archaeology


	archaeology


	hundreds of ships have sunk off the coast of the Azores over the past 5 centuries and have turned these waters into one of the most important underwater heritage sites in the world.


	From the 15th century onwards, the good conditions for anchoring at the Bay of Angra do Heroísmo/Island of Terceira made this an obligatory stop for all trade ships returning to the European Continent coming from the Americas, Africa or India, often loaded with precious merchandise.

Many of these voyages ended tragically. The Bay of Angra protected the ships in most conditions, but when there were strong winds or even storms from southerlz directions, it became a dangerous trap. We know today that more than 80 ships sank in the Bay of Angra alone.

Wrecks which sank several hundred years ago, remain untouched, as if in a time capsule.


	In summer 2004, a team consisting of the archaeologist of the Cultural Department of the Azores (DRaC) and the operators of the autonomous research submarine LULA, owned by the Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation, made archeological dives in the area south of the Bay of Angra for the first time.

	With the aid of submarine LULA and a precise underwater navigation system, the crew systematically searched the area around Monte Brasil for archaeological sites up to 70 metres of depth.


	Several anchors and an antique wreck, hitherto unknown and called ”Angra G”, as well as ceramics and several wooden and metallic objects were found during the dives and were documented. The archaeologist was on all of LULA´s dives.

		The wreck discovered was most probably a trade ship on its way back from India to the European Continent and dating from 16th or 17th century.


	For audiovisual documentation, a digital still camera with electronic flash lights and a digital film camera (broadcast quality, recording format DVCPRO50) with HMI lights were used.


	In 2005, parts of the Bay of Angra as well as further areas outside the bay were searched using a side scan sonar. Several archaeological sites were detected. Between June and August, 2006, and in summer 2007, more than 100 interventions were carried out for scanning and mapping the south coast of Terceira up to 100 metres of depth. The side scan sonar was used for detecting sites of possible archaeological interest. Depending on the depth, archaeological sites were verified and documented by divers and archaeologists, or by using submarine LULA. Besides that, the so-called “anchor cemetery”, which belongs to an archaeological park for scuba divers in the Bay of Angra, was documented with the use of an acoustic underwater navigation system. An iron wreck and another two sites probably representing ship wrecks, were detected in the “Baía das Águas”, the bay east of Angra do Heroísmo. These sites have produced a number of wooden and metallic artefacts of archaeological interest, as well as ceramics and even a fragment of Chinese porcelain of an identifiable made.

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