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Researchers have found a previously unknown shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina. Upon examining the artifacts onboard, the team revealed that the “sunken treasure” most likely dates back to the American Revolution.
Members of the expedition included experts from North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of Oregon. The discovery was made was made with the help of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI’s) robotic autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). It took place earlier this months, on July 12, 2015, while the team was onboard the research ship Atlantis.
Some of the artifact found onboard the sunken ship included iron chains, red bricks, glass bottles, a metal compass, an unglazed pottery jug, wooden ship timbers, and some other navigational instrument that could be the primitive version of either an octant or a sextant.
Expert archeologist who studied the images say that the objects look like they’re from the late 18th century, or possible the early 19th century. It’s a moment in time when trade by sea was quickly gaining momentum.
Cindy Van Dover, expedition leader and director at Duke University’s Marine Laboratory, gave a statement saying that this is an exciting and rare finding that serves as proof that with all of our modern day technological advancements that allow researchers to access and explore difficult corners of the ocean, the deep sea still hides many secrets.
She went on to add that she previously held four (4) other expeditions to this same exact site, and even though the experts were aided in all of them by submersible research technology, no one had the smallest clue that the shipwreck was just within 100 meters of the team.
David Eggleston, principal investigators and director at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), gave a statement of his own, stressing that the new technology currently being developed “to explore the deep-sea” often reveals not only information about our oceans, but also information about our history.
Image Source: newsobserver.com
