Related video: Wreck of ship that sank in 1940 found in Lake Superior
(NewsNation) — A boy in Canada made an amazing discovery of a shipwreck from nearly two centuries ago, reports say.
Back in 2023, Lucas Atchison, age 8 at the time, was on a family trip to Point Farms Provincial Park in Ontario when he found a small steel spike with his metal detector, a birthday gift.
The spike was found attached to a piece of wood and had several more spikes on it. Further inspection revealed that the spikes and the wood were part of a wrecked ship.
Atchinson and his family reported the discovery to park staff and the volunteer group, the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee.
This week, the excavation began, according to CBC News.
Archaeologists found that the ship was likely an old schooner. Old schooners were two-masted, wooden sailing vessels with double frames.
Researchers are now making drawings of the shipwreck from different angles to identify the vessel. They’re also assessing catalogues detailing insurance requirements for ships from the 19th century.
While it’s not yet clear which ship Lucas unearthed, marine historian Patrick Folkes told CBC News there’s already a prime candidate — the St. Anthony.
“[It] was wrecked in October of 1856 on a voyage … from Chicago to Buffalo, New York, with a load of grain,” Folkes told CBC News. “It was described as having gone ashore four miles north of Goderich, which fits about where this wreckage is, and this would only represent a very small piece.”
