Approximate GPS coordinates to the Satisfaction wreck site: 9.261661, -79.928518
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EXPLORE > SECRETS OF SHIPWRECKS
Within a year of each other, marine archaeologists began to excavate the long buried remains of two of history’s most famous pirate ships. Satisfaction was the flagship of English privateer Captain Henry Morgan. Operating under the sanction of the British king, Morgan terrorized Spanish ports and shipping lanes from 1663 until his retirement in 1674. Privateering was a common war tactic used by many nations during this era. Mercenary crews were often very successful at disrupting the trade of rival countries but avoided prosecution by their own as would normally befall ordinary pirates. During an ill-fated raid on a Spanish stronghold in Panama, Morgan’s ship was sunk along with several others in his fleet in 1671. The wreckage was found in 2011 on the Las Lajas reef near the mouth of the Chagres River. It is currently being excavated by a scientific team headed by the Texas State University in cooperation with the U.S. National Park Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the government of Panama. |
Dive on Captain Morgan's Shipwreck: A 17th century shipwreck, possibly part of Henry Morgan's lost fleet of 1671, in Panama.
The same year, private archaeologists working off the coast of North Carolina announced they’d positively identified wreckage of Queen Anne’s Revenge, the infamous warship captained by Edward Teach who was better known by his pirate name — Blackbeard. The ship had run aground in 1718 but Blackbeard and his crew abandoned the vessel before it sank. The wreck had been discovered in 1997 but wasn’t positively identified as the pirate captain’s floating fortress until mounds of artifacts were raised from the ocean’s bottom and carefully analyzed.
The hands-on scientific work on both of these pirate shipwrecks is undertaken by a unique type of scientist known as a marine archaeologist. Like all archaeologists, these individuals use a variety of investigative tools and techniques to piece together the past — but they do much of their work in the ocean, bays, lakes, rivers or other large bodies of water.
The hands-on scientific work on both of these pirate shipwrecks is undertaken by a unique type of scientist known as a marine archaeologist. Like all archaeologists, these individuals use a variety of investigative tools and techniques to piece together the past — but they do much of their work in the ocean, bays, lakes, rivers or other large bodies of water.
Queen Anne's Revenge Exhibit: Right now the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC is displaying relics excavated from the final resting place of Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. This feature will give you a taste of what can be seen in the exhibit, with commentary from the museum's maritime curator, Paul Fontenoy. This segment was created for Time Warner Cable's show, Around Carolina.
Underwater Detective Work:
Discovering long-lost pirate ships may sound like something out of an adventure novel, but marine archaeologists must have the same discipline, education and experience as anyone else in that profession.
Regardless of where an archaeologist excavates, his or her goal is always to unearth, record and analyze artifacts in a very controlled way. Detailed measurements and images will be created throughout the dig. Hand tools (usually made of plastic so they don’t corrode in salt water) will be used to gently uncover buried artifacts. To remove large amounts of sediment, the marine archaeologist may employ a hose attached to a dredging engine. This device works similarly to a household vacuum cleaner and can move hundreds of gallons of water and hundreds of pounds of under water sediment every minute.
As complex as it sounds, underwater excavations can be easier to undertake than those on land. A scientist in SCUBA gear can float above an excavation site without the danger of crushing anything underfoot. Additionally, many organic objects such as bone, seeds, plant fibers and wood are actually better preserved in water because they are not exposed to high levels of oxygen which aids in decomposition. Excavators have to be careful when removing these objects from the water however, as sudden exposure to air can result in destructive chemical reactions. As a result, such objects are “stabilized” in water solutions and slowly dried out.
In other ways, exposure to salt water can obscure or destroy artifacts. For example, when working on the Queen’s Anne Revenge, investigators uncovered “artifact conglomerates,” or clusters of metallic objects which fused together as they deteriorated in the salt water. These conglomerates had to be taken apart like a puzzle before scientists could fully understand their components. Some of the items removed from the conglomerates included canvas bags filled with lead shot, nails, glass and spikes which would be fired from cannons at enemy crews. According to the archaeologists, these devices were designed to maim rather than kill — and their use certainly helped increase Blackbeard’s reputation as a cruel and ruthless pirate.
Researchers working in Panama found equally intriguing items among the sunken superstructure of Henry Morgan’s Satisfaction. Many intact cargo boxes have been removed from the reef, all heavily encrusted with coral which has to be meticulously removed before the boxes can be opened. What the boxes contain will remain a mystery until that time, but it could include anything from liquor to gold and silver!
Related Features: Youth Activities: SCUBA Diving | Youth Activities: Treasure Hunting | Wreck Diving
Regardless of where an archaeologist excavates, his or her goal is always to unearth, record and analyze artifacts in a very controlled way. Detailed measurements and images will be created throughout the dig. Hand tools (usually made of plastic so they don’t corrode in salt water) will be used to gently uncover buried artifacts. To remove large amounts of sediment, the marine archaeologist may employ a hose attached to a dredging engine. This device works similarly to a household vacuum cleaner and can move hundreds of gallons of water and hundreds of pounds of under water sediment every minute.
As complex as it sounds, underwater excavations can be easier to undertake than those on land. A scientist in SCUBA gear can float above an excavation site without the danger of crushing anything underfoot. Additionally, many organic objects such as bone, seeds, plant fibers and wood are actually better preserved in water because they are not exposed to high levels of oxygen which aids in decomposition. Excavators have to be careful when removing these objects from the water however, as sudden exposure to air can result in destructive chemical reactions. As a result, such objects are “stabilized” in water solutions and slowly dried out.
In other ways, exposure to salt water can obscure or destroy artifacts. For example, when working on the Queen’s Anne Revenge, investigators uncovered “artifact conglomerates,” or clusters of metallic objects which fused together as they deteriorated in the salt water. These conglomerates had to be taken apart like a puzzle before scientists could fully understand their components. Some of the items removed from the conglomerates included canvas bags filled with lead shot, nails, glass and spikes which would be fired from cannons at enemy crews. According to the archaeologists, these devices were designed to maim rather than kill — and their use certainly helped increase Blackbeard’s reputation as a cruel and ruthless pirate.
Researchers working in Panama found equally intriguing items among the sunken superstructure of Henry Morgan’s Satisfaction. Many intact cargo boxes have been removed from the reef, all heavily encrusted with coral which has to be meticulously removed before the boxes can be opened. What the boxes contain will remain a mystery until that time, but it could include anything from liquor to gold and silver!
Related Features: Youth Activities: SCUBA Diving | Youth Activities: Treasure Hunting | Wreck Diving