Off the coast of Kenya, a wreck may have been a ship from a voyage into the Indian Ocean about 500 years ago. The vessel’s remains were discovered in 2013 near the town of Malindi in Kenya.
They are among eight known ancient Portuguese shipwrecks in the area. Researchers think the wreck may be the São Jorge, which sank in 1524. If so, it would be the earliest European shipwreck in the Indian Ocean.
The research team, led by Filipe Castro, the lead author of the study and a maritime archaeologist at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, will conduct a 15-mile survey of the coral reefs from Malindi to Ras Ngomeni, Kenya, to confirm the ship’s identity.
The wreck is approximately 20 feet deep and located about 1,640 feet from the shore. The corals on the seabed obscure most of it, but divers have been able to observe timbers from the ship’s hull and frame within two archaeological trenches they created at the site.
The wreck may be from the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama’s final voyage. Da Gama lived from 1469 to 1524.
He was the son of a minor nobleman who was in charge of the fortress at Sines in southwestern Portugal.
He also married a woman of high status and fathered six sons with her. Other than that, not much else is known about his early life.
In 1497, he pioneered the route from Europe into the Indian Ocean. His ship was the first to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
He made three more journeys along the route before he died in India in 1524. His cause of death was due to an illness, possibly malaria. His body was taken back to Portugal for burial.
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Da Gama’s explorations were the foundation of the Portuguese trading network in the Indian Ocean. His final voyage in 1524 consisted of around 20 ships, with one of them being the São Jorge, which sank shortly before his death.
The researchers suggest it was one of two early Portuguese ships that went down near Malindi. The other was named Nossa Senhora de Graça. It sank in 1544.
According to Castro, Kenyan authorities are interested in the wreck and are considering turning the site into an underwater museum.
If the researchers can confirm that the wreck is the São Jorge, it would have “significant historical and symbolic value.”
The wreck was discovered in 2013 by an underwater archaeologist named Caesar Bita at the National Museums of Kenya. He recovered elephant tusks and copper ingots from the submerged site.
Further investigations are needed to determine whether the ship belonged to de Gama’s fleet before the site can be opened to the public.
