Intertidal Archaeology in the Province of Biscay

Built in 1950 and abandoned in 1959, a ship called the Santa Fe belonged to the middle period of wooden shipbuilding in the Basque Country, demonstrating the last tradition of such construction techniques. The excavation of this wreck would help understand how such a ship, regardless of its construction date, might bridge older and newer shipbuilding features in the region. In a few decades, the wreck will reach the requisite 100 years old to be placed within the UNESCO period for underwater cultural heritage.

Due to the vessel’s location at the end of the estuary, the window to work at low tide is quite short and high tide arrives quickly. The sediment fills with debris (such as bricks, plastic, sand, gravel, etc.) that are difficult to remove to reach the mud that covers the timbers. Tools such as hand picks were used to remove such debris, but unfortunately, the water kept churning up and the soft black mud made it impossible to properly clean lower timbers, such as the keelson. A new strategy had to be implemented to continue excavation; the team used a submersible drainage pump to quickly clean the mud and clearly expose the wooden timbers for recording and identifying features.

The goals of the two campaigns were to remove all the mud to fully record the ship, generate drawings, take photographs, and create a 3D model. Additionally, historical research through older photographs and oral interviews will be undertaken in the future with the cooperation of previous owners of the vessel.