A 30-metre-long ship believed to date back to the 19th century washed up on shore in Canada’s easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

A team of archaeologists and volunteers visited the site last weekend to investigate and recover some parts of the ship before it is released back into the sea.

Recovered wooden planks and metal cladding from the keel have been sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Archaeologist Jamie Brake said at a press conference on the 6th, “We want to determine the type of wood, its age, and the composition of the metals. The results of the analysis will give us clues about when the ship was built and where it came from.” It will take several months for the results of the analysis to be available.

The ship was discovered in late January in a park on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland. The area is known for being shallow and full of rocks, and many ships have run aground there. The provincial archaeology office says the area is home to thousands of ancient shipwrecks.

Blake points out that European ships have been sailing in these waters for hundreds of years.

Some have speculated that the ship may have been washed up from the ocean floor by Hurricane Fiona, which struck Canada’s Atlantic coast in 2022. (c)AFP