In France, divers explore the wreck of a 16th century sailing ship

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Maritime archaeologists from France have begun further excavations on the wreck of the 16th century wooden merchant ship Sanguinaires C.

The researchers will try to answer a number of questions concerning wreckwhich rests at a depth of 19 metres at the mouth of Bays of Ajaccio. And it has to be said that the surveyed position of Sanguinaires C is extremely interesting.

As a result of the work so far, archaeologists have determined that Sanguinaires C, is the wreck of a 16th century merchant sailing vessel. The researchers described the type of ship as a “northern European” vessel, but their curiosity is aroused by the cargo. The objects found during earlier work come from Genoa.

The work on the Sanguinaires C site is being carried out by archaeologists from the Association for Underwater Archaeological Research(ARASM) and the Department of Underwater and Underwater Archaeological Research, Department of National Competence of the Ministry(DRASSM).The French Navy, which has joined the researchers as part of a long-term research programme, will additionally lend its support to the archaeologists.

Wreck of a 16th century sailing ship Sanguinaires C was discovered by archaeologists in 2005. Researchers see the remains of the 16th-century unit as a unique discovery. During the work so far, the divers have already collected many interesting artefacts and made partial documentation of the wreck. Thanks to the photographs taken, the specialists created, among other things, photogrammetric 3D models.

Interestingly, the entire wreck is covered by a large stone mound 18m long, 12m wide and 2.80m high. The research so far has established that the ship is the remains of a solid oak vessel. The sailing ship was carrying a cargo of dolomite limestone, a set of Pisan and Ligurian pottery from the early 16th century.

This year’s works archaeologists They started on 20 September and will continue until 16 October. With a lot of support, the researchers hope to make their activities much more effective. The main objective is removal of stone layerto safely access the covered part of the wreck. The archaeologists also intend to carry out further photogrammetric models.