Captain James Cook wreckage discovered!

The ship was famously named 'Lord Sandwich.'

Captain James Cook was a famous British explorer who commanded the HMS Endeavour from 1768 to 1771. Since it was intentionally sunk, its whereabouts fell into question - until now?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to CNN, researchers from  the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) believe they have discovered the HMS Endeavour, later renamed "Lord Sandwich," at the bottom of the sea in Rhode Island's Newport Harbor.

Dr. Kathy Abbass, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project executive director, stated: "Lord Sandwich was the first lord of the admiralty at the time so the name makes sense -- a nod by its private owner. We knew from its size, dimension and these records that the Sandwich was the Endeavour."

The International Business Times explained the wreckage was one of thirteen ships sunk in Newport Harbor to create a blockade during the Battle of Rhode Island. Though it was believed to have been at the harbor, it's exact location has yet to be substantiated.

"The American army was assembled on the mainland and the French sent a fleet to help," Dr. Abass explained. "The British knew they were at great risk so they ordered 13 ships out to be scuttled in a line to blockade the city. They were sunk in fairly shallow waters."

Nine shipwreck sites have been recorded by RIMAP and one includes five ships, which is currently believed to be Lord Sandwich's final resting place.

RIMAP researchers used historic documents and remote sensing data to understand "the general area of Newport Harbor where those five ships were scuttled, and in previous work had already mapped four of the sites there."

A statement released by RIMAP explained: "A recent analysis of remote sensing data suggests that the fifth site may still exist, too. That means the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project now has an 80 to 100% chance that the Lord Sandwich is still in Newport Harbor, and because the Lord Sandwich was Capt. Cook's Endeavour, that means RIMAP has found her, too."

A RIMAP spokesman stated: "The next phase of the archaeological investigation will require a more intense study of each vessel's structure and its related artefacts [sic]."

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