Archaeologists Find Shipwreck From Vasco Da Gama’s Final Voyage Into The Indian Ocean

In a remarkable discovery, researchers might have found the vessel that took the famous Portuguese explorer on his last voyage into the Indian Ocean.

The shipwreck lies close to Malindi in Kenya and has attracted the attention of many archaeologists. Although the ship was found in 2013, on a coral reef around 500 m off the coast of Kenya, it sank 500 years ago and could be Vasco da Gama’s ship, Sao Jorge.

Scholars from the University of Coimbra, the National Museum of Kenya and the Bergen Maritime Museum are working to ascertain the ship’s identity.

The shipwreck has yielded many artefacts and the findings were published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology. Prominent artefacts found in the wreck include elephant tusks and copper ingots and timbers from its hull.

Vasco da Gama took a pioneering route from Europe into the Indian Ocean and was the first person to find a sea route which linked Europe and Africa. He was also the first to sail around the Cape of Good Hope on the southernmost tip of Africa which led to the beginning of Portuguese trade in the Indian Ocean.

Throughout his life, Vasco da Gama took four journeys in the Indian Ocean, the last in 1524 which had an armada of 20 vessels, including Sao Jorge.

The Sao Jorge sank later in 1524 before the death of Da Gama. Per researchers, it is one of the earliest shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean.

The researchers stated that the provisional dates of the artefacts point to the ship on a journey to India.

To confirm if this is really Da Gama’s ship, the archaeologists will perform surveys of the coral reefs nearby stretching 25 km from Malindi to Ras Ngomeni Cape.

There are many Portuguese shipwrecks in and around Malindi. In the 1500s, the Portuguese began constructing galleons which could be used in war and exploration of the Oceans. They have 3 or 4 masts and could be equipped with artillery. The design was copied from Europe and changed the course of European Expansion.

References: Explorers Web, Observer Voice

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