NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Park rangers in Canada have discovered a centuries-old shipwreck in an area known for its many maritime disasters.
The shipwreck, which happened more than 200 years ago, is believed to be the Swift, a privateer ship that sank on September 27, 1812.
En route from Bermuda to Newfoundland, the Swift sank along with the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Barbadoes and the schooner Emeline.
WINTER STORMS REVEAL 17TH-CENTURY SHIPWRECK ARRESTED ON ARMED CARIBBEAN TRIP
The discovery of the wreckage – and subsequent research – was two years in the making.
The discovery was announced by Parks Canada officials last month. The team was first made aware of the location in February 2024 after team members found a tow wheel bearing the British Royal Navy logo.
Parks Canada officials announced the discovery of a 100-year-old shipwreck believed to be the Swift, which sank in 1812 near Sable Island. (Parks Canada)
“A member of the Parks Canada team later found a bronze piece with broad arrow stamps and an Admiralty stamp dated January 1810 from Portsmouth, supporting the possibility that we discovered a small piece of Barbados – we know from historical accounts that the ship was being repaired in Portsmouth,” the statement said.
“Sable Island is an unusual place to mine, because it’s made up mostly of loose sand.”
More pulley wheels and copper sheathing were uncovered until officials finally found a sloop-sized piece of shipwreck made of Bermudan cedar.
The artefacts appeared to be from Barbados – while part of the shipwreck points to the Swift.
2,000-YEAR-OLD Roman Shipwreck TREASURE FOUND WHERE WRECKED
“In the beginning, only three logs came out of the sand,” said the statement. “We believe the crash was Swift’s.”
Sable Island has a reputation as “the graveyard of the Atlantic,” a Parks Canada spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The crash site was first identified when only small logs were visible above the sand, according to officials. (Parks Canada)
The official cited more than 350 recorded shipwrecks since 1583.
Most pieces of shipwrecks, however, cannot be traced back to specific events unless they have “sufficient distinguishing features.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The officer said, “Sometimes, it takes luck.”
The spokesman added that drilling was difficult due to Sable Island’s windy, challenging and unusual conditions.
“We are very pleased with the discovery of the accident,” said a Parks Canada official. (Parks Canada)
Officials worked with Mi’kmaw archaeologists and underwater and terrestrial archaeologists to excavate and document the wreck, adjusting their paths to the shifting sands of Sable Island.
“Sable Island is an unusual place to mine, because most of it is made up of loose sand,” the spokesman said.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LIFE NEWSLETTER
“We used sandbags to stabilize the shore, then removed the sand from the crash site. We also used a skid to help remove the heavy sand, then switched to hand tools to avoid further damage.”
During the documentation process, archaeologists covered the shipwreck with sand to protect it.
“The shipwreck we found was very far from the current coast, so we’re still piecing together how it got there.”
What stood out most to the archaeologists, the official said, was the scale of the accident.
“Many pieces of shipwrecks on Sable Island tend to be small pieces lying on the surface or in the intertidal area,” the spokesperson noted. “This crash was unusual in both its completeness and its nature.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS
The official added, “This discovery is very exciting to us, because if we can confirm it, it is one of the rare times that anyone has been able to link a shipwreck that happened on Sable Island to a historic shipwreck that happened before the 20th century.”
A Parks Canada statement noted that “much is still unknown about the ship, how it ended up on Sable Island and how its crew spent time on the island while awaiting rescue.”
The site was found to be much further from land than expected, raising new questions about how the accident unfolded over time. (Parks Canada)
“The shipwreck we found was very far from the current coast, so we are still piecing together how it got there, as the island moves a lot over time,” the announcement said.
The news comes a year after another archaeological discovery on Sable Island – albeit a more recent one.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Last spring, officials announced that a message in a bottle from 1983 had washed up on the shores of Sable Island — and it still smelled of gin.
