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The Wreck of the Barque North Carolina, Bermuda, 1880: An Underwater Crime Scene?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard A. Gould
Richard A. Gould*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Archaeological and historical research in 1999–2001 on the loss of the 3-masted, iron barque “North Carolina” produced a series of anomalies and coincidences suggesting that the ship was sunk intentionally. The wreck lies along the southwest edge of Bermuda’s reef system. At first it appeared to be that of a fairly typical sail-propelled, iron-hulled cargo ship of a general type built in the United Kingdom during the late nineteenth century. The original research design for the “North Carolina” project sought to test how representative this shipwreck was as an example of that shipbuilding tradition. Archaeological surveys as well as published and archival accounts of the ship's loss, however, revealed discrepancies that were explored further. The project evolved into the investigation of a possible 120-year-old crime scene. The “North Carolina” offers a case study of how scientifically grounded archaeology applied with due regard for critical issues of cultural context can reveal systemic as well as proximate factors that affect past human behavior—including possible criminal behavior.

Résumé

Résumé

En una investigacion arqueológica e histórica realizada entre 1999–2001 sobre la pérdida del buque de hierro de tres mástiles North Carolina,, surgieron una serie de anomalias y coincidencias que sugieren que el barco fue hundido intencionalmente. El naufragio se encuentra por la orilla suroeste del sistema arrecifal de Bermudas. Inicialmente pareció un buque de carga común del tipo toda-vela, casco de hierro como los fabricados en el Reino Unido a fines del siglo XIX. El esquema original para la investigacion del proyecto North Carolina fue averiguar si este naufragio era representative de dicha tradición de construcción naval. Sin embargo, los estudios arqueológicos, publicaciones y archivos del hundimiento del buque revelaron discrepancias que se exploraron después. El proyecto se convirtió en una investigación de una posible escena de crimen de hace 120 años. El North Carolina nos ofrece un estudio de caso para aplicar la arqueologia científica, sin olvidar los asuntos claves del contexto cultural, y cómo nos puede revelar factores sistemáticos tanto como aproximaciones que influencian el comportamiento humano pasado, incluso el posible comportamiento criminal.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 107 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2005

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