Museo Brozoski Provincial Museum
HMS Swift 1770 Shipwreck Exhibition
SLOOP SWIFT
Two Centuries Beneath the Sea
Scientific Director Dr Dolores Elkin
Departing for the site
A selection of bottles recovered
A selection of porcelain recovered
In March 1770, the British warship, His Majesty's Sloop Swift, became stranded, and then sank, in the harbour of Puerto Desire, now known as Puerto Deseado, in Patagonia, Argentina. Few of the contents of the ship could be rescued, and 88 men were stranded on the desolate coast with little food or shelter.
The wreck of the Swift with its fourteen cannons soon became covered with mud and silt and lay largely undisturbed in a few fathoms of water for some 200 years.
In 1982 some young local divers discovered the wreck and the Brozoski Museum was established in their honour, to house all the artefacts recovered.
In this exhibition historical records telling the story of the sinking of the Swift and of the fate of the survivors are presented. 
2002 May 10 - June 4:
Centro Cultural Borges Buenos Aires
dons diving suit
Click photo to enlarge (70K)
Since 1997 the excavation has been undertaken by a specialist underwater acheological diving team, based at the National Institute of Anthropology.
Many of the objects recovered are displayed. These include a large variety of pottery, glassware, clothing, furniture and personal objects.
Perhaps most importantly, the exhibition illustrates not only how the specialist underwater investigation was carried out, but the importance of contolled archeological studies, in which the acquisition of historical and scientific knowledge, rather that finanacial gain, is paramount.
The Magic Penny Trust is pleased to have been able to provide financial support towards the exhibition of the objects recovered, and, through Ciencias y Artes Patagonia, having been able to assist in the acquisition of information, books and historical documents from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and other centres in Britain.
Other Sponsors include: Swift Armour Argentina, Total Fina Elf, Hidrovía, Dinar Líneas Aéreas, Jan de Nul, Murchison-Terminal Zárate, Prefectura Naval Argentina, Armada Argentina, La Casa del Buceador, Lihué Expeditions, Bullrich-Gaona-Wernicke, British Embassy, Centro Cultural Borges and Ciencias y Artes Patagonia.
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TOP © Magic Penny Trust, 2002