Underwater Artifact: Scientists Race to Preserve Mysterious Shipwreck Found Along Canadian Coastline

Archaeologists and local residents are engaged in a frantic race against time to safeguard a shipwreck believed to hail from the 19th century, recently discovered on the snow-covered shores of Newfoundland, Canada's Atlantic province.

Fearing that the elements might reclaim the wreckage, archaeologists and volunteers are mobilizing their efforts.

Crews managed to salvage various components of the ship recently, including wooden planks and metal sheathing from the keel, which have been dispatched to a laboratory for thorough examination, CBS News reported.

Measuring at about 100 feet in length, the ship now rests precariously in Cape Ray, its fate uncertain.

"We're hoping to identify the wood species and age of the wood and to identify the makeup of the metal. Those things will give us clues as to its age and origin," stated archaeologist Jamie Brake during a recent press briefing.

He expressed concerns about the current location, where the ship is being pummeled by the ocean, hindering further exploration. Brake anticipates that it will likely take months before the results of the lab testing become available.

The shipwreck's initial discovery in late January at J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park by local resident Gordon Blackmore, who stumbled upon it while bird hunting along the Cape Ray shore, sparked widespread interest.

Blackmore's account, relayed to the Canadian press, prompted further investigation.

The enigmatic appearance of the ancient shipwreck intrigued Corey Purchase, who captured aerial footage using a drone, providing a clearer perspective of the wreckage.

"It's a lot bigger than what I thought it would be... And I think what we can see is only half of it because it looks like it was broken off," remarked Purchase, as Front Page Detectives previously reported.

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Upon viewing the footage, Neil Burgess, president of the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, speculated that the ship likely originates from the 1800s and could have been constructed in Europe, given certain wood characteristics.

The region's history of shipwrecks due to its rocky terrain adds to the mystery surrounding the vessel's origins.

Burgess, in a Facebook post, expressed hopes that further analysis of artifacts and wood samples would shed light on the ship's age and provenance. He noted that the keel and hull were found inverted on the beach, alongside substantial timber fragments from the ship.