Excavating a shipwreck on Sable Island
Sable Island National Park Reserve
In May 2025, Parks Canada excavated the remains of a 200-year-old shipwreck at Sable Island National Park Reserve — believed to be the Swift. The sloop’s unearthing, if verified, marks a rare occasion of researchers correlating a shipwreck site on Sable Island with a documented wreck event from before the 20th century.
The Swift met its fate on Sable Island on September 27, 1812, along with two other ships: the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Barbadoes and the schooner Emeline. The three ships were sailing from Bermuda to Newfoundland.
Video: Uncovering shipwrecks on Sable Island
Transcript
[Gentle acoustic music]
[Name tag: Sarah Medill, Operations Coordinator, Sable Island National Park Reserve]
[Sarah] Hi, I'm Sarah Medill. I'm an operations coordinator at Sable Island National Park Reserve.
If you don't know where that is, we're about 290km from Halifax, Nova Scotia, way out in the Atlantic Ocean.
And this island has been a bit treacherous for maritime travel in the past, and so we are also known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. We have over 350 known shipwrecks to have occurred on Sable Island.
And this week we have some archeologists who are going to be coming out to study the shipwrecks. And we're going to go head out to the runway right now.
[Rock music]
[Text: Shipwrecks in the Sand]
[Person talking on radio]
[Sarah] Copy that.
[Sarah] Sable is the French word for sand. So it's no wonder this island got called Sable Island. There is nothing but sand here.
The sandbars around the island were also constantly shifting and moving around. And that's part of what posed such a navigational hazard to ships in the early 17th and 18th centuries.
[Text: Day 1 of the dig]
[Brandy] Sable Island is a really unique place for archaeology.
The island is constantly changing shape.
Shipwrecks and artifacts are buried when dunes form, and then revealed when the dunes erode and move.
[Text: 1766, 1851, 1899, 1952, 1959, 2024]
[Upbeat music]
[Name tag: Brandy Lockhart, Underwater Archaeologist, Parks Canada]
[Brandy] The underwater archeology team works, usually, in the water!
We work at the national historic sites and national parks throughout Canada.
And I think this is the first time working in a sand dune.
[Name tag: Rebecca Dunham, Terrestrial Archaeologist, Parks Canada]
[Becki] So we have a shipwreck site, but to excavate it archeologically, it's a terrestrial excavation, so.
But, given that it's a shipwreck and that's not something that we normally work on, we rely on the underwater archeologists to identify the pieces and sort of lead the excavation, because it's just– it's just not something we normally dig up!
[laughing]
[Sarah] I wonder if 200 years from now, they'll find our artifacts quite as exciting.
[Name tag: Mark Doucette, Archaeological Technician, Potlotek First Nation]
My first impressions was, god, there’s a lot of sand and a lot of water. It’s unreal.
It’s pretty neat landing on the beach, like, caught me off guard.
[Brandy] While we were walking around, we found a sheave block with a broad arrow on it.
[Sarah] So that’s the broad arrow?
[Becki] That’s the broad arrow.
[Brandy] A broad arrow is used by the British Royal Navy to mark their property. Finding that arrow indicated that somewhere in this area was a British Royal Navy shipwreck.
[Text: Shipwreck map, 1887]
[Brandy] Through archival research, we learned that a British Royal Navy ship, the HMS Barbadoes, was wrecked on Sable Island in this location in 1812, along with two ships from a small convoy of accompanying vessels.
[Text: HMS Barbadoes wrecked]
[Text: Dig site, 2025]
[Brandy] Our working theory is that the pieces we found with broad arrows are from the Barbadoes, and the hull pieces here are one of the smaller vessels that was accompanying the Barbadoes.
We need to collect the archaeological information quickly, because on Sable Island, artifacts could be re-buried or moved by the shifting sand dunes.
[Brandy] Well, we're going to try and uncover the top of this wreck that's still under the sand.
At the same time, we're also going to take down this sand.
We're going to see if we can't find the other part of this vessel. Hopefully, if we're lucky, maybe the keel is under here.
[Upbeat music]
[Wind]
[Brandy] So what we’re kind of hoping is that the hull broke like that, which they tend to do, and that the other side is under here
[Name tag: Ryan Harris, Underwater Archaeologist, Parks Canada]
[Ryan] I’m just going to do a quick dig here, Brandy, and see if this could indeed be a section of keel.
If it were a keel, and I think it could be, the fact that the sheathing is overlapping this way is telling you that’s the bow, right? Bow end.
[Text: Day 3 of the dig]
[Becki] It’s way larger and way more complete than we had anticipated, so that’s pretty exciting.
[Brandy] On Sable Island, it’s rare to be able to link individual artifacts to a specific wreck event. That’s one of the reasons we’re doing this excavation.
[Becki] This is an eroding sand dune. And I think as the sand dune keeps cutting back, there’s going to be more elements of who knows what.
[Rock music]
[Text: Day 5 of the dig]
[Sarah] I mean, it is obviously a different flavour of Sable Island weather.
It’s another reason that Sable Island was so treacherous for sailors, being one of the foggiest places.
[Becki] I mean, archaeology is an all-weather game. So you just roll with it.
[Brandy] Now that we've got the shipwreck fully uncovered, we are recording it. So we draw the whole thing to scale. Adding every timber, every feature that we can see, nails that we can see, and their locations. Put it all together in one sheet.
[Brandy] I’m going to start there, with the original nail.
[Becki] Uh-huh.
[Becki] Yeah. There was this symbol too.
[Ryan] Oh, look at that.
Uh, it was really impossible to see those details in the sandstorm. [laughing]
[Sarah] Sure would be handy if there was a name, just like, right there, eh?
[Becki] Wouldn’t it?
[Brandy] I'm going to take a wood sample from this piece of wreckage.
Okay. I'm going to take this and get a copper sample too.
[sawing]
[Text: Day 8 of the dig]
[Becki] This is our RTK GPS survey instrument.
So there's an antenna over there. It's speaking to the satellites. That antenna’s speaking to this one to get very accurate coordinates and elevations.
[Becki] We have this drone target here. And accurate positioning is needed for locking in all the drone shots, and a seal has kind of trundled along here.
So it looks like it hasn’t moved the target, just sort of drove over it.
[Sarah] Why are we covering this piece of wreckage back up?
[Brandy] We'll cover it right back up with sand because it will last longer under the sand. It provides an anaerobic environment, preventing oxygen and bacteria from getting in there.
It’s lasted this long under the sand. So we’re going to put it back.
[Contemplative music]
[Text: Day 10 of the dig]
[Becki] There’s letters stamped in the wood on this side saying “AU 1806.”
This is definitely associated with the British Navy. And it was made in August 1806.
Padding around it, tag.
This’ll go back to the conservation– Parks Canada Conservation Lab in Halifax.
[Brandy] We're going to have those tested for wood species so we can make sure that these are actually from the same wreck.
[Sarah] So we are here, waiting for our flight to come pick us, everybody up.
[Ryan] With a bit of follow up research, we should be able to arrive at a pretty good understanding of that wreck, and its size and what type of vessel it was. And hopefully we can link that up with the historical record. So, across the board, it was a highly successful project.
[Brandy] This work is just the start. Archaeology is a long, patient process. The story is still unfolding, but the excavation has given us a lot of amazing information.
[Music ends]
[Canada wordmark]
First discovery
Parks Canada operational staff and archaeologists work together to monitor the archaeological sites on Sable Island. Staff on the island play a crucial role, surveying for changes as the sand dunes shift and reporting any newly exposed sites and artifacts to Parks Canada archaeologists on the mainland.
During routine monitoring following a winter storm in February 2024, staff on the island discovered a small, exposed piece of wreckage and found a segment of copper sheathing with broad-arrow markings and an Admiralty stamp dated January 1810 from Portsmouth.
Archaeologists identified the broad-arrow marking as a symbol used by the British Royal Navy to mark its property. The only British naval ship known to have wrecked on the northeast part of Sable Island was HMS Barbadoes in 1812. Historical accounts also note that HMS Barbadoes had a refit at Portsmouth in 1810, linking the small fragment to the British Royal Navy frigate. The sheathing’s discovery sparked a wider search of the wreck area.
Every observation can be, and often is, meaningful. As the evidence mounted in this location, we planned an archaeological project to survey the area.
First discovery image gallery
The excavation team
A collaborative team of Parks Canada underwater and terrestrial archaeologists, as well as Mi’kmaw archaeological technicians and Earth Keepers worked together to excavate and document the shipwreck site on Sable Island National Park Reserve.
This unique excavation of a shipwreck on land required the skills of both terrestrial and underwater archaeologists working together.
- Terrestrial archaeologists are the experts on excavating archaeological sites on land
- Underwater archaeologists are the experts on shipwrecks and other sites found below the surface of oceans, rivers and lakes and on the foreshore
Two surveys, one unique discovery
On Sable Island, it’s rare for researchers to be able to link individual artifacts to specific wreck events. The island is constantly changing shape, and artifacts can be rapidly buried, moved and exposed as sand dunes shift. Parks Canada worked quickly to uncover, document and take samples from the wreck site before it was reclaimed by the sand.
The moving sands on Sable Island are constantly hiding and revealing secrets. We’ll often see new and interesting fragments of wrecks showing up on the beach after storms. It’s a fascinating place.
The excavation involved two trips to Sable Island in May 2024 and May 2025.
In 2024, the team recorded the exposed section of the wreck and then uncovered a larger buried section. The buried wreck extended deep into the dune and required more time and mechanical excavation tools to help remove the overburden of sand.
The team returned in 2025 to continue excavating the buried portion of the wreck. Over a series of days, archaeologists uncovered another large, buried section of the shipwreck — bigger and more complete than expected!
Could the wreck be the sloop Swift?
Parks Canada archaeologists have determined both large wreck sections to be from the same vessel, which they believe to be the Swift.
Clues
- The excavated site suggests the wreck was a smaller vessel with a single deck and mast
- The proximity to small fragments from HMS Barbadoes support a connection to the same wreck event
- The location of the wreck aligns with historic maps which indicate where the Swift ran aground
- The shipwreck’s wood appears to be Bermuda cedar, which would identify the Swift as a Bermuda sloop — and aligns with the ship’s route from Bermuda to Newfoundland
Supporting historical research
On September 27, 1812, three ships wrecked on Sable Island while sailing with another ship from Bermuda to Newfoundland. The ships grounded in a windstorm, and their crews were rescued two weeks later by a pair of ships sent from Halifax.
- The sloop Swift
- The schooner Emeline
- The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Barbadoes, which was escorting the other ships
One of the ships that HMS Barbadoes was escorting did not sink. It was this fourth ship that went to Halifax to sound the alarm and send a ship to recover the sailors and cargoes from Sable Island.
The excavation
Exposing the wreck
Usually, terrestrial archaeology (on land) deals with stratigraphy — layers of soil in which artifacts are found, and the soil layers provide evidence of activity and time period.
This was an unusual site to excavate, because it’s all uniform sand without stratigraphic layers. The sand is loose, so we used sandbags to stabilize the banks and then peeled the sand back from the wreck site.
We used a skid steer to help remove the overburden of sand, then switched to hand tools to avoid damaging the wreck.
Recording the wreck to scale
Once the shipwreck was fully uncovered, we recorded it. We drew the whole thing to scale — including every timber, every feature that we could see, nails that we could see, and their locations. We put it all together in one sheet.
Surveying the location of the wreck
We recorded the specific location of the wreck using an RTK GNSS survey instrument and a drone. The antenna on the ground speaks to the satellites to get very accurate coordinates and elevations. Accurate positioning is needed for locking in all the drone shots.
Collecting samples of the wreck for analysis
Parks Canada researchers use both wood and copper samples to determine an artifact’s age and to compare with other findings from a shipwreck site.
We take wood samples from the various pieces of wreckage, for wood-species analysis, and compare the results to see if they are the same wood species and if they are from the same wreck. In some cases, we may take dendrochronological samples to help date and determine the origin of the wood.
Burying the wreck again
After the researchers documented the shipwreck, it was covered back over with sand to protect it against the effects of oxygen, which rusts metal and supports wood-decaying fungi. The uniform environment of sand, free from exposure to sun and air, is the same reason the ship was still so intact when it was found.
Image gallery
Next steps
At Sable Island National Park Reserve, Parks Canada will continue monitoring the site on a regular basis. Different artifacts may be exposed as the sands shift over time.
The discovery has also sparked many more questions about the ships, the wreck and how the crew spent their time on Sable Island while waiting to be rescued. Back in the lab, Parks Canada archaeologists will continue to process information, conduct research and piece it all together.
Maps
The size and shape of Sable Island is constantly changing. The crescent-shaped island, made almost entirely of sand and surrounded by the open Atlantic Ocean, is constantly affected by wind, waves and weather.
The dig site, 2025
The wreck site of HMS Barbadoes, 1812
"Graveyard of the Atlantic"
Sable Island has a reputation as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Since 1583, there have been more than 350 recorded shipwrecks on the island. Navigational hazards include fog and shifting sand bars around the island.
Importance of archaeological research
Parks Canada archaeological research helps to increase knowledge of Sable Island National Park Reserve’s natural and cultural resources to inform evidence-based decision making in support of protection of the island.
Cultural resources on Sable Island
Parks Canada is one of the principal cultural resource management organizations in Canada. We help to unearth and look after the artifacts that tell the story of Canada. Understanding more about Sable Island National Park Reserve’s shipwrecks is part of that story.
Sable Island played an important role in Canada’s maritime, military, economic and social history — and it still plays an important role as a migratory bird habitat, a breeding ground for grey seals, a home to wild horses, and as part of the vast network of protected areas across Canada.
Parks Canada maintains a database of cultural resources on Sable Island, including the remnants of the Humane Establishment that operated from 1801 to the 1950s: traces of barns, houses, outbuildings, gardens, lifeboat stations and warming huts for shipwrecked people.
Did you know?
Entry to Sable Island National Park Reserve is prohibited without approval from Parks Canada
It is illegal to collect historic or natural objects from Sable Island National Park Reserve
- Doing so not only disrupts Sable Island’s environment but also interferes with researchers’ efforts to link artifacts to where they were found.
- Please leave Sable Island as you found it.
- If you believe you have found something significant, leave the item in place and report your finding to Parks Canada.
- Date modified :