200-year-old shipwreck found in Gulf of Mexico
Muskets, bottles and plates found at site
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NOAAOxidized copper can be seen on the bow of the ship. -
NOAAGlass bottles and plates were found at the site where a ship sunk 200 years ago in the Gulf of Mexico.
A 200-year-old shipwreck has been found off the Gulf Coast. The ship is filled with glass bottles, ceramic plates and boxes of muskets, according to Live Science.
The ship was discovered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"Artifacts in and around the wreck and the hull's copper sheathing may date the vessel to the early to mid-19th century. Some of the more datable objects include what appears to be a type of ceramic plate that was popular between 1800 and 1830, and a wide variety of glass bottles, said Jack Irion, a maritime archeologist with the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
"A rare ship's stove on the site is one of only a handful of surviving examples in the world and the second one found on a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico."
Discovery.com noted there could have been several events that led to the sinking of the ship including the War of 1812, events leading to the Texas Revolution, and the Mexican-American War.
According to CNN, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requested that NOAA investigate the site after it was originally detected as an "unknown sonar contact" by Shell Oil Company during a 2011 oil and gas survey of the Gulf.
The group of researchers were more than happy to take on the mission. Frank Cantelas, a maritime archeologist with NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research told CNN, "Shipwrecks help to fill in some of the unwritten pages of history. We explored four shipwrecks during this expedition and I believe this wreck was by far the most interesting and historic."
This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.
