Archaeologists search for the real Captain Morgan
- On 27/07/2012
- In Underwater Archeology
- 0 comments
From Fox News
To life, love and a legendary privateer’s lost fleet.
U.S. archaeologists are continuing their search for real-life buccaneer Captain Henry Morgan’s lost fleet after the discovery of six cannons, a 17th century wooden shipwreck and even a barrel that may very well contain rum.
Yo, ho ho indeed.
Aptly backed by the Captain Morgan rum brand, a team of leading archaeologists led by Frederick “Fritz” Hanselmann of Texas State University hope to unlock the myth and mysteries of one of history’s most iconic sea captains.
“We’re interested in telling the true story of Henry Morgan,” Hanselmann, who is a director of the Lost Ships of Henry Morgan Project, told FoxNews.com.
“He was a real historic figure who played a significant role in the history of Panama and 17th century politics. Morgan was a legendary figure, even in his time.
He pretty much ran amuck in the Spanish main, culminating in the sack of Panama City. He sacked a city no one thought could be sacked.”
En route to his most infamous plunder and what was then the richest city in the western hemisphere, Morgan lost five ships (including his flagship “Satisfaction”) at the mouth of the Chagres River, at the time the only waterway access to Panama City.
It’s here that Hanselmann and his team began their search in 2010.
“One of the first things we noticed was a series of cannons on the reef where Morgan’s ships ran aground,” Hanselmann said, an indication that the team was on the right track.
They are now trying to narrow the search for where the ships might be using a magnetometer -- a large metal detector towed by boat -- to pick up irons or metals buried in the sand, which has led to them to their first shipwreck, which may have been one of Morgan’s.
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