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Last updated on Friday, December 14, 2007
(BLOOMINGTON) - A historic ship resting in less than 10 feet of ocean water has been discovered by an Indiana University archaeology team.
The Quedagh Merchant, the sailing ship, abandoned by notorious 17th century sea Captain William Kidd as he raced to clear his name in a New York court, has been found.
IU Academic Diving and Underwater Science Director Charles Beeker said he was surprised the wreckage had been untouched after all these years since it was in relatively shallow water only 70 miles off the shore of the Dominican Republic island of Catalina.
Beeker said he was surprised this was the first wreckage he had found in a dive that hadn't been looted, especially since the wreckage of Kidd's ship has been searched for for years by treasure hunters.
Historians differ on whether Kidd was a pirate, or a privateer which, in the day, actually went after pirates.
Either way, Captain Kidd has been the unofficial mascot of at least 3 US naval destroyers, though they were all named after Admiral Isaac Kidd, the first flag officer killed at Pearl Harbor.
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