By 2016, volunteers from the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP), funded through grants and private donations, had successfully identified 10 out of 13 shipwrecks, almost precisely in line with their locations marked on historical maps. The search’s momentum received a notable boost following the 1998 unearthing of a 200-year-old documentation linking the troop transport vessel Lord Sandwich to its prior incarnation as the HMS Endeavour.
Focus of the Investigation
One wreck was discovered approximately 500 meters off the Rhode Island coast at a depth of 14 meters, encased in nearly 250 years of sediment and silt. In 2018, RIMAP’s team proposed that this site might be the resting place of the Endeavour, yet researchers noted the need for additional evidence to affirm their hypothesis. Only about 15 percent of the original ship remains, with any intact hull sections having deteriorated long ago under the water.
By 2022, the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) felt confident in its findings and announced the ship’s discovery during a press conference, despite RIMAP’s reservations. However, RIMAP has since gathered enough evidence to reach a similar conclusion. “In 1999 and again in 2019, RIMAP and ANMM established a set of criteria that, when met, would allow for the identification of RI 2394 as Lord Sandwich,” the report notes. “Based on the agreed preponderance of evidence approach, sufficient criteria have now been satisfied… to positively identify RI 2394 as the remnants of Lord Sandwich, which was previously known as James Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour.
The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, in conjunction with the ANMM, is now working towards the protection of the wreck site for future generations.
