Priceless treasure: That’s how a team of divers and archaeologists describe evidence of centuries-old shipwrecks discovered off Cape Canaveral.Just a couple of miles from Jetty Park, a popular swimming beach, divers found canons made of bronze and iron; anchors, crusted with marine growth; and the Fleur de Lis, along with a French coat of arms archaeologists call priceless. And maritime wreckage is around 400 years old.Finders, working for the company Global Marine Exploration, said they’ve discovered the remains of what appear to be three French ships. The origin of the ships will be difficult to verify, they said.The ships could be from the French colonial period on the Florida coast, around the year 1560, Global Marine Exploration archaeologist Jim Sinclair said. The ships may have sunk in a hurricane, he said.The debris was found in shallow water, very close to shore, very close to rocket launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.“We’re looking at ships that were basically here trying to colonize and explore what to them was the New World, in the shadow of an area where human beings were reaching out to explore a whole different sort of new world,” Sinclair said.Cape Canaveral and the nearby Kennedy Space Center are the cradle of space exploration, where American astronauts first left the planet. Divers also found hundreds of pieces of old rockets among the maritime relics, Sinclair said.Working with the Florida Department of Historic Resources, the company hopes to bring up the ship artifacts and conserve them. Further searching may reveal the origin and destination of the ships, Sinclair said.

Priceless treasure: That’s how a team of divers and archaeologists describe evidence of centuries-old shipwrecks discovered off Cape Canaveral.

Just a couple of miles from Jetty Park, a popular swimming beach, divers found canons made of bronze and iron; anchors, crusted with marine growth; and the Fleur de Lis, along with a French coat of arms archaeologists call priceless. And maritime wreckage is around 400 years old.


Finders, working for the company Global Marine Exploration, said they’ve discovered the remains of what appear to be three French ships. The origin of the ships will be difficult to verify, they said.

The ships could be from the French colonial period on the Florida coast, around the year 1560, Global Marine Exploration archaeologist Jim Sinclair said. The ships may have sunk in a hurricane, he said.

The debris was found in shallow water, very close to shore, very close to rocket launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

“We’re looking at ships that were basically here trying to colonize and explore what to them was the New World, in the shadow of an area where human beings were reaching out to explore a whole different sort of new world,” Sinclair said.



Cape Canaveral and the nearby Kennedy Space Center are the cradle of space exploration, where American astronauts first left the planet. Divers also found hundreds of pieces of old rockets among the maritime relics, Sinclair said.

Working with the Florida Department of Historic Resources, the company hopes to bring up the ship artifacts and conserve them. Further searching may reveal the origin and destination of the ships, Sinclair said.