A Portuguese East Indiaman from the 1502–1503 Fleet of Vasco da Gama off Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman: an interim report

Abstract

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north-eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and São Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Brás Sodré, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in Al Hallaniyah in 2013 and 2014 confirms the location of an early 16th-century Portuguese wreck-site, initially discovered in 1998. Esmeralda is proposed as the probable source of the remaining, un-salved wreckage.

Investigation of artefacts retrieved from a shipwreck of Vasco da Gama using X-ray Computed Tomography

“…Another tentative clue is a collection of 42 large igneous shot with the inscription 'VS' that was also recovered, but not discussed in this paper, which might be connected with Vicente Sodré. A full description of the other recoveries to date are described in Mearns et al 2016 [9], with further archaeological analysis planned in the future.…”

“…It is the three interior sections that areas of interest. The bell itself was determined to be predominantly tin and copper in composition from previous X-ray fluorescence analysis [9], and typical mineralised deposits attenuate X-rays at a lower rate than their pure counterparts. From this it can be deduced that corroded layers around the bell will be represented by a lower grey value, providing indicative thresholds to segment the bell from the mineralised deposits and thus revealing any inscription that may remain.…”

“…The identification of the wreck site is described in Mearns et al [9] and was initially discovered in 1998 with the finding of numerous stone shot, indicative of an early European shipwreck. Further excavations uncovered ceramics, lead shot, a copper alloy disc and a small concreted clump containing silver and gold coins.…”

An Early Portuguese Mariner's Astrolabe from the Sodré Wreck‐site, Al Hallaniyah, Oman

“…Detailed comparative analysis of this source information pointed to two specific locations off Al Hallaniyah where the loss likely occurred. Following a short search of the two locations in May 1998 an apparent wreck‐site, littered with large stone shot and closely matching the geographic description in the historical accounts, was discovered by divers in shallow waters of Ghubbat ar Rahib bay, a natural anchorage off the north‐eastern coast of the island (Mearns et al ., ).…”

“…The surface artefacts were mainly large stone shot but they also included a fractured ship's bell found in an exposed position under a boulder. The bell was later revealed to have an inscription, which has been shown to include the date [1]498 (Mearns et al ., : 345–346). The artefacts were contained within a series of narrow (5–18m wide) interconnected gullies intersecting the foreshore reef rock seaward to a distance of 115m.…”