[Archport] Restos humanos encontrados no naufrágio da Namíbia

[Alexandre <no.arame@gmail.com>]

Seria interessante ter lá um antropólogo....

 

 

 

"Shipwreck's a gold mine for thrilled archaeologist


The Cape Times, published May 04, 2008 by Rowan Philp


Dieter Noli thought a small bag would be sufficient to hold priceless gold coins from the shipwreck. Within an hour, he realised he needed to use his Stetson hat.

But by the end of the day, the archaeologist needed a bucket to hold the ship's treasure, as 2500 coins, minted around 1500AD for Spain's Queen Isabella, emerged from the Namibian sea bed.

Unearthed by a De Beers mining operation on the Namibian coast this month, the ship — thought to be a Columbus-era Portuguese explorer — has been hailed as the greatest maritime archaeological discovery in Southern Africa.

The unusually large store of gold also represents one of its greatest mysteries since the vessel, which was "armed to the teeth", was already on its way home, fully laden with an equally mysterious cargo.

Noli, 52, said it was "the most gold ever found at an archaeological site in Africa since the huge find at the Valley of the Kings in Egypt".

He said the evidence suggested that a rogue captain, or even a pirate, may have died in a bid to complete a medieval African arms deal.

The ship, thought to be a 25m "caravel", of the type used by Christopher Columbus, was discovered on April1, when a geologist, Bob Burrell, noticed copper ingots in a coastal mining site operated by De Beer's local subsidiary, Namdeb.

Protected by a 30m- high earthen "sea wall" erected by the company, 12km north of Oranjemund, the site is a strip of excavated ocean bed, 7m below sea level and 200m out from the beach.

Although the ship is completely destroyed, metal artefacts and some human bones were concentrated in a 500m² layer of sand. A large rock that likely sank her stands just metres from where 10 cannons were found.

Noli, chief archaeologist on the project, said: "Never in a million years would this ship have been found, if it weren't for the mining operation. But I knew it would happen — I told them sooner or later you'll find a wreck; and I've been waiting patiently for the last 20 years … but now: jackpot! "

The excavation uncovered a box of muskets, a box of swords and five different types of cannons. Some weapons were so outdated, even for the time, that it suggests that the captain stuffed the arsenal with anything he could lay his hands on.

Robert Blyth, curator of Imperial History at Britain's National Maritime Museum, said the find was "of great significance, internationally".

"For such an early voyage to be trading in that part of the world, so soon after the pioneers, is very significant, and will hopefully tell us a lot more about how Europe pushed out," said Blyth.

Aside from more than 50 tusks, Noli's team recovered more than six tons of copper, and "tons more" of a metal thought to be tin — "which is the combination you'd need to make cannons".

"(The ship) was carrying strategic raw materials, a huge amount of gold, a big and pretty strange arsenal and she seems to have been sailing on her own," said Noli. "And she was doing it in the time of the explorers, not the traders."

He said two human bones had been preserved by decayed iron, along with bone splinters and a set of toes, still attached to a shoe sole.

Namdeb spokesman Hilifa Mbako said the Portuguese and Spanish governments were informed of the remains, and maritime authorities there have been asked to help identify the vessel."