Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'recovery'.
-
A great article that goes in to not only the ship, its history and relevancy to Canada and Britain, but more importantly (and somewhat applicable to any GAoP shipwreck as well), the legalities of excavating the wreck. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/09/09/franklin_expedition_recovery_of_shipwreck_artifacts_bodies_must_follow_diplomatic_agreement.html And another good article: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/09/10/franklin_mission_mystery_hugely_significant_british_experts_says.html
-
Coastie's thread on the Astrid started me thinking about how ships were salvaged back in GAoP. Like many landlubbers, I tend to think of a "lost" ship as sitting on the bottom of the sea without a trace remaining, forgetting that ships, like the Astrid, can be sitting on the rocks with not only their masts but substantial parts of their hulls above water. Such a ship might not be out of reach of 18th century recovery technology. We hear frequently of wrecker-pirates, who swarm out onto a wreck and strip her, or even lure a ship onto the rocks with false lights; how did they go about getting the loot? The one contemporary source I know of about 18th century salvage is Johnson's passage about the 1715 Spanish plate fleet. So, they had "diving engines." What kind of engines might those be? Was this work for slaves, or free men? What could be salvaged besides coin? Are these wrecks partly showing above water, or completely submerged? Etc.