Underwater research team on public TV

A public television special will feature the work of an East Carolina University nautical archaeology team that is studying the remains of a 17th century shipwreck in Bermuda.

The special edition of “Search,” a program produced by N.C. Public Television, will be shown at 1 p.m. on Nov. 3 and again at 9 p.m. on Dec. 2, 1996. Archaeology projects at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at N.C. State University will also be featured on the one-hour broadcast.

The ECU research is led by underwater archaeologist Gordon Watts of the Department of History’s graduate program in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology. Watts directs teams of graduate students in Bermuda during the fall semester and for the past three years, the ECU research teams have worked on the remains of a shipwreck that sank near island in 1685.

Watts said research at the site has revealed that the ship was of English origin. But he said the vessel was under the command of Spanish sailors when it sank.

The television special will feature interviews with Watts and with graduate students who are working at the shipwreck site.