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| La Belle hull in situ. |
La Belle was a small French ship that sank off the coast of Texas in 1687. The location of the wreck was mapped by the Spanish in 1689. The ship sank in Matagorda Bay, just North of the barrier island protecting the bay. For the next 300 years, the ship lay undisturbed in the sandy bed of the bay. In 1995, archaeologists with the Texas Historic Commission located
La Belle and began the
arduous task of excavating the sunken and silted wreck. (
link to an Internet tour of the La Belle)
Intermixed with the
detritus of the 17th century wreck was a Roman denarius
dating to 69 A.D. Hmm. Strange. If not evidence of time travelers or Atlantis, this odd artifact shows that humans have always been fascinated with history. A sailor must travel light, thus a small silver coin tucked in one's pocket might be a perfect memory of home. Perhaps the forgotten sailor picked the coin as a child working the fields of his childhood home France. The discovery of the coin may have been a longed for omen telling him to leave the hills of France and seek work in the dockyards.
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| 1689 Spanish Map. |
Another talisman discovered in the wreck was a glass
figa. Such an object might have been carried as a protective charm, warding off evil.
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| Glass figa. |
Despite resting in the territorial waters of Texas (U.S.) since the beginning of its nationhood, the French government immediately claimed ownership of
La Belle and the ship's content. An agreement was reached that the U.S. would have the right of possession of the
ship and all within, but the French government would be recognized as the owner. Despite this arrangement (or because of it), the skeleton of a crew member discovered in the forward hold was
buried in Austin.
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