Secretary of State Unveils Shipwreck Signs on Reopened Lewes Beach
Signs Ask Visitors to Take Discovered Artifacts to Zwaanendael Museum
May 19, 2005
LEWES BEACH - Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor today unveiled new signs at Lewes Beach to educate visitors about the artifacts from an 18th-century shipwreck that continue to wash up onshore. The new signs encourage beachgoers who find artifacts to take them to the nearby Zwaanendael Museum for examination.
Hailing the efforts of local volunteers, who have worked closely with the Department of State's Lewes Beach Archaeology Project to collect thousands of artifacts, Secretary Windsor said, "This is your beach, and we want to thank the volunteers who have been out here-in all kinds of weather-to assist in this effort." Volunteers have donned snow shoes in the winter to comb the beach for treasures. They have spent vacation time to help out, and have assisted in nearly every aspect of the venture.
Windsor was joined by other state officials, including Lewes Mayor Jim Ford, and by volunteers from the Delaware Marine Archaeological Society and the Archaeological Society of Delaware, who are heavily involved in the community effort to retrieve, process, and identify the artifacts. The items are from what is believed to be a sunken 1760s-era cargo ship just offshore. The beach has been closed since December so that archaeologists could collect valuable pottery, glass, and other items from the ship that were deposited on the beach during a offshore dredging operation to replenish Lewes Beach.
The new beach signs installed today inform visitors that they may either donate artifacts to the museum or keep with they find. The state encourages people to bring the items to the museum to be identified and possibly photographed.
Lewes Mayor Jim Ford praised the "excellent coordination between the state and city" and the "friendly tone" of the signs, which foster community involvement in the project.
