History of the Age of Discovery

In the frigid Baltic Sea, archaeologists probing the surprisingly well-preserved remains of a revolutionary warship are seeing the era in a new way

Divers can explore the wrecks of 14 warships, including the HMS Majestic and HMS Triumph.

Underwater Museum Allows Divers to Explore Shipwrecks From the Battle of Gallipoli

A new undersea park in Turkey preserves boats sunk during the 1915–16 World War I campaign

The metals oxidized over time, creating an enormous mass of coins.

Cool Finds

Israeli Tour Guide on Camping Trip Discovers 1,700-Year-Old Coins

The cache of currency, melded together over the centuries, weighs 13 pounds

Researchers excavating the sunken ruins of Thônis-Heracleion have discovered an array of archaeological treasures.

Cool Finds

2,400-Year-Old Baskets Still Filled With Fruit Found in Submerged Egyptian City

Wicker vessels recovered from the ruins of Thônis-Heracleion contain doum nuts and grape seeds

Researchers used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to capture photographs of the wreck.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Shipwreck Loaded With Wine Amphorae Found Off Sicilian Coast

The vessel dates to the second century B.C.E.

James Delgado, the former director of NOAA’s Maritime Heritage Program, says there is consensus that the Prinzessin Victoria Luise was the “first purpose-built, non-private excursion ship: what we call ‘cruise’ ships today.”

The History of the World’s First Cruise Ship Built Solely for Luxurious Travel

At the turn of the 20th century, a German Jewish shipping executive had an innovative idea for a new revenue stream: the cruise

An Egyptian-French mission found the 80-foot-long ship beneath roughly 16 feet of hard clay.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Ancient Military Vessel in Submerged Egyptian City

Prior to the foundation of Alexandria, Thônis-Heracleion served as Egypt’s greatest Mediterranean port

This facial reconstruction envisions what HMS Erebus engineer John Gregory may have looked like.

Descendant’s DNA Helps Identify Remains of Doomed Franklin Expedition Engineer

New research marks the first time scholars have confirmed the identity of bones associated with the fateful Arctic voyage

“We used five isotope methods in all to provide information on geology, coastal proximity, climate and diet,” says study co-author Richard Madgwick, an osteoarchaeologist at Cardiff University.

New Research

Ethnically Diverse Crew of Henry VIII’s Flagship Hailed From Iberia, North Africa

New multi-isotope analysis illuminates early lives of sailors stationed on the Tudor “Mary Rose,” including three born outside of Britain

During the dive mission, the divers found and captured footage of the ship's bridge, midsection, and bow that had hull number "557" still visible on both sides.

Explorers Survey World’s Deepest Known Shipwreck

The American destroyer U.S.S. Johnston sank on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Sea

Researchers posit that the helmet's owner was a Greek soldier who fought in the fifth-century B.C. Persian Wars.

Was This Helmet Worn by an Ancient Greek Soldier During the Persian Wars?

Found in Haifa Bay, Israel, in 2007, the bronze headgear boasts an intricate, peacock-like pattern

Wreckage uncovered in Thorpeness, along England's Suffolk coast, may belong to an 18th-century collier, or coal-carrying vessel.

Cool Finds

Storms Reveal Two Historic Shipwrecks on England’s Eastern Coast

Archaeologists have only gotten a “tantalizing glimpse” of the vessels, which are currently inaccessible due to Covid-19 restrictions

A bell previously recovered from the wreck of the Whydah pirate ship

Cool Finds

Six Skeletons Found in Wreck of 18th-Century Pirate Ship Sunk Off Cape Cod

The “Whydah” sank off the coast of Massachusetts in 1717, killing all but two people on board

Archaeologists discovered ancient amphorae from Spain and what is now Tunisia.

Cool Finds

Trove of ‘Ancient Treasures’ Found in Shipwreck Off the Coast of Greece

Researchers surveying the seabed surrounding the island of Kasos discovered pottery that holds clues to trade in the Mediterranean

The team's findings reflect the toll of the ivory trade and habitat destruction.

Ivory From 16th-Century Shipwreck Yields Clues to African Elephants’ Decline

Researchers extracted DNA from tusks found in the wreckage of the “Bom Jesus,” a treasure-laden vessel that sank in 1533

Researchers will continue studying the timbers in an effort to determine their age and origin.

Cool Finds

Shipwreck Exposed by Erosion on Florida Coast Could Be 200 Years Old

Archaeologists think the vessel was likely a 19th-century merchant ship

More ships are cruising through Arctic waters but when disaster strikes, there is little information on how it might affect the environment, and little preparation for quick action.

The Race to Study Arctic Waters

In the far north, researchers are scrambling to record baseline environmental data as communities brace for future shipping disasters

Researchers say the sunken ship may hold panels from Russia's famed Amber Room, which went missing during World War II.

Cool Finds

Shipwrecked Nazi Steamer May Hold Clues to the Amber Room’s Fate

Divers have found sealed chests and military vehicles in the “Karlsruhe,” which was sunk by Soviet planes in 1945

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