The skeletal remains of a 19th-century shipwreck found on the shores of Puerto Madryn, Argentina, have been identified as the long-lost whaling ship Dolphin, originating from Rhode Island. Researchers used dendrochronology, the study of tree rings, to confirm the ship’s identity, which was last seen afloat over 150 years ago. The findings were recently published in the journal Dendrochronologia.
The wreck, barely more than remnants of ribs and hull, was discovered in 2004 and excavated a few years later. Speculation about its identity as the Dolphin has persisted for over a decade, but the recent tree ring analysis provides compelling evidence to support this claim. Ignacio Mundo, the study’s lead author and a dendrochronologist at IANIGLA-CONICET, stated, “I cannot say with a hundred percent certainty, but analysis of the tree rings indicates it is very likely that this is the ship.”
Tree ring dating is a powerful tool for pinpointing historical events, providing valuable climatological data and precise timelines. In this case, researchers carefully extracted wood samples from the shipwreck’s remains using a chainsaw. These samples were then cross-referenced with the North American Drought Atlas, a comprehensive database containing tree ring samples from thousands of trees spanning over two millennia.
The analysis revealed that the wreck’s ribs were constructed from white oak, while the hull and wooden nails were made of yellow pine and black locust, respectively. These tree species are all native to the eastern United States, further supporting the link to Rhode Island. The dating process indicated some trees used in the ship’s construction began growing as early as 1679, with the most recent oaks felled in 1849, just a year before the Dolphin‘s construction commenced.
Although the evidence strongly suggests the wreck is indeed the Dolphin, researchers acknowledge the absence of definitive proof, such as the ship’s bell. Mukund Rao, a dendrochronologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Tree Ring Lab, commented, “The archaeologists are more conservative… It’s true we don’t have something like the ship’s bell. But for me, the story is there in the tree rings.”
The identification of the Dolphin contrasts with the recent discovery of the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s expedition ship, where the name remained clearly visible on the stern despite being submerged for over a century. While lacking such irrefutable visual confirmation, the tree ring data provides a compelling narrative, connecting the fragmented remains on the Argentinian coast to a Rhode Island whaler lost to time.
This discovery underscores the value of dendrochronology in unraveling historical mysteries and offers a glimpse into the maritime history of the 19th century. The Dolphin‘s remains, once silent fragments on a distant shore, now whisper a story of a bygone era, thanks to the secrets held within their very grain.
