Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck (7S-D-91)
Site History
This site, which appears to be a secondary artifact scatter from an 18th-century shipwreck, is
located near Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes, Delaware. It is likely that the wreck represents remains
of a British merchant ship in-bound from Great Britain to Philadelphia. While only a small portion
of the ship remained intact, estimates place the ship was between 85 and 90 feet in length with
a 225-to-275-ton capacity. Documentary research on merchant ships lost in the Delaware Bay or
Delaware River during the mid-18th century suggests that this wreck may have been either the
Severn or the Commerce.
Archaeological Investigations
This site was disturbed in the fall of 2004 during dredging by the Army Corps of Engineers. The
dredging operation pumped sand containing artifacts from the wreck onto Lewes Beach. Local
residents who noted the artifacts reported them to archaeologists with Delaware Cultural Resources.
Artifacts from the deposit collected between December of 2004 to April of 2005 included red and
yellow clay paving bricks, Westerwald stoneware mineral water bottles, borderware, tin glazed
earthenware, olive green case bottle glass, white salt glazed stoneware, Dutch tobacco pipes,
millstones, shoe buckles, gun parts, porcelain, and creamware. Since mid-2005, local citizens
have donated additional artifacts collected on the beach.
Analysis of the artifacts suggests that they were associated with a vessel active during the
1760s-1775 period.
Phase I archaeological investigations of the wreck took place in early 2005 confirmed the location
of the wreck and Phase II investigations that began in April of 2005 included a side scan sonar
of the wreck site.
References
Cox, J. Lee Jr.
2005 Phase 1 and Phase 2 Archaeological Investigations, Lewes Beach
and Roosevelt Inlet Borrow Areas, Delaware Bay, Sussex County, Delaware. Dolan Research, Inc.
(Edited from Delaware Cultural Resource Survey Archaeological Site Form)
Associated Artifacts
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