Secrets Unearthed: Legendary Pirate Treasure Shipwreck Discovered Off Madagascar’s Coast
Identifying The Wreck Of The ‘Nossa Senhora Do Cabo’ Near Madagascar
Center for Historic Shipwreck PreservationA map of the shipwreck site, which was identified near the small island of Îlot Madame near Nosy Boraha.
The identification of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo shipwreck took time. According to the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation, archaeologists engaged in “over two decades of fieldwork” in order to identify the wreck, which was discovered among other 17th and 18th shipwrecks in the harbor of Îlot Madame, a small island near Nosy Boraha in Madagascar. Between 1999 and 2015, experts tried to determine if one of the shipwrecks was the Nossa Senhora do Cabo, whose capture was well-documented, though its fate was unknown.
“In spite of extensive historical records describing the Nossa Senhora do Cabo‘s capture and its eventual sinking, the precise location of the shipwreck has remained uncertain, sparking debate among historians and archaeologists alike,” the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation noted.
However, researchers unearthed a number of clues that suggested one of the shipwrecks at the site was, indeed, the Nossa Senhora do Cabo.
During the underwater excavation, they recovered more than 3,000 objects and fragments “indicative of a high-status vessel engaged in long-distance trade.” The objects included porcelain from China, Indo-Portuguese religious sculptures, “Mughal-period” ceramics, coins from Europe, African shells, and exotic spices. These artifacts, as well as a study of the ship’s timber and the identification of a nearby cannon, seem to strongly suggest that the ship is the Nossa Senhora do Cabo.
Post Comment