13/05/2014 18:04
Columbus' ship Santa Maria found?
Is a sunken shipwreck off Haiti the long-lost remains of the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus' flagship from his first voyage to the Americas?
According to CNN, the underwater explorer Barry Clifford, who led a team that found and investigated the wreck, says he's confident it is.
If his claim is confirmed, it would go down as one of the most significant underwater archaeological discoveries in history.
"It is the Mount Everest of shipwrecks for me," Clifford told CNN late Monday.
He found it in the exact area where Columbus said the Santa Maria ran aground more than 500 years ago, Clifford said. The wreck is stuck on a reef off Haiti's northern coast, 10 to 15 feet beneath the water's surface.
The "smoking gun" that led Clifford, 68, to believe the ship is the Santa Maria is a cannon of 15th century design that was found at the site, he said.
Archaeologist Charles Beeker of Indiana University spent several hours underwater at the site and has also studied Clifford's documentation. "I feel Barry has very compelling evidence," Beeker said Tuesday. "... Barry may have finally discovered the 1492 Santa Maria."
Clifford calls the Santa Maria a ship that "changed the course of human history."