End of shipwreck dig, start of years of study

EXCAVATIONS at the site where the remains of a centuries-old shipwreck were discovered near Oranjemund almost seven months ago have ended – and now the real work of studying what has been hailed as Namibia’s most exciting archaeological discovery in decades at least is set to start.

The shipwreck site, discovered on April 1 and since then shielded from the Atlantic Ocean by a huge wall of sand that diamond mining company Namdeb constructed as part of its beach mining activities along the coast, has now been surrendered to the sea again. The archaeological dig at the site ended successfully on October 10, archaeologist Bruno Werz from the Southern African Institute of Maritime Archaeology told The Namibian in a telephone interview yesterday.Werz, who led the excavations at the site during April and again from September 8, said the last piece of timber of the structure of the ship that met its end on that stretch of Namibia’s desert coast was removed from the site on October 9.All parts of the wreck that were still present at the site were removed, with more than 95 per cent of the shipwreck material recovered before the site had to be abandoned, he said.Thousands of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins, hundreds of kilograms of ivory, tons of copper and tin ingots, the weathered remains of cannons, navigational instruments, tableware and personal effects that must have belonged to the sailors who were on board the ship when it foundered, have been recovered from the site.Werz estimated that a substantial part of the ship’s cargo, a good cross section of personal effects of the ship’s crew, and about a sixth of the length and a sixth of the height of the structure of the ship, which is thought to have been about 30 metres long, were recovered.Werz said the team that had been involved in the dig were exhausted but also elated as their month-long work at the site came to an end.With their work at the site completed, Namdeb carried out its planned mining in the area last week, after which the pumps that had used to keep the site dry were switched off and the maintenance of the wall of sand that pushed back the ocean from the site was stopped, Werz said.Seawater has since then been seeping in under the sea wall, and the site is now under water again.One good storm, and the sea wall should be gone, Werz said.For the archaeologists and the rest of the team that has been working at the site, the real work of studying this discovery is only starting now, Werz said.The ship’s Portuguese origin, and that it had been on an outbound voyage from Portugal, has been confirmed so far, but its name and the date on which it met its end still have to be established with certainty, he indicated.At this stage, though, it is thought that the ship dates back to the 1530s or 1540s, he said.Werz said the excavation would actually end up being only a small part of the project of the study of the wreck.Four people have now begun to make a more detailed inventory of the items recovered from the site.This task is scheduled to continue for the next two weeks still, he said.The archaeological dig at the site ended successfully on October 10, archaeologist Bruno Werz from the Southern African Institute of Maritime Archaeology told The Namibian in a telephone interview yesterday.Werz, who led the excavations at the site during April and again from September 8, said the last piece of timber of the structure of the ship that met its end on that stretch of Namibia’s desert coast was removed from the site on October 9.All parts of the wreck that were still present at the site were removed, with more than 95 per cent of the shipwreck material recovered before the site had to be abandoned, he said.Thousands of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins, hundreds of kilograms of ivory, tons of copper and tin ingots, the weathered remains of cannons, navigational instruments, tableware and personal effects that must have belonged to the sailors who were on board the ship when it foundered, have been recovered from the site.Werz estimated that a substantial part of the ship’s cargo, a good cross section of personal effects of the ship’s crew, and about a sixth of the length and a sixth of the height of the structure of the ship, which is thought to have been about 30 metres long, were recovered. Werz said the team that had been involved in the dig were exhausted but also elated as their month-long work at the site came to an end.With their work at the site completed, Namdeb carried out its planned mining in the area last week, after which the pumps that had used to keep the site dry were switched off and the maintenance of the wall of sand that pushed back the ocean from the site was stopped, Werz said.Seawater has since then been seeping in under the sea wall, and the site is now under water again.One good storm, and the sea wall should be gone, Werz said.For the archaeologists and the rest of the team that has been working at the site, the real work of studying this discovery is only starting now, Werz said.The ship’s Portuguese origin, and that it had been on an outbound voyage from Portugal, has been confirmed so far, but its name and the date on which it met its end still have to be established with certainty, he indicated.At this stage, though, it is thought that the ship dates back to the 1530s or 1540s, he said.Werz said the excavation would actually end up being only a small part of the project of the study of the wreck.Four people have now begun to make a more detailed inventory of the items recovered from the site.This task is scheduled to continue for the next two weeks still, he said.