Introduction
Goa, lying on the central part of the west coast of India has its western boundary along the Arabian Sea and eastern border along the Western Ghats. Chandrapura (Chandor) on the bank of river Paroda, (a tributary of the Zuari) was the oldest port of Goa. The discovery of Roman coins and amphorae sherds from Pilar near Gopakapatana port indicates that Roman ships were called in ports of Goa during the Satavahana period. The Shilaharas and Kadambas were maritime powers and had trade contacts with West Asia and East African countries. The depiction of a naval battle in the memorial stones (l2th-13th centuries) exhibited in the Archaeological Museum, Old Goa; reflect the maritime activity of this region. During the Portuguese regime, Old Goa was the main centre of commercial activities and garrison. The Nau Cinco Chagas, Galeao Bom Jesus, Madre de Deus and Nau S. Joao Baptista ships were built in Old Goa shipyard.
Shipwrecks in Goa Waters
While evidence on pre-Portuguese shipwrecks in Goa waters is sketchy, an inscriptional source mentions that as Guhalladeva-I (980-1005 CE) was sailing from Chandrapura to Somnath, on Gujarat coast, the mast of the ship broke off and he took shelter at Gopakapatana port. The stranded king was helped by Mohammed, the chief of the Arab traders (Hanjamananagar) in Goa. Portuguese records of the India House, Lisbon states that 806 ships sailed from Lisbon to India between 1497 and 1612, out of which 20 ships ran aground, 66 were shipwrecked, four captured by the enemy, six got burnt, and 285 remained in India while 425 returned to Portugal. These archival records emphasis that a majority of Portuguese ships wrecked in the shallow waters off Goa mainly due to hidden reefs, sandbars, severe storms and lack of proper maintenance. However, although these records do not provide exact locations of shipwrecks, the CNANS, Lisbon has listed the Portuguese shipwrecks along the Indian coast from archival and archaeological sources.
The Portuguese ships wrecked in Goa waters were namely: S. Cristovam wrecked in a storm on l7th August 1594 while returning to Goa. The nau Santo Andre left Lisbon on l7th February 1607 and reached Goa in May 1608 but wrecked off Goa. The Nossa Sra Dos and Remedios sank off Goa on 28th January 1616 in a storm, people were saved, but the cargo was lost. Twelve Portuguese ships, en route to Calcutta (Kolkata) from Goa, sank near Aguada Bay due to an unseasonable storm in 1648. Five Portuguese sailing ships namely Santa Helena (1654-55), Sao Joao Evangelista (1652-53), St. Francisco and St. Thome set sail to Goa from Portugal, but only two ships reached the coast of Goa but were wrecked in a storm on 10th March 1651. Findings of shipwreck explorations off Sunchi Reef, St George’s Reef and Amee Shoals are recorded here. The nature of seabed, current pattern, water depths and visibility vary from site to site.
Sunchi Reef
Sunchi Reef region is shallow, full of laterite boulders and falls under high-energy zone. The shipwreck remains found in 3 to 6 m water depth and scattered over a large area. During the survey, cast iron guns, an iron shot, a barrel of a handgun, various types stoneware sherds (Martaban pottery), Chinese Blue on white sherds, glass bottles bases, elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth, metal handle and dressed granite stone blocks were recovered. Each cast gun is about 2 m long. Their exteriors are overgrown with barnacles, mussels and heavily encrusted. The muzzles of two guns lay horizontally on the seabed whereas the other two were angled towards the seabed. The guns have swivels on both sides but do not have any lifting rings. The iron shot found west of the guns is 1.218 gm. Its surface is uneven, flaking nature, slightly conical at the top, flat at the base. Cracks formed after retrieval was due to dehydration and interior was fully rusted and crumbled. The brass barrel of a handgun 56 cm long and weighs 2.200 kg was half buried below the dressed granite blocks. The barrel has two notches, among them one is intact, and the other is broken, these are meant for fixing screws to the wooden part provided below the handgun. The screw thread on the backside of the barrel is for attaching the wooden component of the gun. The other wooden parts and gun are missing. A two fluked long iron anchor found on the southern side of the guns had fallen between laterite boulders. Similar anchors were discovered off Aguada and also resemble the anchors kept in the Archaeological Museum at Old Goa and Goa State Museum, Panaji. The exploration led to the recovery of eight elephant tusks, 65 to 32 cm in length all buried in the seabed and partially visible. Among them, two are inscribed, one has 3 English letters ‘ICM’, and the other has some geometrical designs. Nine hippopotamus teeth of different sizes retrieved from the seabed have turned brownish. Lengthy burial in marine water has turned the elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth soft, brittle, flaky and degraded. Stoneware sherds consisting of rims with loop handles, bases, lids and body parts buried in the sediment and crevices of laterite boulders were also recovered. The paint and glaze coat has been washed out whereas a dark brown glaze coat can be noticed on some sherds. All these sherds belong to storage jars. In addition to the loop handles on rims, sherds with dark brown glaze coat raised dots around the neck and projected floral designs were collected during exploration. Thermoluminescence dating evidence the pottery is (360+ 40 years) old. Furthermore, Chinese ceramic sherds with blue on white designs were also found. A number of dark green square and round glass bottle bases were retrieved on which marine growth is present. Besides, a number of dressed granite blocks of varied sizes scattered randomly were noticed at the site. They are possibly used as ballast.
St George's Reef
St George's Reef is situated on the eastern side of Grande Island and the shipwreck lies in 15 m water depth. The wreck contains a collection of terracotta building materials such as chimney bricks, roof, ridge and floor tiles, column capital and drum. Bricks and floor tiles are inscribed ‘Basel Mission Tile Works 1865’. Bricks are made of white clay, moulded, the obverse is inscribed and the reverse is plain. A Corinthian type of hollow capital, closed on one side, was found. All artefacts are well burnt and made of well-levigated clay. The timber remains of the ship found near the reef has groove marks on the upper side whereas the lower side is plain and ‘U’ shaped. Carbon14 dating (114.3+1.5%) of the timber suggests that the wreck is 115 years old. Anatomical analysis indicates that the timber belongs to the Lagerstromia microcarpa syn Lagerstromia lanceolata species, whose trade name is ‘benteak’. The discovery of St George’s Reef wreck has elucidated the history of the Basel Mission Company and its trading activities with India. The findings suggest that the vessel emanated either from Mangalore or Calicut because the mission had a number of tile factories between Malabar and South Canara. The first tile factory of the mission was set up at Jeppo, Mangalore in 1865. The underwater exploration and metal detector survey did not reveal any metallic anomalies at St George’s Reef; it appears that the ship could have been a wooden-hulled sailing craft.
Amee Shoals
Amee Shoals lies on the south of Sunchi Reef, close to the Marmagao bay and have a wider extension with varying depths. A steam engine shipwreck has been explored in 9 m water depth off Amee Shoals in Goa waters. The exploration has brought to light boilers, boiler bricks (furnace bricks), flanges, water tank, hawser, hatch door, broken copper pipes, tubes, etc.; from the were noticed. The engine parts and boilers are well preserved. Some of the bricks have stamped marks, on the upper side ‘FURNA….’ and beneath it ‘B 84’. Bricks sizes vary in measurement, many bricks still in the boilers and others scattered nearby.
A circular flange of 52 cm diameter with eight holes probably used on the front side of the furnace boiler was found. The other flange could be of an oil tank located near the boiler. It has two stamp marks namely ‘sounding’ and ‘No. 3 tank’. Dipping of a metal rod with graduations for checking the fluid levels in the tank is often called ‘sounding’. These were common until the introduction of gauges. A water tank measuring 4 x 1.65 m probably used for recirculation of water from the condenser lay close to the boilers. The tank has a reinforced steel frame with plates on all four sides. Two horizontal pipes are fitted inside, and the tank is highly corroded. Water tanks were a common feature in steam engine ships. The bow section hawser of the ship has a large lip edge. The hatch door which would be part of the steam drive system and heavily built to withstand heat was noticed near the boilers. The findings of the shipwreck suggest that the wrecked ship could be a British cargo steamship belonging to the early 1900s. During the Portuguese regime in Goa, Portuguese had leased the job of laying the railway line from Marmagao to Castle Rock in 1887 to a British Company.
Sail Rock
During underwater explorations, a shipwreck was noticed off Sail Rock. In the course of exploration propeller, rudder, engine parts, mast, cabins, winches, rudder, manholes, etc. were noticed and photographed. The shipwreck remains are scattered in a large area. The propeller has probably four blades, out of which three are clearly visible, and the other one is either missing or buried in the seabed. The length of each propeller blade is approximately 2 m. The significant find of the shipwreck is a cast iron cannon ball of 9.2 kg. The front portion of the ill-fated ship is fully damaged whereas the rear portion is intact. It appears that the ship might have hit so powerfully against the submerged reef that its major foremost portion is missing. Marine growth is present on the remains. A number of stone boulders of various sizes were noticed in the adjoining area of the shipwreck. The further survey may shed more light on the shipwreck.
Goa, lying on the central part of the west coast of India has its western boundary along the Arabian Sea and eastern border along the Western Ghats. Chandrapura (Chandor) on the bank of river Paroda, (a tributary of the Zuari) was the oldest port of Goa. The discovery of Roman coins and amphorae sherds from Pilar near Gopakapatana port indicates that Roman ships were called in ports of Goa during the Satavahana period. The Shilaharas and Kadambas were maritime powers and had trade contacts with West Asia and East African countries. The depiction of a naval battle in the memorial stones (l2th-13th centuries) exhibited in the Archaeological Museum, Old Goa; reflect the maritime activity of this region. During the Portuguese regime, Old Goa was the main centre of commercial activities and garrison. The Nau Cinco Chagas, Galeao Bom Jesus, Madre de Deus and Nau S. Joao Baptista ships were built in Old Goa shipyard.
Shipwrecks in Goa Waters
While evidence on pre-Portuguese shipwrecks in Goa waters is sketchy, an inscriptional source mentions that as Guhalladeva-I (980-1005 CE) was sailing from Chandrapura to Somnath, on Gujarat coast, the mast of the ship broke off and he took shelter at Gopakapatana port. The stranded king was helped by Mohammed, the chief of the Arab traders (Hanjamananagar) in Goa. Portuguese records of the India House, Lisbon states that 806 ships sailed from Lisbon to India between 1497 and 1612, out of which 20 ships ran aground, 66 were shipwrecked, four captured by the enemy, six got burnt, and 285 remained in India while 425 returned to Portugal. These archival records emphasis that a majority of Portuguese ships wrecked in the shallow waters off Goa mainly due to hidden reefs, sandbars, severe storms and lack of proper maintenance. However, although these records do not provide exact locations of shipwrecks, the CNANS, Lisbon has listed the Portuguese shipwrecks along the Indian coast from archival and archaeological sources.
The Portuguese ships wrecked in Goa waters were namely: S. Cristovam wrecked in a storm on l7th August 1594 while returning to Goa. The nau Santo Andre left Lisbon on l7th February 1607 and reached Goa in May 1608 but wrecked off Goa. The Nossa Sra Dos and Remedios sank off Goa on 28th January 1616 in a storm, people were saved, but the cargo was lost. Twelve Portuguese ships, en route to Calcutta (Kolkata) from Goa, sank near Aguada Bay due to an unseasonable storm in 1648. Five Portuguese sailing ships namely Santa Helena (1654-55), Sao Joao Evangelista (1652-53), St. Francisco and St. Thome set sail to Goa from Portugal, but only two ships reached the coast of Goa but were wrecked in a storm on 10th March 1651. Findings of shipwreck explorations off Sunchi Reef, St George’s Reef and Amee Shoals are recorded here. The nature of seabed, current pattern, water depths and visibility vary from site to site.
Sunchi Reef
Sunchi Reef region is shallow, full of laterite boulders and falls under high-energy zone. The shipwreck remains found in 3 to 6 m water depth and scattered over a large area. During the survey, cast iron guns, an iron shot, a barrel of a handgun, various types stoneware sherds (Martaban pottery), Chinese Blue on white sherds, glass bottles bases, elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth, metal handle and dressed granite stone blocks were recovered. Each cast gun is about 2 m long. Their exteriors are overgrown with barnacles, mussels and heavily encrusted. The muzzles of two guns lay horizontally on the seabed whereas the other two were angled towards the seabed. The guns have swivels on both sides but do not have any lifting rings. The iron shot found west of the guns is 1.218 gm. Its surface is uneven, flaking nature, slightly conical at the top, flat at the base. Cracks formed after retrieval was due to dehydration and interior was fully rusted and crumbled. The brass barrel of a handgun 56 cm long and weighs 2.200 kg was half buried below the dressed granite blocks. The barrel has two notches, among them one is intact, and the other is broken, these are meant for fixing screws to the wooden part provided below the handgun. The screw thread on the backside of the barrel is for attaching the wooden component of the gun. The other wooden parts and gun are missing. A two fluked long iron anchor found on the southern side of the guns had fallen between laterite boulders. Similar anchors were discovered off Aguada and also resemble the anchors kept in the Archaeological Museum at Old Goa and Goa State Museum, Panaji. The exploration led to the recovery of eight elephant tusks, 65 to 32 cm in length all buried in the seabed and partially visible. Among them, two are inscribed, one has 3 English letters ‘ICM’, and the other has some geometrical designs. Nine hippopotamus teeth of different sizes retrieved from the seabed have turned brownish. Lengthy burial in marine water has turned the elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth soft, brittle, flaky and degraded. Stoneware sherds consisting of rims with loop handles, bases, lids and body parts buried in the sediment and crevices of laterite boulders were also recovered. The paint and glaze coat has been washed out whereas a dark brown glaze coat can be noticed on some sherds. All these sherds belong to storage jars. In addition to the loop handles on rims, sherds with dark brown glaze coat raised dots around the neck and projected floral designs were collected during exploration. Thermoluminescence dating evidence the pottery is (360+ 40 years) old. Furthermore, Chinese ceramic sherds with blue on white designs were also found. A number of dark green square and round glass bottle bases were retrieved on which marine growth is present. Besides, a number of dressed granite blocks of varied sizes scattered randomly were noticed at the site. They are possibly used as ballast.
St George's Reef
St George's Reef is situated on the eastern side of Grande Island and the shipwreck lies in 15 m water depth. The wreck contains a collection of terracotta building materials such as chimney bricks, roof, ridge and floor tiles, column capital and drum. Bricks and floor tiles are inscribed ‘Basel Mission Tile Works 1865’. Bricks are made of white clay, moulded, the obverse is inscribed and the reverse is plain. A Corinthian type of hollow capital, closed on one side, was found. All artefacts are well burnt and made of well-levigated clay. The timber remains of the ship found near the reef has groove marks on the upper side whereas the lower side is plain and ‘U’ shaped. Carbon14 dating (114.3+1.5%) of the timber suggests that the wreck is 115 years old. Anatomical analysis indicates that the timber belongs to the Lagerstromia microcarpa syn Lagerstromia lanceolata species, whose trade name is ‘benteak’. The discovery of St George’s Reef wreck has elucidated the history of the Basel Mission Company and its trading activities with India. The findings suggest that the vessel emanated either from Mangalore or Calicut because the mission had a number of tile factories between Malabar and South Canara. The first tile factory of the mission was set up at Jeppo, Mangalore in 1865. The underwater exploration and metal detector survey did not reveal any metallic anomalies at St George’s Reef; it appears that the ship could have been a wooden-hulled sailing craft.
Amee Shoals
Amee Shoals lies on the south of Sunchi Reef, close to the Marmagao bay and have a wider extension with varying depths. A steam engine shipwreck has been explored in 9 m water depth off Amee Shoals in Goa waters. The exploration has brought to light boilers, boiler bricks (furnace bricks), flanges, water tank, hawser, hatch door, broken copper pipes, tubes, etc.; from the were noticed. The engine parts and boilers are well preserved. Some of the bricks have stamped marks, on the upper side ‘FURNA….’ and beneath it ‘B 84’. Bricks sizes vary in measurement, many bricks still in the boilers and others scattered nearby.
A circular flange of 52 cm diameter with eight holes probably used on the front side of the furnace boiler was found. The other flange could be of an oil tank located near the boiler. It has two stamp marks namely ‘sounding’ and ‘No. 3 tank’. Dipping of a metal rod with graduations for checking the fluid levels in the tank is often called ‘sounding’. These were common until the introduction of gauges. A water tank measuring 4 x 1.65 m probably used for recirculation of water from the condenser lay close to the boilers. The tank has a reinforced steel frame with plates on all four sides. Two horizontal pipes are fitted inside, and the tank is highly corroded. Water tanks were a common feature in steam engine ships. The bow section hawser of the ship has a large lip edge. The hatch door which would be part of the steam drive system and heavily built to withstand heat was noticed near the boilers. The findings of the shipwreck suggest that the wrecked ship could be a British cargo steamship belonging to the early 1900s. During the Portuguese regime in Goa, Portuguese had leased the job of laying the railway line from Marmagao to Castle Rock in 1887 to a British Company.
Sail Rock
During underwater explorations, a shipwreck was noticed off Sail Rock. In the course of exploration propeller, rudder, engine parts, mast, cabins, winches, rudder, manholes, etc. were noticed and photographed. The shipwreck remains are scattered in a large area. The propeller has probably four blades, out of which three are clearly visible, and the other one is either missing or buried in the seabed. The length of each propeller blade is approximately 2 m. The significant find of the shipwreck is a cast iron cannon ball of 9.2 kg. The front portion of the ill-fated ship is fully damaged whereas the rear portion is intact. It appears that the ship might have hit so powerfully against the submerged reef that its major foremost portion is missing. Marine growth is present on the remains. A number of stone boulders of various sizes were noticed in the adjoining area of the shipwreck. The further survey may shed more light on the shipwreck.