Nick Hunter - Shipwrecks

Ballard, Robert. Titanic: The Last Great Images . Philadelphia: Running Press, 2008.

Ganeri, Anita. The Sinking of the Titanic and Other Shipwrecks (Incredible True Stories).New York: Rosen Central, 2012.

Platt, Richard, and Duncan Cameron. Duncan Camerons Shipwreck Detective . New York:Dorling Kindersley, 2006.

Stewart, James. Shipwrecks (Amazing History). North Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media,2008.

www.livescience.com/19633-6-deadliest-ocean-shipwrecks.html
This web site describes six of the deadliest shipwrecks of all time.

www.maryrose.org
Read the full story of the Mary Rose and the project to restore the ship.

odysseysvirtualmuseum.com/categories/SS-Republic
See artifacts from the SS Republic at this web site.

www.rmstitanic.net
Learn more about the Titanic at this web site.

www.shipwreck.net/ssrepublic.php
Find more information about the wreck and recovery of the SS Republic .

Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum
200 Greene Street
Key West, Florida 33040
www.melfisher.org
This museum has a large collection of artifacts related to the Atocha shipwreck as well as other shipwrecks from the same period.

National Museum of the U.S. Navy
Washington Navy Yard
805 Kidder Breese Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20374-5060
www.history.navy.mil/branches/org8-1.htm
The National Museum of the U.S. Navy has a large collection ofartifacts and other items related to the history of ships in theUnited States.

Titanic Museum Attraction
3235 76 Country Boulevard and Highway 165
Branson, Missouri 65616
www.titanicbranson.com
This museum contains many artifacts from the Titanic as well asinteractive features such as a replica of the ships grand staircase. Themuseum is shaped like the Titanic !

There are regular exhibitions of artifacts from the Titanic at museums around theworld. There are also many maritime museums containing amazing stories and artifactsfrom shipwrecks. Check to see what exhibitions are near where you live.

• Life on a warship in the 1500s : Use what you have learned about the Mary Rose tofind out more about life for sailors in the 1500s.
• Restoring the past : How do archaeologists go about restoring artifacts from ancientshipwrecks, and why are they so opposed to commercial treasure hunting?
• Discover your own shipwreck : This book has only explored a few of the thousands ofshipwrecks around the world. Pick a shipwreck of your own to find out more about.

Newspapers broke the news across Europe. A storm had claimed the Merchant Royal ,which had taken its precious cargo of gold and silver to the seabed close to LandsEnd, at the southwestern tip of England. The loss of the Merchant Royal and its treasurein 1641 meant ruin for merchants and bankers. But for treasure hunters everywhere,the ships fate meant that there was fabulous treasure lying somewhere beneath theEnglish Channel, just waiting to be discovered.

A fleet of English merchant ships sail through a storm. The Merchant Royal wouldhave looked like this.

The search for the Merchant Royal s treasure continues to this day. The latest technology,including diving equipment and submarines, has made it easier for treasure huntersto find riches beneath the waves, but there are still many shipwrecks that have notbeen discovered.

For thousands of years, ships were the only way for people and goods to travel acrossseas and oceans. Often these voyages ended in a shipwreck. Sinking ships took treasureswith them to the seabed. But treasure hunters can discover more than just riches.Wrecks of ships, such as the Civil War-era SS Republic , can give us a window intothe lives of the people who sailed them, through the everyday items they left behind.

Shipwrecks are incredibly fragile. It is important that they are explored by trainedarchaeologists, so that we can learn as much as possible about them and preservethem for the future.

The Merchant Royal was carrying one of the richest cargoes ever lost at sea, includingmore than 500,000 Spanish silver coins and 500 gold ingots.

WHAT CAUSES SHIPWRECKS?

Ships can be wrecked for many different reasons. The immense power of ocean stormscan drive even the biggest ships onto rocky coasts. In the past, wooden ships likethe Merchant Royal could be torn apart by wind and waves.

During centuries of warfare, warships have tried to sink their enemies with cannonsand artillery. Torpedoes fired from submarines were used to sink warships and cargovessels, such as the British passenger liner Lusitania .

Other shipwrecks happen because of freak accidents or collisions. Although shipwreckscan contain treasures for explorers and archaeologists, people must always rememberthat a wreck may have claimed the lives of many people.

Almost 1,200 people died when the Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo in 1915.Many people think the huge loss of life was partly because the ship was secretlycarrying some explosives.