Archaeologists Discover Wreckage of 33 Ships Lost for 144 Years Along Alaska Coastline
Archaeologists Discover Wreckage of 33 Ships Lost for 144 Years Along Alaska Coastline
By AVIANNE TAN
Jan 8, 2016, 2:50 PM ET
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A small anchor; a chain plate, which held rigging used to tighten masts; and an iron knee, which was likely part of the ship's frame.
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Archaeologists have discovered a shipwreck nearly 144 years after 33 whaling ships sank off the Arctic coast of Alaska in "one of the planet's most unexplored ocean regions," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The "battered hulls" of two ships and parts of the other missing 31 were located this past fall, thanks to sonar and sensing technology, NOAA said in a news release this week.
"With less ice in the Arctic as a result of climate change, archaeologists now have more access to potential shipwreck sites than ever before," the NOAA said.
The 33 ships were abandoned on Sept. 12, 1871 after they got trapped in packed ice, NOAA explained. Over 1,200 whalers were stranded until seven nearby ships picked them up. No one died, but the incident is "cited as one of the major causes of the demise of commercial whaling" in the U.S, NOAA said.
More:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/archaeologists-discover-wreckage-33-ships-lost-144-years/story?id=36169589
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