A Pirate Era Stone Sharpener – credit WreckwatchTV © released
In the real Caribbean, there were once real pirates, and now a team of archaeologists and filmmakers has discovered the first shipwrecks that can help tell the story of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Between the 1690s and 1720s, a cast of pirates including illustrious names as Blackbeard, Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny, made Nassau on the island of New Providence their base.
There, plans of attack were hatched, plunder divided and partied away. Rum was presumably drunk, and songs were presumably sung during this golden age.
Now, with the first-ever permission to dive in the closed zone of Nassau harbor, the New Providence Pirates Expedition and Wreckwatch TV have discovered six wrecks, three tied to the iconic Golden Age of Piracy of which these figures were chiefly involved in leading.
“Thanks to Hollywood, everyone loves the legend,” says marine archaeologist and project co-director, Dr. Sean Kingsley. “But beyond the fantasy, nobody knows how these sea dogs really lived, what their ‘Piratetown’ looked like and what happened to the vehicles of their mayhem, wooden ships.”
At the height of the piracy in 1718, Woodes Rogers, Governor of New Providence, spotted 40 wrecks burnt and sunk by pirates on Nassau’s shore. Throughout the Golden Age of Piracy, 1,000 sea dogs settled in the port town. Until now, not one of their ships has ever come to light in their home waters.
“Nassau harbor is huge,” says explorer and project filmmaker Chris Atkins. “Tides flush dangerous currents through its waters twice a day. It’s home to notorious packs of sharks. This was a risky expedition with high chances of finding nothing.”
The Nassau harbor wreck’s hull – credit Wreckwatch TV ©
Through dives in and around Nassau, and thanks to knowledge from local divers, six wrecks were discovered. Iron cannons, a grinding stone for sharpening swords and lead musket balls were found 21 miles east of Nassau.
“The crystal-clear visibility was incredible. The whole wreck was laid out before us,” says project co-director Dr. Michael Pateman. “The ship was heavily armed, especially with swivel guns, the cannon of choice for pirates. Slotted onto deck rails, these anti-personnel weapons raked devastating fire on enemy crews.”
Inside the harbor, the team found a stone ballast pile still pinning down its wooden hull. The ship’s planks and frames were connected by wooden treenails, an 18th-century shipbuilding style. And the hull was charred.
“After seizing a ship and taking its cargo, cannon and fittings, pirates had to get rid of all signs of their crime. Burning ships to the waterline was an infamous tactic to hide felony from authorities. The Nassau hull shows all the signs of pirate mischief,” says Pateman.
Midway through the project, the team got a tip-off about another 18th-century wreck beneath Nassau’s old bridge, guarded by a mean bull shark. The cutting of an underwater pipeline and the construction of a modern marina had supposedly destroyed all the remains.
“Never say never in archaeology,” Kingsley remarks. “We decided to take a look and were shocked to see hull planks, rigging, glass bottles and bricks from the ship’s cooking galley still preserved. Dozens of clay tobacco pipes were sticking out of the sand next to splintered wooden shipping crates.”
Tobacco Pipes at the Nassau wreck – credit, Wreckwatch TV ©
The pipes were decorated with a unicorn, horse, crown and the royal crest of England. The cargo was made in London around the 1740s. The ship was likely English and sailed for Nassau just after the pirate menace had been crushed. The survival of the wreck, heavily smashed by urban construction, is a miracle. The trader’s cargo of wine in glass bottles and fancy smoking pipes sheds rare light on Nassau becoming a normal port of trade, bouncing back from the pirate anarchy.
The 1710s were a time of poverty, when the Royal Navy cut its staff by more than half. Piracy offered rebels a chance to escape whipping, poor food and worse on navy warships and to earn up to 1,000% more than sailing on regular merchant vessels. “It might have been a short life, but for a brief period of mayhem, sailors found freedom and wealth unmatched anywhere on earth. That escape was the pirate dream,” says Pateman.
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“Nassau’s history is deep and colorful,” says Atkins. “Blue seas, exquisite landscapes and endless visibility for diving make this place incredibly special to film. You can see why the pirates chose to live here. Helping bring The Bahamas’ pirate past back to life has been epic.”
The team’s pirate adventures and discoveries in New Providence are showcased in a documentary series produced by Sean Kingsley and Chris Atkins for Wreckwatch TV, also co-presenters, alongside Michael Pateman. The show, airing from June 4th 2026, also unveils the first historically accurate 3D digital model of what Nassau’s ‘Piratetown’ looked like around the year 1715.
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The latest issue of Wreckwatch Magazine, published the same day presents the first results of the New Providence Pirates Expedition.
The New Providence Pirates Expedition was conducted with the kind permission and under agreement with the Antiquities, Monuments & Museum Corporation of The Bahamas.
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