Many people are very fascinated with ship wrecks. We are lured to shipwrecks by the dream and romance of diving for buried treasure. I think everyone, at one time or another, has dreamed of diving for buried treasure; the big adventure that intrigued and romanced us all.

I must admit that I do not know a whole lot about ship wrecks but I am very fascinated with them. When doing a search on the net, typing in "Ship Wrecks" does not return many hits. Most of the hits that it does return are more for scuba diving than anything else.

Now let us try typing in "Marine archeology." Wow!!! over 250 hits. But it does not stop there. What type of ship wreck are you looking for. . . Tall ships, military ships, cargo ships, steam ships, civil war ships, paddle ships, Spanish galleons? In what region of the world?

I have prepared a list of links that I hope will keep you interested and fuel your childhood memories once again. A friend of mine is an aviation buff. So just for him I have added a page on planes wrecked at sea. Click here to jump to that page now.

I must encourage all readers to remember that the Internet is not regulated so read with a critical eye, know who wrote the article or is providing the information. As always your local library has a wealth of information and best of all it is free.

USS San Diego

Sunk by a German U-boat on July 19, 1918 off the coast of Long Island, New York. This link will take you to a page that gives you a brief history of her.

Maravillas

Re-creation from the Log of the Spanish Galleon, Maravilla, 1600

Taken from http://www.sfdj.com/dive/galleon.html

..."The night was dark and starless. Our fleet had been sailing for several hours, attempting to navigate under impossible conditions. Many hours remained before we would obtain a real fix on our position, with the light of day. Increasingly nervous over the danger of shallow reefs and sandbars, the lead ship (the Maravillas) fired a cannon shot as a warning prior to coming about. Unfortunately our sister ship behind us was less than vigilant, and they rammed into the Maravilla amidships, crippling her...."

The Captain of the Maravillas decided to burn the ship in the fifteen foot depth of water found just off the Bahama Banks, to prevent its capture and looting by the Portuguese or pirates. The plan would be to bring a slave ship next year, to salvage the cargo of over one billion dollars in gold (today's value).

In fact, the following year a Spanish slave ship did come to salvage the Maravillas. It brought slaves from Africa who would be bound around the chest with rope, and lowered into the water with heavy ankle weights on. When the slave was able to grab something of value, he could be pulled back up to the surface. Slaves unable to bring up valuable cargo after several attempts would not be pulled back up--a powerful inducement toward effective salvage.

For the Story of the Maravillas, its sinking, and the fall of Spain ...by Hara/Lambos follow this link:

Virtual Museum of Nautical Archaeology

This is a sub-page of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INS). "The Institute of Nautical Archaeology was incorporated as the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology in 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a nonprofit scientific/educational organization with the purpose of gathering knowledge of human past from the physical remains of maritime activities, and disseminating this knowledge through scholarly and popular publications, seminars, and lectures." (http://nautarch.tamu.edu/INA/index.htm)

The below link is to a sub-page of the INS home page. It lists current archaeological sites by region, Mediterranean, North America and the Caribbean, Lake Champlain, etc . . . This site has lots and lots of pictures and information on all types of ship wrecks.

Museums, Shipwrecks, and Projects

How about a list of current

nautical museums, shipwreck sites, and opportunities to volunteer on underwater excavations

Pointers Nautical Archeology

Looking for a specific shipwreck click here. I highly recommend this site for those of you looking for a specific shipwreck or other link.

Great Lakes Ship Wrecks

Looking for information on ship wrecks on the Great Lakes; following this link to

Great Lakes Shipwreck Research and Diving.

Shipwrecks of Great Britain

Maybe you are interested in the shipwrecks of Great Britain. Here is a web page that has an index of over 100 shipwrecks with links to for more information on the wreck; very impressive!!!

Submerged Cultural Resources Unit

(The National Park Service)

This page gives a synopsis of what the Cultural Resource Unit is about. It has a lot of pictures and many links to current nautical archeology sites. This site is easy to navigate and the links are excellent.

This page was created by Debbie Davis. Information contained in this page is true to the best of my knowledge. However, I encourage anyone who is looking for more information or is just interested in Naval History to go to their local library where you will find a plethora of information. This page was last updated on February 09, 2003 15:37.

This page has been visited times since October 4, 1999.