La Salle’s ship the La Belle was a floating warehouse, filled to the brim with supplies and merchandise for a French colony…and then it sank in Matagorda Bay.
La Salle not only missed their destination at the mouth of the Mississippi, but both their ships ran aground, stranding the colonists on the Texas coast. One of the ships, the La Belle, was found by archaeologists in 13 feet of water so muddy that it was literally invisible.
Not to be deterred, the Texas Historical Commission surrounded the wreck with a double wall dam and pumped the water out to excavate the wreck by hand. Archaeologists meticulously removed 1.6 million artifacts brought to create a colony. There were boxes crammed with trade beads, bells, axes, muskets, swords, cannons - and pots and pans. The ship’s hull was documented, removed piece by piece, and preserved by freeze drying.
The shipwreck was reassembled and is now on exhibit along with an amazing array of artifacts in the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. Go see it.
Unearthing Florida is a project of WUWF Public Media, the Florida Public Archaeology Network(FPAN), and its founder, Dr. Judith Bense, since 1998. FPAN's Michael Thomin is a contributor to the program. WUWF's Sandra Averhart is the executive producer.
