Archaeologists uncover unexpected twist in shipwreck mystery after clues don't add up

Archaeologists thought they had identified a historic shipwreck along the Massachusetts coast — but a closer look revealed a new mystery.

In late September, the remains of a historic shipwreck captured national attention after a powerful nor'easter exposed weathered wooden beams along the shore of Nantucket.

At the time, officials suspected the wreckage belonged to the Warren Sawyer, a three-masted schooner that sank in 1884 and whose remains had previously been documented in the same area in 2022 and 2023, according to The Associated Press.

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The ship was carrying 1,115 bales of cotton and 28 tons of scrap iron from New Orleans to Boston when it ran aground on Dec. 22, 1884, according to the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources (BUAR).

The captain and seven crew members were rescued, and Nantucket residents spent two weeks recovering hundreds of bales of cotton. 

Archaeologists are investigating the remains of a mysterious shipwreck exposed along Nantucket's shoreline following a powerful nor'easter in September. (Nantucket Current)

Another storm eventually tore the vessel apart.

But over 140 years later, a new discovery complicated the story when officials announced last week that the wreckage did not match previously discovered remains of the Warren Sawyer.

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In an Oct. 8 news release, the Egan Maritime Institute said archaeologists determined that the wreckage did not match remains of the Warren Sawyer found nearby in 2022 and 2023.

Instead, following an Oct. 7 assessment, state archaeologists determined the remains appear to be a 50-foot-long section of a large merchant vessel dating to the late 19th or early 20th century.

The island of Nantucket, off the Massachusetts coast, recently drew national attention after the discovery of mysterious wooden shipwreck remains. (iStock)

The vessel's identity remains unknown, and researchers are now turning to historical records in the hopes of identifying the ship.

David Robinson, director and chief archaeologist of the BUAR, told Fox News Digital that several clues led him to question the wreckage's original identification.

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During his examination, Robinson noticed the ship's wooden ribs were larger than those found in the previously documented remains of the Warren Sawyer.

He also found differences in the types of wood used to construct the vessels, along with iron fastenings that appeared to date to after the Warren Sawyer sank in 1884.

"Each of these shipwrecks that we see has a story to tell."

"So those clues led us to believe that this probably was not from the same vessel and not Warren Sawyer," Robinson said.

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The wreckage may have come from a schooner barge, a type of merchant vessel commonly used to transport cargo along the East Coast during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Robinson said.

Although shipwreck remains regularly emerge along the Massachusetts coastline, Robinson said the size of the newly discovered fragment makes it unusual.

State archaeologists determined that wreckage exposed on Nantucket likely belonged to a large merchant vessel from the late 19th or early 20th century. (Nantucket Current)

"What's more unusual is for those remains to be a large piece of wreckage like the 50 by 11 foot piece of the side of a ship's hull we saw recently exposed on Nantucket," he said.

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However, he cautioned that the identification remains uncertain.

"This particular vessel might not be a schooner barge as it would be more likely that schooner barges would be towed through Nantucket Sound rather than the open ocean south of the island," he said.

"About the best we can hope for is to maybe narrow down a list of possible candidates and apply a weight of evidence approach to see what conclusions can be drawn from the available historical and archaeological evidence."

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The Nantucket wreckage was also the first in Massachusetts to receive a tag under a shipwreck monitoring program that allows members of the public to help researchers track remains as they move along the coastline, he said.

Above all, Robinson emphasized the importance of preserving shipwrecks as pieces of history.

Nantucket, an island off the Massachusetts coast, has a long maritime history, with historic shipwreck remains occasionally emerging along its shoreline. (iStock)

"Each of these shipwrecks that we see have a story to tell," he said.

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"Therefore, it's important for us to study, document and learn as much as we can from them and to treat them with the considerable care and respect that any elder would deserve."