Captain Cook's missing HMS Endeavour ‘found' after 250 years
Between 1768 and 1771, the Endeavour became the first European vessel to reach eastern Australia and circumnavigate the main islands of New Zealand.
Sold and renamed as the Lord Sandwich in 1775, the ship then sank off the US coast during the American War of Independence in 1778.
Now the HMS Endeavour's remains have been found in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, with experts identifying the ship as wreck RI 2394.
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) announced the finding in a new report, ending 25 years of study.
Daryl Karp, Museum director, said: 'This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel.
'It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe. This final report marks our definitive statement on the project.'
Experts compared RI 2394 with historical plans of Cook 's ship, discovering timbers in the same location as the Endeavour's main and fore masts.
Measurements of the wreck also aligned with those taken during a 1768 survey of the Endeavour, while analysis of the wood showed it originated from Europe, correlating with records of the vessel having been repaired in 1776.
Collectively this formed a 'preponderance of evidence' that the Newport wreck was indeed the Endeavour.
Kieran Hosty, ANMM archaeologist, said: 'The timbers are British timbers. The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I'm talking within millimetres - not inches, but millimetres.
'The stem scarf is identical, absolutely identical. This stem scarf is also a very unique feature - we've gone through a whole bunch of 18th-century ship's plans, and we can't find anything else like it.'
But the findings could prove controversial.
ANMM released a preliminary report identifying RI 2394 as the Endeavour in 2022, which was met with criticism by the museum's research partners, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP).
In a statement, RIMAP denounced the finding as both 'premature' and a 'breach of contract', claiming that it was the lead organisation for the study.
Nevertheless, ANMM experts say the evidence is sufficient.
Archaeologist James Hunter said: 'The chances of finding artefacts that would provide an immediate identification, such as a bell, were very unlikely.
'And that's because anything that was of value would have been stripped out of that ship before it was sunk. But what has been recovered up to this point is indicative of an 18th-century time frame.'
In a statement, ANMM said: 'We acknowledge that RIMAP continues to accept that RI 2394 may be Endeavour, but they are not ruling out other candidate shipwreck sites.'
Ms Karp also acknowledged the work of the ANMM archaeological team, of Dr Kathy Abass in Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island authorities.
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