Researchers suspect that a shipwreck discovered off Kenya’s coast is part of a fleet that accompanied Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama during his last expedition.
Located approximately 1,600 feet from the shore at a depth of 20 feet, the wreck could potentially be developed into an underwater museum for divers. Archaeologists believe it might be the São Jorge, a vessel that sank in 1524, yet its identification remains unconfirmed. If proven to be the São Jorge, this wreck would be the earliest European shipwreck found in the Indian Ocean.
Filipe Castro, a maritime archaeologist from the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the lead author of a study published on November 18 in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, expressed a hope to confirm the wreck’s identity through an archaeological survey of the coral reefs stretching from Malindi to Ras Ngomeni, Kenya.
Though little is visible on the seabed, Castro and colleagues unearthed timbers from the ship’s hull in two trenches they excavated underwater. Underwater archaeologists suspect the wreck is the São Jorge, which sank during Vasco da Gama’s final voyage into the Indian Ocean in 1524.
Da Gama, who lived from around 1469 to 1524, was the first to navigate the route from Europe into the Indian Ocean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. He embarked on three more voyages before dying in India, possibly from malaria, in 1524. The São Jorge was among 20 ships accompanying him on that final journey, but it sank just before his death.
Confirming the wreck as the São Jorge would hold “significant historical and symbolic value as physical testimony to the presence of Vasco da Gama’s third armada in Kenyan waters,” Castro noted earlier this year. “I think this is a unique shipwreck,” he said. “It is a treasure.”
Kenyan authorities are interested in developing the Malindi shipwreck as an underwater museum. Discovered in 2013 by Caesar Bita from the National Museums of Kenya, the site has yielded copper ingots and elephant tusks. Bita is now aiding in the ongoing investigation.
Sean Kingsley, a maritime archaeologist and editor of Wreckwatch magazine, said that if confirmed, the São Jorge would be “archaeological stardust.” However, further study is needed to verify if this was one of da Gama’s ships. As Kingsley emphasized, “this is one wreck that screams out for protection, respect, and care before its back story vanishes forever.”