The Excavation of HMS Fowey
In 1978, a sport diver "discovered" what he thought was a Spanish treasure galleon in
the waters of Biscayne National Park. He began to salvage the wreck, erasing a segment of the site in a futile search for gold.
Despite the fact that the site was already known to Park Service archaeologists and in the
confines of a National Park, it took a four year long legal battle to establish the federal
government as the owner of the wreck. In the meanwhile, the National Park Service, in
conjunction with Florida State University, conducted field and archival research on two continents
to locate and identify the sunken vessel.
In order to identify the exact location of the wreck (which the salver did not by law have to reveal)
the National Park Service's Southeast Archaeological Center conducted a magnetometer survey in
cooperation with the Park Service's Submerged Cultural Resources Unit and the Florida State
University. Magnetic anomalies pinpointed the location of the site. Preliminary investigations
at this time did not clearly identify the wreck, as there seemed to be a mixture of British and
Spanish artifacts.
Archival research was conducted in Great Britain by FSU student and SEAC
staff member Russell K. Skowronek. British admiralty records indicated that the wreck may have
been HMS Fowey, an English man-of-war lost in the area in 1748.
In the summer of 1983 Florida State ran a field school in conjunction with the Park Service to
investigate the wreck. Park Service archaeologists and University students and staff mapped the
hull remains and artifactual scatter, conducted a controlled surface collection, and excavated
selected portions of the wreck site.
Seventy-five feet of intact structure exist, representing the starboard
bilges from foreward of the mizzen mast to the foremast (ie., most of the
vessel except the bow and stern). Four cannon were observed, and one was raised and transported to
Tallahassee for conservation at the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research laboratory.
The cannon, 9 and 12 pounders, were the correct size for a British fifth rate vessel.
Artifacts recovered, including cutlasses, ceramics, brass buckles, pewter plates, and
wine bottles, were almost all confirmed as British and dated the site to the 1740's, suggesting
the wreck was indeed HMS Fowey. In addition, the hull remains indicated the wreck had a
beam of 36 feet-which was the dimension listed for the Fowey. Also, the documentary
records stated the Fowey lost her anchors and rudder during the wrecking, and the captain
ordered all small arms (save 33 muskets salvaged by the crew) thrown overboard. Neither anchors,
rudder, or small arms were identified in the excavation. All of the evidence points towards this
site as the final resting place of His Majesty's Ship Fowey.
The National Park Service maintains a webpage about
Biscayne National Park.
A painting by William Trotter of what the Fowey would have
looked like at sail.
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