<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Restoration done on French ship that sank off Texas 330 years ago

By The Associated Press
Published: June 18, 2016, 8:49pm
3 Photos
This undated photo provided by Texas A&amp;M shows the La Belle, one of four ships under the command of French explorer La Salle. A team of archeologists has completed the restoration of the partial remains of the frigate that was carrying French colonists to the New World when it sank in a storm off the Texas coast more than 300 years ago.
This undated photo provided by Texas A&M shows the La Belle, one of four ships under the command of French explorer La Salle. A team of archeologists has completed the restoration of the partial remains of the frigate that was carrying French colonists to the New World when it sank in a storm off the Texas coast more than 300 years ago. (Texas A&M University via AP) Photo Gallery

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Archeologists have finished restoring the partial remains of a frigate that was carrying French colonists to the New World when it sank in a storm off the Texas coast more than 300 years ago.

The restored remains of the La Belle’s hull will be put on display at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas A&M University said in a statement Friday.

“When excavated, the archaeological site was found full of merchandise — everything requisite to form a colony and establish trade — knives, axe heads, pottery, tiny glass beads, bottles and brass pins,” Peter Fix, Texas A&M’s watercraft conservator, said in the news release. “Personal items including clothing, combs, and even a signet ring were found, and also weaponry such as long guns, lead shot, sword parts and three bronze cannons.”

The 54-foot-long oak frigate sank in 1686 during an expedition led by famed Mississippi River explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle. Faulty maps led the colonists to miss their intended destination, the Mississippi River delta, and end up more than 400 miles away along the Texas coast.

The loss of the La Belle is blamed for dooming France’s further exploration of what would become Texas and the American Southwest.

The keel and other large structural pieces were discovered in 1995 by Texas Historical Commission archaeologists. Researchers built a dam around the site, pumped it dry and then retrieved the nearly intact hull, which had been preserved in up to 6 feet of mud. In 2012, the 600 waterlogged pieces were taken to Texas A&M, where the timber was stored at 60 degrees below zero in the world’s largest archaeological freeze-dryer to remove more than three centuries of moisture.

Loading...