Seas and oceans around the world are teeming with wrecks. More or less old ships, sunk during naval battles or victims of the elements, which are sometimes quite fascinating. Especially when the wrecks in question are at the center of a little creepy or at least curious stories.
1. Antikythera
It was in 1900 that divers discovered the wreck of this boat off the Greek island of Antikythera. The first thing to surprise them is the crazy amount of corpses all around. However, a closer examination of the site revealed that what they had taken to be bodies were in fact statues. It has been 2000 years since this Roman ship sank, spilling its cargo. A load in which was also discovered a disturbing object: a kind of mechanism capable, thanks to various gears, of mapping the phases of the moon and the position of the sun, but also of predicting 223 years of eclipses. So far, no such sophisticated and ancient device has been found anywhere.
2. The World Trade Center ship
It was during construction work following the World Trade Center attacks that the wreckage of a strange wooden ship was found in the ground, right next to the site of the Twin Towers. Several searches made it possible to discover that the boat dated from the beginning of the 1770s. However, the reasons for its location are not very clear. Some experts have claimed that it may have been part of the land that at the time was backfilled to build part of Lower Manhattan.
3. The mystery boat
In general, when you find a wreck, you always end up finding its origin. Not here. This wooden vessel, discovered in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, has never been identified. Not at the moment anyway. An obviously quite old boat, in which a stove, several plates and glass bottles, but also weapons have been updated. Impossible then to know if it belonged to an army, to pirates or if it was about a ship carrying travelers. It is also of course not known why it sank.
4. The intact wrecks of the Black Sea
About forty ships were found in the depths of the Black Sea. All representing the same particularity: their exceptional state of conservation. And yet, some date from the Byzantine Empire. The oldest having sailed around the year 330. The exceptionally high level of salt in the sea explains this phenomenon. The salt preventing any proliferation of microorganisms that usually eat wrecks.
5. The Lusitania
It was the biggest ship in the world. The Lusitania which left for its final voyage, in May 1915, before being torpedoed by a German U-boat. World War I had started and this tragic accident, which claimed the lives of 1,197 people, prompted the United States to join the fight. But why did the Germans target this boat when it was only carrying civilians? Perhaps precisely because it was not only transporting civilians but also ammunition. In any case, this is what research confirmed. The British government having refused to recognize that the ship was then participating in the war effort in an indirect way. It was not until 2014 that the authorities changed their minds.
6. The Andrea Doria
It was in 1956 that this Italian ship sank off the coast of Massachusetts. 46 people died. Since then, the wreck has attracted many divers and is known to be extremely dangerous. 16 explorers lost their lives there when they found themselves trapped in this veritable tortuous labyrinth.
7. HMS Terror
The story that inspired the cult book Terror by Dan Simmons as well as the excellent series The Terror … It was in 1845 that HMS Terror and its twin the Erebus set out to find a passage through the Arctic. Finally stuck in the ice, the crews had to manage to survive in extreme conditions. 106 sailors left the wrecks. No one ever heard of it. The HMS Terror was never found again… In 2016, however, a dramatic twist: the Terror was discovered intact 24 meters underwater.
8. The Mary Celeste
A wreck which in fact is not. It must be said that the story of Mary Celeste is not current. A boat which was discovered, totally emptied of its occupants, intact, off the Azores, on December 4, 1872. An authentic ghost ship. It was later reported that everyone had stepped out after believing that the hull was taking on water or that the load of denatured alcohol had emitted fumes which had driven the crew nuts. It seems that a giant squid attacked the boat ... The fact remains that the ship was subsequently put into service again before being deliberately scuttled in the context of a dark attempt at insurance fraud.
9. The Baltic Ship
Discovered in 2009, this astonishing wreck could not be explored until 2019. The opportunity to verify that its condition was truly remarkable. The specialists having affirmed that it was as if the boat had sunk the day before. A ship over 500 years old, lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, similar to those used by Christopher Columbus and Leonardo da Vinci. The researchers thus found cannons, intact masts, a boat and several other things that the particularly low temperature of the Baltic sea allowed to preserve.
10. The mysterious Breton ship
It was while searching for the famous ship La Cordelière, off Brest in Brittany, that researchers uncovered a rather intriguing wreck. One thing is certain: it is not La Cordelière, this Breton ship sunk in 1512. However, nothing allows them to truly identify the building. Research was launched in 2019 to try to learn more.
