A timber in the Michigan Lake: an archaeological trace of the Griffin (1679)?

Summary

The French explorator Robert Cavelier de la Salle has played a fundamental role in the history of the exploration of North America and the establishment of a French colony in Louisiana. His attempts to install trading posts, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, have been punctuated by two shipwrecks, the one of the Griffon in 1679 and the second one of la Belle in 1686. Built in 1679, south of Niagara Falls, the Griffon sank in Lake Michigan when he joined Michilimackinac with a cargo of furs and numerous items belonging to members of the expedition. Steve Liebert sought for decades the remains of the wreck. The discovery of a piece of wood down by 30 feet of water in the soil of the lake, near Poverty Island, gave him to think he could be a part of the Griffon. An initial expertise conducted in June 2013 by a Franco-American team of underwater archaeologists has yielded scientific results suggesting that the wreck of the Griffin could be found itself near Poverty Island. This communication will present the first results of this scientific expertise.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Search for Le Griffon   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-30,04