Wheel Wreck Investigation 2018

Abstract

The waters around the Isles of Scilly contain a formidable number of historic shipwrecks, including five protected wreck sites. One of the most intriguing and enigmatic of these is the Wheel Wreck, a collection of corroded iron machinery lying in an orderly pile on the seabed in 16m of water. In April 2018, CISMAS carried out a six-day survey of the site. The cargo mound was measured, surveyed and enumerated. This has allowed the production of a cargo list, site plan and identification of most of the cargo items lying on the seabed. A limited search around the cargo mound produced a small quantity of pottery and glass which was used to indicate an earlier date for this site. It has not been possible to identify the vessel which carried this cargo. However, we have estimated the hold size, beam and tonnage of the vessel from the disposition and quantity of the cargo. This, along with the revised date for the site, should help to narrow down the documentary search for the name of the wreck