The Highbourne Cay Shipwreck: Past, Present and Future

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Plus Ultra: An examination of current research in Spanish Colonial/Iberian Underwater and Terrestrial Archaeology in the Western Hemisphere." , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the late-15th and early-16th centuries, the Spanish and Portuguese seaborne empires dramatically influenced most continents and societies on the planet. Despite these impacts, most specific knowledge of how these ships were built, sailed and managed are unknown. One of the few examples of an early-16th century Iberian ship, the Highbourne Cay Shipwreck located in the Exumas, Bahamas, was salvaged in the 1960’s, partially excavated in the 1980’s, and revisited again in 2017. This presentation will discuss some of the recent ship construction features recorded and analyzed to date as well as the potential for future research at the site. It will also look at the possible historical identities associated with the ship, the wrecking event as it is currently understood, and the challenges and opportunities associated with revisiting a site that has now been investigated three distinct times over a period of fifty years.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Plus Ultra: An examination of current research in Spanish Colonial/Iberian Underwater and Terrestrial Archaeology in the Western Hemisphere.

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 903