Search for Historic Shipwreck to Resume Off Lewes Beach
April 14, 2005
Dover, April 14, 2005 - The Delaware Department of State announced today that the next phase of the search for a possible shipwreck off Lewes Beach will begin next week. Divers will begin combing the sea floor and excavation trenches to recover artifacts as part of a survey to verify whether an 18th-century shipwreck exists in the location, and if so, to determine the nature, extent, and significance of the historic vessel.
Daniel Griffith, director of the newly formed Lewes Maritime Archaeology Project, will coordinate the efforts of a team of professional archaeologists and local volunteers in the search for the shipwreck and the analysis of thousands of broken artifacts that washed up on Lewes Beach last fall after the completion of a beach replenishment project near Roosevelt Inlet.
The project team will hold a news conference on Friday, April 22, to report on the discoveries to date.
Preliminary analysis of the highly fragmented artifacts indicates the presence of a shipwreck from the third quarter of the 18th century, which was disturbed by sand dredging operations during the beach replenishment. Artifacts include numerous paver bricks, shards from glass and ceramic containers, domestic glassware fragments, shards from dishes, bowls, cups and plates, metal toy figurines, furniture fittings, and clay pipe and bowl fragments. The majority of the artifacts are of English and German manufacture.
The current interpretation is that the artifacts are from a small ship making a local commercial delivery into the colonial port town of Lewes. Underwater archaeologists from Dolan Research, Inc., under contract to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, completed a preliminary survey of the dredged areas in early March. The survey consisted of remote sensing, including magnetometer and side-scan sonar as well as two brief inspections of the sea floor by divers.
The investigation beginning next week will focus on several targets resembling shipwrecks found elsewhere, and will provide complete mapping of the most promising targets. The survey will also assess the degree of damage to any shipwreck caused by the dredging.
This phase of the offshore investigations will last two weeks. Upon completion of the investigation, project officials will submit a report to the Department of State fully describing the wreck and its nature, condition, extent, and history. The report will also make recommendations for further investigations. Officials will hold a public briefing to report on the findings and next steps.
In January, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs granted an exclusive, six-month permit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the archaeological survey under authority of the State Antiquities Act (7 DeCode Ch.53). Shipwrecks embedded in the bottom of state-controlled submerged lands are property of the State of Delaware, as provided for by the federal Abandoned Shipwreck Act and accompanying guidelines (43 U.S.C. 2101-2106).
No party without a permit may anchor, dredge, dive, remove objects from the sea floor, or in any way remove, disturb, or alter an underwater archaeological resource or artifact or its surrounding location or context. Violators will be subject to severe penalties set forth in Delaware Code. The permit areas are being monitored by state law-enforcement officials.
