From December 10, 1997, to January 10, 1998, IMH conducted a detailed survey of a historic shipwreck in Kingstown Harbor with the assistance of the Academic Diving Program at Florida State University. The Organization of American States and the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines supported the expedition to explore and document the archaeological site.
A report summarizes the activities of the survey team during the month-long study. During that time, the team collected a significant amount of information regarding the archaeological nature of the site. This information, which is archived and maintained by IMH, includes measured site and artifact drawings, photographs and video recordings, and detailed notes of surface features. Although the shipwreck remains unidentified, the composition of the site and artifacts recovered suggests that the vessel is French and dates to the late 1770s or early 1780s.
The original web site for this project was built to communicate information about the shipwreck and project in 1997 and 1998. It was updated live from the field during the investigative phase and received numerous awards, heralded by Yahoo! as the first “virtual shipwreck excavation.” It featured an interactive site map as well as a slideshow of artifacts and more. We hope to have the original project site back online soon!