De Luna shipwreck rising from the deep
Archaeologists from UWF dive Pensacola Bay
Rebekah Allen
•
rallen@pnj.com• June 30, 2009
A stone cannon ball, a bright green ceramic dish piece, a chicken bone.
These are just a few of the items that have been recovered from a 450-year-old shipwreck sitting under 12 feet of water in Pensacola Bay.
The wreck, designated Emanuel Point II, is part of the fleet commanded by Pensacola's founder, Don Tristan de Luna, University of West Florida archaeologists said.
The underwater excavation is being conducted this summer by about 20 UWF maritime archaeology students.
"This helps us get a better understanding of the people who came here to start a colony — what they brought and what they ate," said John Bratten, anthropology and archaeology department chair. "It also helps fill in the gaps that the historical record doesn't tell us."
The vessel was located in 2006 and identified in 2007 as part of Luna's colonization fleet that made landfall in 1559.
The first ship was discovered in 1992 just a quarter-mile from the original site.
For the past three years, dive-certified UWF students have been slowly digging out areas of the boat and recovering artifacts to record and preserve.
Bratten said the wreck was covered by sand, which has acted as the perfect time capsule, protecting the ship and its artifacts from oxygen, bacteria and tidal action.
This ship is about 13 meters long, half the size of the other ship discovered in the bay. Bratten said an excavation of the first ship, which was named Emanuel Point I for its location, revealed ammunition material.
The second ship, Emanuel Point II, has revealed more personal belongings.
Information gathered by students is shared with other archaeologists and historians before it eventually becomes part of state record.
"It's amazing to be able to physically connect with these people from more than 400 years ago by being able to touch these artifacts," said Irina Franklin, 25, a UWF archaeology graduate student. "We found these chicken bones, and it's amazing to think that someone else was eating the same things that we eat today."
Bratten said many of the recovered artifacts are displayed at UWF's Archaeology Institute and the T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum.
Mercedes Harrold, 23, an archaeology graduate student, said she was drawn to UWF because of its maritime archaeology program.
"It's awesome that we have this opportunity in our own backyard," she said. "We're exploring a 16th century shipwreck. Not many undergraduate or graduate students can say they've done that."
