BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. — The waters off of North Carolina's coast, already known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” have produced yet another shipwreck — this one unidentified and currently sitting on the beaches of Bald Head Island.
A 200-year-old ship was discovered on the beach of Bald Head Island last month
Research is ongoing on the wreck dating back to the 1800s
The future of the artifact is yet to be decided
The piece of the past washed ashore on Bald Head Island in February, but it's just now being inspected and researched by the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology.
The sand on the island's beach had been holding a shipwreck from 1800s captive unbeknownst to everyone on the island. The wood and nails were actually buried prior to this, only to be uncovered by the pounding waves of a king tide last month.
“This is the first time that we're seeing it, it was never revealed before,” Kimmy Holman with Bald Head Island said. “It actually was buried under the sand here and the king tide that came in washed all the sand away and revealed it.”
It's just a fragment of the ship it would've been 200 years ago, but considering its age and a life at sea, a remarkable portion of beams are still held together by nails the size of stakes.
Knowledge of the ship and its origins is very basic at this point, but archaeologists are continuing their research. The dilemma comes with the fact that this ship could've sunk miles from where it's currently located and been moved by the very waves that revealed it.
“It is pretty cool and so everyone who walks by is amazed by what it is,” Holman said. “I know that North Carolina has a lot of shipwrecks all over, which I wasn't aware of, but I do think it's pretty interesting since it's from the 1800s.”
It's currently resting on the beach just outside of the water's reach at low tide, but as neat as it looks and for all the attention it draws from those who pass by, it can't stay on the beach without being a hazard to the residents and vacationers on the island. The future of the artifact will be decided once research on the vessel is complete.