Provincial archaeologists are on the scene in Cape Ray today, taking samples from, and collecting detailed photos and measurements of a ship wreck that’s captured the imagination of people around the world.
The massive wooden hull, presumably preserved under the sand, and exposed by Hurricane Fiona’s furious wave action, suddenly showed up on the beach last week.
The size of the timbers and the construction methods used suggest that the ship could date to the 1800s but Chief Archaeologist Jamie Brake says it’s too early to speculate whether this particular find is historically significant.
Photo Credit: Gordon Blackmore and Vanessa Hodder
“We’ll have to be cautious about that generally. The chances of identifying which ship this might be down the road are probably not super high,” says Brake, “because of the number of shipwrecks in the area.” What they are hoping to determine however are things like its age and where it might have been built.
The Provincial Archaeology Office is regularly alerted to shipwreck sites around the province, and says the latest find is not unexpected or uncommon.
