Learn

Most of us are familiar with the story of the Titanic, the famous ship that hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sunk into the Atlantic Ocean. The submerged Titanic was discovered in 1985 by French and American scientists. During the next several years, many sunken artifacts from the famous ship were brought to the surface. Although the story of Titanic and its recovery is a fascinating piece of history, it is not the only sunken ship that has been found in the depths of the oceans. In fact, there are dozens of ships that have been discovered (and hundreds more that are still undiscovered) that are much older and carried many more valuables than the Titanic.

Just think of all the information we can find out from discovering an old sunken ship. We can uncover information about the history of the people living at the time, uncover great artifacts and pieces of art as well as many pieces of gold and precious stones that were once carried on these great vessels. We have listed below a summary of just a few of these recently discovered ships, along with the history of the voyage, when the ship is believed to have sunk and what treasures have been found or are presumed to be located somewhere within the sunken ship. If you find these stories fascinating, do some research on your own and discover more information about these sunken treasures of the past!

The HMS Sussex: The HMS Sussex was a large 80-gun English warship that was built during the reign of William and Mary (1689-1702). In 1694, the 500 men crew set sail to protect England and its allies from French invasion. Unfortunately, the ship encountered a severe storm and went down near the Strait of Gibraltar. New evidence suggests that this ship was also carrying valuable treasures to give to the Duke of Savoy, who was a shaky ally to England at the time. The ship is presumed to have been carrying gold and silver coins worth up to four billion dollars today!

Needless to say, the HMS Sussex and its treasures never made it to the Duke of Savoy, who eventually allied with the French. Many historians believe that if this ship and its treasures had made it to the Duke of Savoy, he would not have allied with the French, which could have altered the outcome of the war. We will never know for sure what would have happened if the HMS Sussex was not lost at sea.

A private American company has recently discovered what they believe to be the HMS Sussex! Current negotiations between this private company and the British government are underway to decide on the best methods to search and excavate material from this old ship.

The Vrouw Maria: The Vrouw Maria was a Dutch ship which was carrying valuable paintings by Dutch masters from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg, Russia. The ship sunk in 1771 near the cost of Finland when it encountered a storm, lost its rudder and rammed into a rock. The ship was carrying food items, clothing, paintings and other valuables to Catherine the Great.

In 1999, a Finish team of explorers discovered this sunken ship relatively intact and in very good condition on the ocean floor. Historians and marine archeologists are extremely excited about finding this ship almost completely intact because it will teach them a lot of information about 18th century seafaring life.

The ship and its contents are currently being mapped and documented. It’ll probably take several years before the ship (and hopefully the valuable paintings!) are brought to the surface.

The Mary Rose: The Mary Rose was a warship built between 1509-1511 and served in King Henry VIII’s navy for over 30 years until the ship sank off the coast on England in 1545. Many historians believe that the ship was sunk by French cannon fire, but other evidence suggests that the ship was sunk accidentally. The Mary Rose (the ship is said to have been named after Princess Mary, who was Henry VIII’s youngest sister) was one King Henry VIII’s favorite ships and was one of the first ships able to fire broadside.

The sunken Mary Rose was discovered in 1971. The next several years were spent carefully documenting and excavating items from the ship. The entire Mary Rose was finally raised to the surface in 1982 on live TV. Over 19,000 items have been removed and studied from this great ship which has taught us a lot about ship design and construction at the time as well as information about the life and customs of the people who lived during that era is history.