'Speaker to dig up the past; La Salle’s sunken ship to be topic' by Jeanne Williams, Temple Daily Telegram

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Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram
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Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Speaker to dig up the past;

La Salle’s sunken ship to be topic

by Jeanne Williams

Temple Daily Telegram - October 6, 2008

ROCKDALE - The story of the excavation of shipwrecked 17th century French ship Belle

is as fascinating as the account of explorer Rene-Robert de La Salle’s journey to the

New World, and will be presented by archaeologist/author Dr. Jim Bruseth at a Milam

County Historical Commission program Tuesday, Oct. 14, said organizer Dr. Dee Dee

Green.

In observance of Texas Archeology Month in October, the county historical commission

is inviting the public to a two-hour program starting at 6 p.m. in the First Baptist

Church, 240 Green St. in Rockdale, featuring Bruseth, Texas Historical Commission

archaeology division director.

Bruseth and his wife, Toni Turner, wrote a book titled “From a Watery Grave,” based on

the excavation of the Belle, Dr. Green said.

Autographed copies of Bruseth’s book will be available at the event, Dr. Green said.

Bruseth will chronicle the excavation of the ship and the story of French explorer La

Salle, who embarked from La Rochelle, France, to establish a colony in the New World.

In February 1686, the last of his vessels sank in a violent storm in Matagorda Bay.

Thirty miles inland near the present-day city of Victoria, La Salle established Fort

St. Louis as a settlement for pioneers who accompanied him to the New World. None

survived, including the famed explorer, the Texas Historical Commission reported.

Nearly 300 years later, Texas Historical Commission archaeologists discovered the

wreck of the Belle, and with it an entire “tool kit” for survival in the New World.

“I worked seven day weeks and 12-hour days, but had one of the most fascinating

archaeological jobs in the world,” Bruseth said. “Our decision to excavate the entire

shipwreck at once yielded invaluable information that would have been difficult to

discern from a series of field seasons.”

A giant cofferdam - built around the vessel to pump seawater out so archaeologists

could work in a dry environment - earned the attention of nautical experts from around

the world.

Severe storms threatened the safety of staff keeping watch over the work site at

night. The state of Texas, as well as public and private resources, assisted with

funding the massive project, which resulted in the excavation of more than 1 million

artifacts, including a crewmember’s skeleton and the ship’s hull.

The Belle is one of the most important shipwrecks ever discovered in North America.

The excavation in 1996-97 led by Bruseth lasted almost a year and produced an array of

finds including three bronze cannons, thousands of glass beads, bronze hawk bells and

pottery. The 1 million artifacts represent items needed by an explorer to colonize the

New World, but today are considered priceless historical treasures, Dr. Green said.

The project has now shifted to the conservation phase, in which every artifact is

carefully identified, cleaned and preserved. The hull of the ship has also been

reconstructed and is undergoing chemical treatment to preserve it. Artifacts that have

not been treated, numbering in the tens of thousands will decay over time and their

historical significance will be lost, Dr. Green said.

Many Belle artifacts are currently displayed at the Bob Bullock Texas State History

Museum in Austin, and others will be exhibited in museums around Matagorda Bay.

The Texas Historical Commission excavated two of Texas’ most important archaeological

sites relating to La Salle. First was La Salle’s ill-fated ship, the Belle, and the

second occurred in 1999 to 2000 when archaeologists explored Fort St. Louis, the

settlement La Salle and his stranded colonists established on Garcitas Creek.

After the excavations, seven museums in six Texas coastal counties banded together to

create the La Salle Odyssey, a series of exhibits that together tell the extraordinary

story of La Salle’s expedition and the THC excavations.

Each October, the historical commission observes Texas Archeology Month to promote

this spirit of discovery, and provide the opportunity for Texans to understand the

depth and richness of their heritage from the former dwellings of prehistoric hunters

to ancient shipwrecks and Civil War sites.

Texas Archeology Month began Wednesday. This year’s celebration across the state

includes demonstrations of native crafts and technologies, lectures on archaeological

topics, exhibits on archaeological sites or topics, tours of historical sites,

laboratories or exhibits, and hands-on activities, such as mock digs and rock art

replication, the historical commission reported.

A crew excavates La Salle’s sunken ship, the Belle, in Matagorda Bay. The excavation in 1996 led by Dr. Jim Bruseth lasted almost a year and produced an array of finds including three bronze cannons, thousands of glass beads, bronze hawk bells and pottery. On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Bruseth will give a presentation on this historic excavation at 6 p.m. in the First Baptist Church, 240 Green St. in Rockdale. (Photos courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department)