Direction
José Antonio Bettencourt (Centro de História d’Aquém et d’Além-Mar, Université de Lisbonne)
Participation d’Éveha
Fouille subaquatique
Relevés archéologiques
Location
Portugal
Since 2015, Éveha International has been associated with underwater operations conducted off the coasts of the Azores archipelago. This research program, led by CHAM (Centro de História d’Aquém e d’Além-Mar, UMR of the Nova University of Lisbon), is under the direction of José Antonio Bettencourt.
September 2016 saw the implementation of a photogrammetric reconstruction project of three submerged archaeological sites, located respectively on the islands of Terceira, Faial, and Pico, at the request of the ATA of the Autonomous Government of the Azores. This work is part of a broad promotion and awareness campaign focused on modern iron-hulled shipwrecks, whose remains are widely utilized by local diving centers (two of the three targeted sites are designated as Underwater Archaeological Parks).
- The Lidador shipwreck: A steamship built in London in 1873, providing maritime links with Brazil. It sank in the Bay of Angra do Heroísmo in 1878 with many migrants on board. Its remains lie at a depth of 7 meters and extend nearly 80 meters in length. While its state of preservation has remained relatively stable until now, corrosion and seabed movements are now causing rapid degradation of the site. The Lidador is a significant witness to 19th-century transatlantic navigation and trade.
- The Caroline shipwreck: A clipper belonging to the French company Bordes, built in 1895 at the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Nantes. It was wrecked on September 3, 1901, during a voyage between France and Chile, after striking the volcanic coastline sheltering the port of Madalena on the island of Pico. The site extends over 100 meters in length at a depth of 10 meters.
- The Main shipwreck: A 102-meter English steamship built in 1868 by Caird & Company Greenock. Heavily damaged by an on-board fire while sailing from New Orleans back to Liverpool, it sank on November 25, 1892, opposite the former whaling processing plants in Porto Pim Bay, Horta, on the island of Faial.
Following initial dives aimed at defining the site extent, an in situ analysis of the ship’s framing and architecture was conducted. The mapping of the constituent elements allowed for the marking of the three sites with the installation of georeferenced benchmarks (coordinates acquired using a differential GPS placed in a waterproof housing). The placement of markers within a relative positioning system, combined with dense photographic coverage, resulted in three photogrammetric reconstructions.
