L'épave du Elizabeth and Mary - Ministère de la Culture et des ...

Abstract
The 1997 archaeological excavation of the
Baie-Trinité wreck, a vessel that was part of Sir
William Phips’ failed expedition against Quebec
City in 1690, was continued over a period
of eleven weeks from June 23 to September 12,
1997. This, the second and final season of
excavation, saw 976 hours of diving, 439 of
which were conducted by divers of the Groupe
de preservation des vestiges subaquatiques de
Manicouagan, a local volunteer group dedicated
to the preservation of submerged heritage.
The completion of the 1997 season brought the
total project diving time to 1,835 hours and
over 2,400 artifacts were recovered in 1997
alone. Indeed, all known portions of the
wreck have been excavated in their entirety.
Once again, weapons (long arms, pistols,
ammunition, etc.) represented the largest of
the artifact groups, but food-related objects,
tools and personal items (including clothing)
were also well represented. Over 230 concretions
were recovered, many of which are to be
analyzed and opened by staff of the Centre de
conservation du Québec. The hull structure,
principally comprising a 10-meter by 2-meter
portion of the ship’s port flank, was dismantled
and its approximately 50 constituent timbers
were raised to the surface to be drawn,
photographed and ultimately reburied in a
nearby freshwater lake. In the meantime, historical
research has progressed and there is
now very little doubt that the wreck was the
Elizabeth and Mary, a 45-ton bark owned by
Caleb Lamb. This small vessel was returning
home to Massachusetts in the late-autumn of
1690 while carrying the Dorchester Company
when it was lost at Baie-Trinité.
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