16th century shipwreck artifacts

Only about 1% of the Molasses Reef ship's hull was preserved. Shipworms and the relentless sea long ago carried away everything that was not protected beneath the artifacts and the 42 tons of stone ballast in the hold. No trace of the cargo survived.

The table below shows the date ranges (when they first appeared and when they fell into disuse) for various artifacts found on the ship. The vertical line between 1510 and 1520 intersecting all of the date ranges represents the most likely date for the sinking of the ship.

History records the loss of more than 112 ships in the Americas between the first voyage of Columbus in 1492 and 1520. Few ship losses are recorded in the Lucayan Islands (Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands) during this period. In all probability, the Molasses Reef ship sank without attracting the notice of history.