The News

Florida man claims N.J. shipwreck site

Treasure

Monday, 24 September 2012 08:22

By Marilyn S. D'Angelo

A Florida man has staked his claim to a sunken treasure off the coast of Asbury Park. He posted an ad in the classifieds of a local newspaper announcing to "modern day pirates" that the previously undiscovered 19th century steamship, the Ella Warley, was his for the taking.

It was a clear winter's night in 1863. The Ella Warley was heading south along New Jersey's coast. She was steaming for New Orleans with 30 passengers and cargo worth about $175,000 when she collided with the S.S. North Star. Both ships were damaged, but the Warley never made it back to port. She sank in just 20 minutes, with all her booty still aboard: jewelry, a safe containing $5,000 and at least $8,000 in gold coins.

According to NJ.com,

Allan Gardner, a Florida diver who is seeking to salvage the ship "has asked the courts to recognize him as the sole owner of anything he unearths at the wreck site, a little-known niche of maritime law that would permit the arrest of anyone else who tries to poach his watery bounty."

"Anyone who feels they have a legal claim to the Ella Warley or its contents, be they a family member of a crewman or an insurance company that covered the ship, has until Thursday to notify the U.S. District Court in Newark. If not, it's all Gardner's."

Courtesy; NewsWorks

Post your comment

U.S. makes contribution to the archaeological site Kaminaljuyú

Archaeological

Thursday, 16 August 2012 06:13

Ambassador Arnold Chacón visits the archaeological park Kaminaljuyú

BY SERGIO MORALES

GUATEMALA CITY – The U.S. government donated U.S. $ 50 thousand to the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation 2012 for the preservation and restoration of archaeological site Kaminaljuyú.

Barbara Arroyo, coordinator of the archaeological site reported that the funds will be used to finish the cover of two acropolis and start a conservation project for this and hire experts.

U.S. Ambassador Arnold Chacón said that in five years, Guatemala has received $ 1 million for the preservation of cultural heritage.

"We are interested in American cultural heritage as we have here and there is much academic interest of tourists to come and appreciate the past of Guatemala, "said Chacon.

Arroyo welcomed the contribution of the U.S. government after noting that the government allocation to Kaminaljuyú insufficient for the needs of the park.

"The budget is at around Q350 Q500 thousand a year is minimal, and last year we received over 25 thousand visitors, but with the necessary promotion you can get more," the expert said.

Kaminaljuyú is located in Zone 7 of the capital city, and is of the Maya Late Classic period. The site was inhabited in the year 850 AD. C. However, there is documentation that the city has been inhabited since the year 10 of the same era, and that its construction may have started a thousand years earlier.

Courtesy Prensa Libre

Post your comment

Odyssey to Begin Commodity Wreck Program

Treasure

Monday, 24 September 2012 08:12

Tampa, FL – September 20, 2012 – Odyssey Marine Exploration (NasdaqCM: OMEX), pioneers in the field of deep-ocean exploration, today announced that the company has received project approval and salvage contracts from ship owners for a major multi-year commodity shipwreck program with a potential total recovery value of more than $230 million based upon current commodity prices and related assumptions. The company has negotiated salvage contracts with ship owners that will award 90% of the net recovered cargo value to Odyssey for four separate deep-ocean shipwrecks carrying valuable commodities when they sank. There are additional valuable shipwrecks that do not require salvage agreements that can be added to the program and undertaken while Odyssey has a ship and equipment nearby.

Planning is underway to assemble the necessary ship and equipment for the recovery of these cargoes, which is targeted to begin as early as the second quarter of 2013. Search operations are anticipated to be completed very quickly with the recovery vessel so operations can flow directly from confirmation to cargo recovery. In addition, Odyssey has received an expression of interest from an investment group interest in providing non-dilutive funding to take the project to the stage where it will generate positive cash flow. Odyssey will evaluate this proposal, other potential non-dilutive options, and the possibility of self-funding the operation to determine the best course of action for long-term shareholder value.

Read more: Odyssey to Begin Commodity Wreck Program

Archaeologists discover the tomb of a Maya prince

Archaeological

Wednesday, 15 August 2012 08:35

Archaeologists from the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn have discovered a lavishly adorned tomb of a young prince while excavating in a Maya palace. The discovery was made in a building of the royal palace complex in the Maya city of Uxul, Mexico. The tomb dates from the early 8th century and, in addition to containing the remains of a 20 to 25 years old adult, also revealed numerous valuable burial offerings which point to the noble status of the deceased. © Kai Delvendahl, Uxul Archaeological Project/University of Bonn.

BONN.- Archaeologists from the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn have been excavating for the past four years together with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History in the Maya city of Uxul in Campeche, Mexico. The aim of the excavation project under the direction of Prof. Dr. Nikolai Grube and Dr. Kai Delvendahl is to investigate the process of centralization and collapse of hegemonic state structures in the Maya Lowlands using the example of a mid-sized classic Maya city (Uxul) and its ties to a supra-regional center (Calakmul). Research at Uxul, located close to the border with Guatemala, is being funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

Read more: Archaeologists discover the tomb of a Maya prince

Shark attacks treasure hunter

Treasure

Thursday, 20 September 2012 09:26

TONGA, SOUTH PACIFIC - Kylie Maguire has worked on Ice for four months, a boat owned by wreck-hunting company Tonga Blue. This year the company has been working with the Tongan Government to uncover the area's "hidden maritime past".

The 29-year-old is an experienced diver, surfer, photographer and conservationist.

Kylie's father, Mike Maguire, yesterday told The Northern Star he was told on Monday afternoon his daughter had been attacked by a shark while swimming with another woman, Kim Hands.

"Kylie told me that she didn't see the shark, but it hit hard on her thighs and buttocks," he said.

"She was fighting it ... she doesn't really remember what happened next but then she was back in the kayak."

Doctors who treated Kylie in Tonga estimated the length of the shark to be 3m, with teeth about 25mm across and a 40-45cm bite circumference,

It was possibly a bull shark.

Mr Maguire and his wife, Denise, were originally told that Kylie would recover well in the Tongan hospital.

Read more: Shark attacks treasure hunter

Roman shipwreck found with sealed jars of 2,000-year-old food and wine

Archaeological

Sunday, 12 August 2012 08:10

By Olivia Solon

A 2,000-year-old Roman merchant vessel with a well-preserved cargo including wine and food has been discovered off the coast of Italy.

The ship was first spotted by fisherman, who had pulled some of the amphorae (terracotta, jar-like containers) out of the sea near the town of Varazze with their nets. After tipping off the Carabinieri Subacquei (police divers), the ship was examined using a Pluto remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and later by divers.

They found the vessel to hold around 200 amphorae. When tested they were found to contain a range of perishables including pickled fish, grain, wine and oil. While some of the jars have been broken, it appears that most of them remain sealed. The boat itself is also well-preserved, having been almost entirely covered in sandy mud, although there is some damage caused by trawler nets.

The ship dates from sometime between the 1st Century BC and the 1st Century AD and sank while travelling between Spain and central Italy.

Italian authorities are currently securing the area, preventing fishing and water traffic, until they decide whether or not to raise the vessel. The police are eager to prevent looters from visiting the ship to take "souvenirs".

The discovery comes shortly after the same team found the Transylvania, an English liner that was sunk by a German submarine in May 1917 during World War I.

Courtesy Wired

Post your comment

SS Gairsoppa Recovery Operations Update

Treasure

Tuesday, 11 September 2012 14:52

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 11, 2012 (Press Release) -- Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq:OMEX), pioneers in the field of deep-ocean exploration, today announced that the chartered vessel working on the SS Gairsoppa project, the Seabed Worker, will make a scheduled port call in Cork, Ireland, beginning September 12, 2012. After taking on fuel, supplies and changing personnel, the Seabed Worker will immediately return to the site to continue recovery operations under an extension of the charter agreement.

No materials recovered from the shipwreck site will be landed during this port call in Ireland. Pursuant to Odyssey's agreement with the UK Government, the company will not comment on the status of operations or recovery of cargo until any additional silver recovered has been transported to the secure facility in the United Kingdom.

"As with our port call in August, making our regularly scheduled crew change in Ireland instead of the UK allows us to spend an additional two, or more, working days on the site. As the weather conditions tend to become less friendly in the North Atlantic as we get closer to October, every additional day of operations is important," said Mark Gordon, Odyssey President and COO. "The processing of the silver delivered in July remains on schedule with the first portion available for sale in September. We expect all processing of the silver recovered to date to be completed during the fourth quarter. We're delighted by the recent move in silver prices. If they hold or continue to increase, it will significantly boost the value of this project."

Read more: SS Gairsoppa Recovery Operations Update

'Yo Ho Ho' Divers Find More Pirate Treasure

Archaeological

Saturday, 28 July 2012 10:32

Underwater Archaeologists dig deep for iconic privateer Captain Henry Morgan's lost Caribbean fleet, find various artefacts

For the third year in a row, with the help of the Captain Morgan brand, a team of leading U.S. archaeologists returned to the mouth of the Chagres River in Panama in search of real-life buccaneer Captain Henry Morgan's lost fleet.

The search began in September 2010, when the team discovered six iron cannons belonging to Morgan off the coast of Panama, and continued last summer with the discovery of a 17th century wooden shipwreck, potentially one of the five ships Morgan lost – which included his flagship "Satisfaction" – in 1671 on the shallow Lajas Reef.

This summer, the team returned to Panama to excavate historic artifacts from the shipwreck in hopes of confirming its origin. Throughout the field season, the team recovered a sword, chests, wooden barrels and multiple cargo seals. The artifacts, which are currently housed at Patronato Panama Viejo (Old Panama Trust) in Panama City, will undergo the preservation process before being studied further and verified by London-based experts in English artillery.

"Morgan was one of the most infamous privateers of all time, so for me, this is a chance to use archaeological research to bridge the gap between science and pop culture. Most people associate Captain Morgan with spiced rum, but he was also an iconic historical figure who accomplished incredible feats throughout the Caribbean," said Frederick "Fritz" H. Hanselmann, underwater archaeologist and Research Faculty with the River Systems Institute and the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University who has been leading the team in an effort to locate, excavate and preserve the remains of Morgan's lost ships.

Press Release

Post your comment

Shipwreck Reveals Precious Coins, Rare Pewter Artifacts

Treasure

Monday, 10 September 2012 07:40

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The most important shipwreck of its kind dating from the 1500s was recently discovered by Anchor Research & Salvage SRL.

According to noted pewter expert Martin Roberts "Pewter finds from the 2012 diving season continue to support present hypotheses on date and origin while also surprising collectors and challenging orthodox knowledge of the mid-16th Century pewter trade. The quantity of pewter now recovered definitely makes this the largest single cache ever discovered."

Recovery and preservation efforts are ongoing, according to Robert H. Pritchett, CEO of Anchor Research & Salvage SRL & Global Marine Exploration, saying "…many more discoveries are likely as we bring the latest technology and our full resources online. We've only just scratched the surface."

About Global Marine Exploration, Inc.

Global Marine Exploration, Inc. (GME), a C Corp. is a privately held company headquartered in Tampa, FL.  Visit: www.gmexploration.com

Anchor Research & Salvage SRL is a Global Marine Exploration Inc. company working in conjunction with the Punta Cana Foundation & Sub Aquatic office of the Minister of Culture Dominican Republic.

Media Contact:
Ron Alber
EVP, Director of Communications
809 848 9985
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SOURCE Global Marine Exploration, Inc.

Post your comment

Century old shipwreck mystery solved

Archaeological

Saturday, 28 July 2012 09:38

UK - Pete Hodkin was diving what has been known for many years in diving circles as ‘Wreck 355’ when he discovered the ships bell bearing its real name – The SS Ladoga.

The 52-year-old had gone out about five miles as part of a diving party from Mid Herts Divers on board a boat run by Dive 125 based in Eastbourne.

He had dived to the wreck around 25 metres and was inspecting the ship’s anchor chain around 4.30pm last Saturday when he came across what he thought was an old plate buried in the sand.

“I was swimming along when I suddenly saw something round in the sand,” said Pete. “It was in a jumbled up mess of steelwork.

Click here to see dive footage

“At first I thought it was a plate. As I got a bit closer I thought it could be a bucket but as I picked it up I realised it was a bell. And I thought ‘Wow what a find!’

Read more: Century old shipwreck mystery solved