In 1985, a group of bronze cannons, resting at a
depth of 10 meters South of the Gulf of Guinea, were found on a long sand
barrow, held in place by a thick layer of metallic ingots.
An examination
by the Department of Underwater and Undersea Archeological Research (DRASSM) identified the wreck as that of the Mauritius, a
ship of the Dutch East Indies Company (V.O.C) that sank on 19 March 1609 off
Gabon.
In 1986, prior to excavation work, a meticulous survey operation was conducted with side-scanning sonar, sediment prober, magnetometers, sonar, and divers in order to establish the precise specifics of the wreck.
While the ship's structure was subjected to a detailed study, an impressive number of objects were recovered: from thousands of metal ingots to tiny pepper corns, a small bronze bell, china, and parts of armament were all buried with the Mauritius.
A few othe ships of the Indies Company were also excavated, such as the Sussex or the Prince de Conty.
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Bronze cannon and zinc ingots recovered from the madrepore.
The cargo of zinc ingots attracted the researchers' particular attention: 18,000 to 22,000 zinc ingots, with a total weight of 122 tons, covered the site. The majority of these were in the shape of small plano-convex, circular or oval trays. A metallographic study revealed that they were zinc ingots of particular purity. This makes it plausible that the zinc came from Japan, even though their shape is that of Chinese archetypes.
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| Pepper corns on a zinc ingot.
Spices seem to have been the primary cargo of the Mauritius. During the excavation, thousands of peppercorns of three varieties were found. |
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Chinese porcelain The site held a small quantity of Chinese "blue and white" porcelain from the Wan Li period (1573-1619). |
| Pummel of one of the seven bronze cannons that were recovered.
Twenty-eight pieces of armament, nine of them made of bronze, and some richly emblazoned and inscribed, were recovered. They underwent a long process of conservation by electrolysis. The cannons were made between 1587 and 1604 in miscellaneous European and Oriental foundries. |
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Bronze bell.
This bronze bell is one of the most remarkable finds. On it, the name of the master founder, Willen Tonnissen, is recorded. Its sound-bow is decorated with moldings on the lower portion, and ring-shaped borders with floral motifs surrounding a text band on the upper part.
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Excavation : Michel L'Hour and Luc Long (DRASSM).
Photos : Michel L'Hour, Luc Long and Patrice Esnault.
