The Excavation of the Nossa Senhora Da Consolacao (1608)

The shipwreck code-named IDM-003 was found on Cabeceira reef, Ilha de Moambique, in the Province of Nampula, Republic of Mozambique, in 2001 during a systematic archaeological survey of the area. It has been tentatively identified as the Nossa Senhora da Consolao, a Portuguese Indiaman, lost at this location on July, 1608 during the Dutch siege of the island. The archaeological excavation of this wreck provided a collection of artefacts from the late 16th and the early 17th centuries giving us a glimpse of life on board those ships. A part of the wood structure survived allowing for the study of 16th century Portuguese naval architecture. The evidence suggests that IDM-003 was a typical Portuguese Indiaman, similar to those described in Portuguese 16th century ship treaties, with a keel of around 27.7m and an overall length of nearly 40m.