Above: the purported anchor of the Santa Maria at Haiti’s du Pantheon National Haitien (CJ Photo)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
An underwater archaeologist believes he may have found the remains of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships.
Archaeologist Barry Clifford says the evidence points to a ship off the coast of Haiti being the remains of the famous Santa Maria ship.
It’s been more than a decade since Clifford has been familiar with the site, but only recently did it become apparent that the ship was in fact Columbus’.
In an interview with the United Kingdom’s Independent newspaper, he said the Haitian government had become “extremely helpful.”
The identification as Columbus’ ship comes from signs that a nearby fort in Haiti was one Columbus mentioned in his own diary.
Columbus sailed on the Santa Maria on his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere in 1492, along with the Niña and the Pinta.
It is said to have wrecked off the northern coast of Haiti and sunk in late 1492.
The Santa Maria, the largest of Columbus’ fleet, has not been entirely a mystery, however; what’s purported to be its anchor has long been on display at Haiti’s Musee du Pantheon National Haitien in Port-au-Prince.