Researchers believe that they discovered a shipwreck that may be about 200 years old 150 miles off the coast of Galveston. They consider this discovery the most significant in the gulf’s history.
"It may well be the most significant find ever made in the Gulf of Mexico," said Andrew Sansom, the executive director of the Meadow Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University in KeyeTV.
The ship, which name has not been identified yet, may have sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during the 1800s at the height of the Texas fight for independence. The researchers from the Texas A&M University at Galveston and Texas State University ended their recovery mission of the two-masted sailing vessel on Wednesday. The mission lasted for a week and had received private funding of around $2 million.
It was first discovered in 2011 by a Shell Oil gas survey crew while checking their pipe line route. They sought help to the Texas University because the government did not have the funds for the exploration.
Some of the things recovered from the ship, which is about 4,300 feet below sea surface, include spices to fight sea sickness, swords, cannons, muskets, and clothing. These things made their assumption stronger as they believe that the ship may have been a warship or a transport ship of arms and soldiers. Possible passengers of the ship are the Mexican army who fought for the Texas independence.
The researchers aim to name the ship by next year. The artifacts found from this sunken ship will be displayed in Galveston on Thursday. The researchers have listed about 60 artifacts and have done extensive mapping and documentation of the site before and after the excavation. One of their interesting find was three British muskets that were produced in North America during the 1800s.
