The location of Captain Cook's Endeavour has been confirmed after 250 years, found in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island. The Endeavour, which was the first European vessel to reach Eastern Australia, was sold and scuttled in 1778. The Australian National Maritime Museum, after 25 years of investigation, has provided a definitive statement linking remains, known as RI 2394, to the Endeavour through timber analysis and historical plans. The identification involved extensive global research and underwater exploration, confirming it through a combination of evidence gathered over decades.
Experts reached their conclusion after comparing the sunken ship with historical plans of the Endeavour. They discovered timbers whose placement corresponds exactly with the locations of Endeavour's main and fore masts.
Museum director Daryl Karp said: 'This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.'
Collectively they represented a 'preponderance of evidence' that the Newport wreck was indeed the Endeavour.
ANMM archaeologist, Kieran Hosty, said: 'The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I'm talking about an evidence-based perspective.'
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