ADMAT are delighted to announce that the special summer maritime archaeological project for 2018, will be a partial survey of Le Dragon. The international Team will be spending many hours underwater in a beautiful tropical location as they survey this historic shipwreck.
In 1783 Le Dragon was the last French warship lost in the American Revolutionary War, literally by hours. This is a unique opportunity to join ADMAT’s maritime archaeological project in the historic town of Monte Cristi on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.
ADMAT is working with Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuático (ONPCS) and ADMAT-FRANCE based at the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (UMR-CNRS 7194), to conduct a maritime archaeological survey and excavation of this important American/English/French shipwreck.
The plan for the 2018 season, is to uncover the starboard side of the ship, locate the stern section if possible and to conduct a gradiometer survey of the surrounding area. The team will also see if we can find the figurehead which we believe is of General Washington.
A photo-mosaic of the port side of Le Dragon from the bow to main mast step (the front half of the ship), showing the ballast, forward mast rings and three iron Carron 9 pounders.
Latest Research undertaken by PhD student Florence Prudhomme of ADMAT-FRANCE has proven that Le Dragon was an English Privateere and an American Privateer before that. When launched as an American Privateer she was called the Washington.
All interested parties wanting to take part in this exciting project should look at Le Dragon under the Project section of the web site and apply soon. For further information please contact Dr Simon Q Spooner at maritime_archaeology@yahoo.co.uk
