May 13, 2014
Ernesto McConnell
Reporter
Headlines
According to underwater explorer Barry Clifford, he has found “the Mount Everest of shipwrecks.” In a shipwreck site off the coast of Haiti, archaeologists believe that they may have found the flagship from Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas: the Santa Maria of 1492. The idea that this wreckage may be the Santa Maria may be new, but the site, itself, is not; Clifford originally investigated the site as in 2003. A cannon found in the wreckage was “misdiagnosed” by archaeologists, causing experts to dismiss the possibility that the sunken ship was of any major historical value. Two weeks ago, based on new research involving the cannons used during the time of Columbus, Clifford and his team returned to the wreckage in Haiti to measure and photograph the wreck. The ship lies beneath the water, in the same area where Columbus claimed the Santa Maria ran aground over 500 years ago. Arrangements are being made between Clifford and authorities to return to the site next month.
