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Boca Chica Channel Wreck
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The Boca Chica Channel Wreck is a colonial-period shipwreck near Boca Chica Key, part of Key West Naval Air Station. In 1997 a cooperative project to document and assess the site was organized by archeologists representing the Naval Historical Center, the Florida Bureau of Archeological Research, the SRC and the NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Program.
The project began in September 1997 with a remote sensing survey of Boca Chica Channel conducted by SRC to locate submerged cultural features, followed by test excavations on the site led by the NHC to determine the wrecks condition and archeological context. Survey results confirmed the wrecks location and several other man-made features in the vicinity. |
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| The site consists of a low mound of ballast stones (including water-worn pebbles and cobbles and some quarried rock) in a contiguous deposit at the bottom of the channel slope and a surface scatter of artifacts (including glass bottles, ceramic fragments, iron fittings, etc.). The entire site was mapped and three areas were excavated: one forward of midships; one directly over the mast step; and one aft of the mast step. Test excavations revealed well-preserved forward and mainmast steps and surrounding structure, as well as a wide variety of artifacts. Examination of the shipwreck and recovery of several diagnostic artifacts produced a more complete interpretation of the site as the remains of a late-18th century Spanish or French colonial-built trading or fishing vessel.
Reference:
- The Boca Chica Channel Wreck: A Site Assessment, 2003, Naval Historical Center, Underwater Archaeology Branch, Washington D.C.
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