A ten-year-old boy has made a remarkable discovery on a Canadian beach, unearthing a shipwreck believed to be nearly 200-years-old with his metal detector.
Lucas Atchison was just eight when he found the historic vessel during a family trip to Point Farms Provincial Park near Goderich, Ontario in 2023.
"We were on the beach, we got our metal detector out, and as soon as we set it up, ding! It was a spike from the shipwreck," Lucas told reporters.
The metal detector had been a birthday gift to the young explorer.
A ten-year-old boy has made a remarkable discovery on a Canadian beach, unearthing a shipwreck believed to be nearly 200-years-old with his metal detector
CBC
His discovery began with a small steel spike, which led to further investigation revealing the spike was attached to a piece of wood with several more spikes.
Further inspection confirmed these items were part of an entire wrecked ship buried in the sand.
Lucas and his father, Jason Atchison, reported their find to provincial parks staff before contacting the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee (OMHC), a non-profit volunteer group dedicated to preserving marine history.
The OMHC began excavation work this week, with Lucas keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
"The approvals process to dig takes time, with regulatory requirements needing to be met," explained marine archaeologist Scarlett Janusas.
Volunteers arrived with heavy machinery supplied by the provincial park, later switching to hand shovels, trowels and brushes to carefully examine what the sand had buried.
The team discovered a smaller portion of the ship than initially hoped.
"We had double frames, which seems to suggest that it was stronger-built ship and we believe that it was a schooner," said Janusas.
Archaeologists determined the section was frames from the side of the ship.
The exact identity of the ship remains unclear, though marine historian Patrick Folkes believes one candidate is the schooner St. Anthony.
Lucas Atchison was just eight when he found the historic vessel during a family trip to Point Farms Provincial Park near Goderich, Ontario in 2023
CBC
"[It] was wrecked in October of 1856 on a voyage from Chicago to Buffalo, New York, with a load of grain," he said.
A Buffalo Daily Republic news clip from 1856 mentions "schooner St Anthony of Erie" transporting wheat near Goderich, Ontario.
Another clip suggests the 325-tonne vessel ran aground nearby, noting: "Her cargo of wheat has all run through her bottom. It is thought she can be got off."
The OMHC volunteers are creating scale drawings of the wreck from different angles.
They will then rebury the ship to preserve it.
"We fill the hole back in, bury it and create an anaerobic environment, i.e. without oxygen," explained Janusas.
"It's not a perfect solution but it does maintain the structure of that ship probably for at least another 50 years."