France | Shipwreck hunters go back in time

(Saint-Clément-des-Baleines) Under a blazing sun, a team of tireless volunteer wreck hunters dives into a calm sea in search of clues to the identity of an 18th-century merchant ship stranded off the coast of the Île de Ré in western France.

Four kilometres from the coast, in sight of the Baleines lighthouse, seven members of the Association for Research and Study of Maritime and River Heritage (AREPMAREF) take turns in groups to scrutinise the seabed.

Using two sediment vacuums connected to the surface by motor pumps, to remove the sand from the archaeological layer, they dissect the area delimited into squares to extract the remains of buried objects or furniture.

Because, since the freediver Eric Le Gall, hunting sea bass in this shallow rocky strip, observed 16 aligned cannons, a real treasure hunt has been orchestrated with some nice discoveries within reach of his fins.

Dislocated ship’s bell, cannonballs and musket balls, bronze candlesticks, navigational, medical and pharmacopoeial equipment, bubbled blue glass, emblazoned cutlery, Louis XV silver or Spanish coins… so many artifacts found during three summer excavation campaigns, the last of which ended this week.

Even rarer are coffee beans that may come from Martinique, in the Antilles, or from Bourbon Island (Réunion), in the Indian Ocean. “This is an exceptional discovery in underwater archaeology, one of three European sites of its kind,” assures Gaëlle Dieulefet, lecturer in archaeology at Nantes University (West), who works closely with AREPMAREF.

Mystery wreck

“For us, the treasure is the identification of this boat and its exact role in history. It’s like a puzzle whose pieces fit together,” says Félix Gomez, the association’s expedition leader.

The first clues support the hypothesis of a deep-sea merchant ship, active between 1740 and 1750, very heavily armed in a context notably of wars with England which was chasing French merchant ships very close to the coast.

“We are dealing with a mystery wreck. It is an unknown shipwreck, which must have been particularly violent, but which is not listed anywhere. We are not aware of any naval battle,” continues Gaëlle Dieulefet, a specialist in the material culture of crews.

“The ship, certainly French, was engaged in circular navigation, which consisted of bringing goods to the colonies of North America before going to the Antilles to stock up on exotic products,” adds the Nantes archaeologist.

The discovery of a firearm part, typical of rifles used at the time in North America, also supports the hypothesis of a voyage to New France, present-day Canada.

After the excavations, the search for the ship’s name is now partly continuing in the Admiralty’s archives.

Applied History

“For some, we were ‘badgers’ in history at school, but the subject is becoming fascinating, we are doing applied history,” jokes Francis Clerin, another freediver, who is also an orthoptist.

Because these wreck hunters are graphic designers, veterinarians, civil servants in the anti-fraud department, salespeople in publishing, teachers or retired military personnel.

This “very prolific” semi-professional association is an “essential link in archaeological research, particularly in the public maritime domain with an immense heritage hidden under water while professional archaeologists are few in number”, judges Sybil Thiebaud, head of the South Atlantic coast at the Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research (Drassm), which supervises research at sea.

Some of the remains recovered were treated and stabilised in the Nantes laboratory Arc’antique before being exhibited on the Île de Ré.

In addition to the excavations, AREPMAREF is also responsible for the inventory of other underwater archaeological sites in the region, which has experienced several millennia of intense maritime traffic.

With at least 250 wrecks recorded between the islands of Ré and Oléron, treasure hunting continues to make enthusiasts dream.