Exploration of a Portuguese shipwreck in Goa waters, western coast of India

Maritime archaeological explorations have been initiated in Goa waters since 1997 for locating port installations and shipwrecks both in coastal waters and riverbanks. Exploration off Sunchi reef in 3 to 6 m water depth brought to light a barrel of a hand gun, guns, Chinese ceramics, sherds of Martaban pottery (stone ware), elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth, a number of dressed granite blocks, a cast iron cannon ball, lead pieces, copper vessel and strip, stone and clay bricks, pieces of glass bottles, etc. These findings suggest that the ship might have arrived from Portugal via African countries to Goa and grounded due to lack of knowledge of the topography of the area. Thermo-luminescence dating of Martaban pottery (stone ware), the radiocarbon dating of ivory and comparative study of the ‘Admiralty Pattern Long Shanked’ type of iron anchor indicate that the wreck could be dated to the early 17th century AD. The findings of Sunchi Reef show the evidence of the Indo-Portuguese maritime trade and are the oldest wreck observed so far in the nautical archaeology of India.