Ballast Scatter at Looe Key

An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Scattered Ballast Rock
From an Unknown Shipwreck at Looe Key.

In October 1993, an archaeological reconnaissance was conducted off the eastern end of Looe Key in the Florida Keys. The survey was performed by a group of Florida State University students as a class project and at the request of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. The site had previously been surveyed during the summer of 1985 as a Seacamp Archaeology Project and was thought to be the wreck of a bilander type vessel named Betty, a merchant vessel which sank in conjunction with H.M.S. Looe in 1744. An extensive scatter of ballast rock was located at that time.

FSU students and staff relocated the ballast scatter, documented its extent and condition and compiled data to be utilized in an attempt to identify the shipwreck from which the ballast scatter was generated. This data has yielded a site map depicting the general outline of several areas of ballast stone scatter and a list of the location, size and type of more than 250 individual ballast stones. Three small pieces of very thin copper (possibly hull sheathing) and one apparent concretion were also located and mapped. At the time of this report, the identity of the shipwreck from which the ballast originated has not yet been determined. However, the presence of copper hull sheathing and the variety of ballast stones discovered, indicate that the wreck may be that of a 19th century merchantman.