Marine scientists were out on the waters off the coast of North Carolina when they made a completely unexpected discovery.
A wrecked ship believed to be from the Revolutionary War Era, was found about a mile below the ocean’s surface.
Its presence was detected by the research craft’s automated underwater vessel.
Sonar shows a number of artifacts still survive, including a glass bottle, a jug made of unglazed pottery, and a pile of bricks.
Navigational equipment also appears to have weathered the water’s movements over the centuries.
Preliminary dating places the objects as hailing from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a time when the United States was just beginning to become involved in international trade.
The ship was possibly downed by one of the many storms that battered the region.
Cindy Van Dover, the director of Duke University’s Marine Laboratory, says, “This is an exciting find, and a vivid reminder that even with major advances in our ability to access and explore the ocean, the deep sea holds its secrets close.”
The discovery has been reported to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Heritage Program, which will work to definitively identify and date the find.
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