Warwick

The final voyage

Warwick was a colonial merchantman owned and operated by Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, serving the Virginia Company's Bermuda trade. On 20 October 1619, while re-provisioning at Bermuda en route to Jamestown, Virginia, the ship was caught by a hurricane and driven onto the shallow reefs and limestone of Castle Harbour. [5](https://nauticalarch.org/projects/warwick-research-project/)

The wreck was first surveyed magnetically in 1966 by Bermudian salvor Edward 'Teddy' Tucker and Smithsonian curator Mendel Peterson, and a 1979 team confirmed well-preserved hull remains — nearly the entire starboard side survived — though it was not then fully recorded. [5](https://nauticalarch.org/projects/warwick-research-project/) Systematic excavation followed between 2010 and 2012, led by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and Texas A&M's Center for Marine Archaeology and Conservation, working with the Bermuda Maritime (now National) Museum. [1](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1095-9270.12263)

What was aboard

No cargo manifest for this voyage has been located. The items below reflect artifact categories documented through the excavation reports and published analyses of the recovered assemblage.

Ship's hull: A large, well-articulated section of the starboard hull, among the most complete early-17th-century English hull remains known.

Ordnance and fittings: Guns and associated rigging and structural fittings, described in the excavation's artifact assemblage studies.

Ballast: Stone ballast, partly disturbed by 1970s salvage but recorded intact in some areas during the 2011 season.

Everyday cargo and provisions: Material consistent with a re-provisioning stop, documented in the project's preliminary artifact analysis.

How to collect

Understand this is a controlled research excavation, not a treasure salvage: The 2008–2012 work was an academic hull-recording project; it was not structured to disperse artifacts to private buyers.

Distinguish 1970s salvage from the 2008–2012 excavation: Some ballast and material were disturbed by earlier, less-documented salvage; provenance claims should specify which recovery episode is meant.

Expect institutional custody, not market supply: Recovered material and records are held in trust at the National Museum of Bermuda; private market material genuinely from this wreck should be treated as exceptional and scrutinized accordingly.

Verify against the published excavation reports: The IJNA report and INA project pages document specific finds categories; claims outside those categories warrant added scrutiny.