Santa Maria

There has been a lot of speculation and interest lately surrounding the potential discovery of Christopher Columbus' famous Santa Maria ship. The Santa Maria was one of three ships used by Christopher Columbus on his maiden voyage. In fact, due to her weight and number of masts, she was the largest of the three ships, but also the slowest. Each of these design features had their advantages, and although she was slow, her weight made her durable, which meant she was the perfect ship for crossing the Atlantic. The Santa Maria met her fate after crossing the Atlantic.

On December 24, 1492, just off the coast of Haiti, the crew of the Santa Maria began to celebrate and raise a glass in honor of Christmas. Unfortunately, it was this that led to the sinking of the Santa Maria. After a voyage across the Atlantic, which was thought to be the more dangerous part of their journey, the crew all began to fall asleep after a night of drinking. She sailed the Santa Maria to Cuba with a young boy, running aground and sinking the next day. 522 years later, underwater archaeologist Barry Clifford claimed to have found the wreck.

What proof does he have?

Barry Clifford (pictured right) is an experienced underwater archaeologist responsible for the discovery of the wreck of Whydah, the first fully verified pirate ship, so his reputation enhances the validity of his claims. In addition, he has more than 30 years of experience in underwater archaeology, which means that it can easily be argued that his claims are valid.

Mr. Clifford had strong evidence that the location of the wreck he found was the same location where the Santa Maria sank. He collected recordings from Columbus' diary and used a marine magnetometer to narrow his search to a very small area. Additionally, he used his early discoveries of Columbus' fort, which is believed to have been built near the actual wreck of the Santa Maria, to further prove that the shipwreck he found was the Santa Maria. With the evidence gathered by Mr. Clifford, it can be safely assumed that he was looking in the right area.

Mr. Clifford also measured and photographed the wreck, and these measurements provided further evidence that the wreck he found was the Santa Maria. The results of this search were so convincing that an experienced underwater archaeologist found a wreck in the general area where the Santa Maria sank and the size of the wreck roughly matched the size of the Santa Maria.

So what happens next?

Mr. Clifford has conducted a full excavation of the wreck under the protection of the Haitian government, as shown below. In due course he will be working with the History Channel to fully excavate the wreck and determine if it is indeed the Santa Maria. This will make for a very interesting documentary and prove the identity of the wreck, which will have an even further impact.

What does the discovery of Santa Maria mean for archaeologists and historians?

If the shipwreck is indeed the Santa Maria, then this is significant in terms of discovering more about Christopher Columbus and his exploration of South America. Professor Jon Adams, Director of the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton, commented, "If it is the Santa Maria, it would be a major discovery. You could argue that it is still important because it is archaeologically important in terms of materiality, but it is also socially important because of its historical significance." His colleague Dr. Fraser Stelter also commented, "If it's Santa Maria, it's very significant because it comes with its story. The discovery of any ship from that period would be very interesting in itself." Both Professor Adams and Dr. Stelter emphasized that the true discovery of Santa Maria will have a significant impact on our understanding of history.

Most importantly, it was the flagship of Christopher Columbus, famous for his discovery of South America and one of the first explorers to truly map out the identity of the world as we know it today. The widespread coverage of this discovery is a testament to the fame of Columbus and his ship. Even 500 years after her sinking, people continue to order replicas of her model, which we built ourselves, as shown on the right. Building this model was initially very difficult because of the difficulty in obtaining ship plans for a ship as old as Santa Maria.

Ultimately, the discovery of the Santa Maria will add to our knowledge of many things, including the design of ships during this period, Columbus' voyages; the discovery of South America, the list goes on. Perhaps most importantly, it will allow us to learn more about Christopher Columbus' first voyage and how this civilization shaped the geography of the world today.

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