The National Parks Authority (NPA) and collaborators from the University of the Antilles in Martinique (UA) and the Association of Archaeology for the Petite Antilles (AAPA) have finished the third research campaign on the Tank Bay shipwreck in English Harbour, Antigua. This project milestone marks the end of the current funding, but not the end of the ongoing research.
This year, researchers have uncovered more of the wreck site, previously identified as the French blockade runner Lyon captured and brought into English Harbour in 1778. The site, rediscovered in a benthic survey commissioned by the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services (ADOMS) and the NPA in 2013 and identified archaeologically as the Lyon in 2022, is one of the largest wooden shipwrecks ever discovered in the Caribbean region.
Through ongoing research, the shipwreck has a long history, first as a French East India Company trading vessel, sailing around Africa and into the Indian Ocean. Archaeologically recovered fragments of Chinese trade porcelain point to an active trade, with archival documents confirming that porcelain, along with spices, silks, and other high value trade goods forming these cargos.
In 1777, the vessel was converted into a blockade runner funded by a wealthy Frenchman supportive of the American Revolution. He filled the cargo hold with woolen uniforms and naval cordage for the use of the Continental Army and Navy respectively. As the Lyon left North America, she was captured by HMS Maidstone and brought into English Harbour, her cargo and useful pieces stripped, and left to sink into the silt of Tank Bay.
Mrs. Ann Marie Martin, Parks Commissioner remarked that “This discovery and subsequent collaboration with our partners from Martinque have allowed us to bring a new story to Nelson’s Dockyard, build local capacity with training, and form stronger regional links with our French neighbours, while also strengthening our own capacity to safeguard our past. It also forms a major underlying component of our tourism product, and we want to continue to develop and diversify our heritage product to better serve Antiguans and Barbudans as well as our foreign visitors. The Tank Bay Collaboration does exactly this and we are looking forward to the next phases of this project.”
“This is the only known ship of this type to ever be found with intact hull remains, which makes this a unique and special site. It’s not just a shipwreck; it’s a time capsule that will help us to understand the strategic naval battles of the Caribbean. The data we gather here will significantly contribute to our understanding of the region’s maritime history” stated Dr. Jean-Sebastien Guibert, professor of history at UA and project leader of the French team.
As this part of the project ends, there is hope for more collaboration, training, and capacity building in the future. Domenico Ditaranto, First Counselor in the French Embassy in Saint Lucia for OECS countries visited the site to see how the French government can support this project in the future, strengthening links between France and Antigua and Barbuda through culture. Ideas include more formal training for Antigua’s and Barbuda’s diving community in underwater cultural heritage site identification, mapping and monitoring, developing dive sites for responsible and value-added tourism, and greater educational exchanges.
The National Parks Authority (NPA) is a Statutory Corporation constituted under the National Parks Act Cap. 290 (1984) of the Laws of Antigua and Barbuda. The Act mandates that the NPA is self-financing and operates as a not-for-profit organization in order to preserve, protect, manage and develop the natural environment, heritage, architecture, and culture of the Nelson’s Dockyard National Park. Since 2016, the historical core, the Georgian era Royal Navy Dockyard and surrounding British military sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in recognition of the long and successful stewardship and management of the NPA.
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