Shipwrecks

The most famous shipwreck in history is probably the Titanic, which lies on the seafloor in the North Atlantic Ocean. But shipwrecks are as old as sea voyages, and sunken ships have been found at the seafloor all over the world, from ancient Greek vessels in the Mediterranean to Civil War battle ships off the U.S. East Coast. Divers look for shipwrecks to salvage valuable artifacts and to learn more about past cultures. Read about the latest shipwreck discoveries and see pictures of sunken ships below.

Related Topics: Ocean, Archaeology

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scanned astrolabe navigation lines

It's Official: Earliest Known Marine Astrolabe Found in Shipwreck

By Laura Geggel published

More than 500 years ago, a fierce storm sank a ship carrying the earliest known marine astrolabe — a device that helped sailors navigate at sea, new research finds.

Mongol era shipwreck

This Shipwreck Dates to When Genghis Khan's Descendants Ruled China

By Owen Jarus published

The 700-year-old shipwreck was found at a construction site in China, buried beneath silt and mud. It may have sank after being hit and taking on water.

Mongol era shipwreck

In Photos: 700-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered in China

By Owen Jarus published

A shipwreck dating back around 700 years, to a time that the Mongols controlled China, has been discovered at a construction site in Heze City, China.

egypt shipwreck

VR Experience Takes You into Famed WWII Shipwreck

By Tom Metcalfe published

The VR experience will bring you face to face with one of the most famous wreck-diving sites in the world: the WWII SS Thistlegorm, which was sunk by German bombers in 1941 in the Red Sea.

egypt shipwreck

In Photos: Explore WWII Shipwreck in Virtual Reality

By Tom Metcalfe published

The SS Thistlegorm was sunk by German bombers in 1941 on the way to the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Now, a team has recreated the famous wreck in virtual reality.

Bronze Arm Found at Antikythera Shipwreck

By Mindy Weisberger published

A graceful bronze arm once attached to a statue dating to the first century was recently recovered from an ancient shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera.

This famous concrete tanker was made to fight the Central Powers during World War I, but the war ended before it could enter battle.

Mayday! 17 mysterious shipwrecks you can see on Google Earth

By Laura Geggel published

Google Earth has captured images of rotting and rusting hulls, wasting away in shallow waters the world over.

The U-boat hull is mostly intact and probably still holds the remains of the 23 crewmembers that were onboard when the vessel sank, according to marine archaeologist Tomas Termote.

WWI German U-Boat Found Nearly Intact Off Belgium Coast

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists collected information about three British war graves, including HMS Vanguard (shown here).

Archaeologists Map Famed Shipwrecks and War Graves in Scotland

By Megan Gannon published

Maine archaeologists completed a mission to map World War I wrecks and British war graves off the coast of Orkney.

Divers recovered the main telegraph machine from the Lusitania wreck.

Telegraph from WWI Lusitania Shipwreck Hauled Up from the Deep

By Megan Gannon published

Divers have recovered the main telegraph machine from the Lusitania, the wreck at the center of one of the most infamous maritime disasters of the 20th century.

fourni greece shipwrecks

In Photos: 8 New Shipwrecks Discovered in Greece

By Megan Gannon published

A cluster of Greek islands called Fourni is a hotspot for shipwrecks, the oldest of which date back as early as the sixth century B.C.

mcculloch shipwreck

In Photos: Century-Old Sunken Ship Found

By Megan Gannon published

During an underwater search off the coast of California, researchers found the wreck a U.S. Coast Guard ship that sank 100 years ago.

A sonar image from 2015 shows an outline of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter called the McCulloch.

100-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered Off California Coast

By Megan Gannon published

The U.S. Coast Guard discovered one of its lost ships 100 years after the vessel sank off the coast of California.

australia shipwrecks

Photos: Notoriously Dangerous Ocean Reef Holds Shipwreck Secrets

By Tom Metcalfe published

An Australian expedition to a remote ocean reef notorious for sinking ships in the 19th century has discovered several previously unidentified wrecks at the site.

James Hunter, an archaeologist with the Australian National Maritime Museum, records an anchor from one of the wrecks at Kenn Reefs with a photogrammetry camera.

A Famous 19th-Century Shipwreck Has Vanished from the South Pacific

By Tom Metcalfe published

Time and the tides have washed away the last traces of a famous 19th-century shipwreck from a coral reef in the South Pacific.

artigliere-overhead-rv-petrel

In Photos: WWII Ship Discovered 77 Years After It Sank

By Kacey Deamer published

The sunken Italian naval ship was discovered by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's research vessel.

artigliere-wreckage-rv-petrel

Sunken WWII Destroyer Found by Paul Allen's Research Company

By Kacey Deamer published

The naval ship was sunk in 1940 during the Battle of Cape Passero in World War II.

Newfound 'Spider-Man' Snail Is an Expert Web Slinger

By Mindy Weisberger published

A new species of colorful marine snail slings webs like Spider-Man and is "kind of cute."

The bow of the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, which sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912.

Private Dives to Explore Titanic Shipwreck Announced

By Jeanna Bryner published

More than 100 years after the RMS Titanic ran into an iceberg and sank, adventurers will be able to get a close-up look at the fabled shipwreck inside a deep-diving submersible.

Emanuel Point III Artifacts

Wreck of 16th-Century Spanish Ship Found Off Florida Coast

By Stephanie Pappas published

The third of six sunken Spanish ships that were lost in a hurricane in 1559 has been discovered off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.