Captain Cook's Long-Lost Ship Found After 250 Years. Here's Where It Was Finally Discovered

After 250 years, the long-lost ship of Captain James Cook, HMS Endeavour, has finally been discovered off the coast of Newport Harbour, Rhode Island. Originally the first European vessel to reach eastern Australia (1768-1771), it was later renamed Lord Sandwich and sank during the American War of Independence in 1778.

The Australian National Maritime Museum confirmed the find after 25 years of underwater exploration and archaeological research, identifying the wreck as RI 2394 based on matching dimensions from Cook's 1768 survey.

"This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel," said museum director Daryl Karp of the document, which he described as the "definitive statement" on the project, Pen News reported. "It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe."

According to the New York Post, the sunken remains then lay at the bottom of the ocean for 2 and half centuries until experts formally matched the ship with a wreck dubbed RI 2394, which was located in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.

Researchers were able to confirm that it was indeed Cook's lost ship by comparing the wreckage with the vessel's historic plans, finding that the placement of certain timbers was a dead ringer for the locations of its main and fore masts in the outline.

Meanwhile, the wreck's measurements matched those taken during a 1768 survey of the Endeavour.

"The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I'm talking within millimetres - not inches, but millimetres," declared Australian National Maritime Museum archaeologist Kieran Hosty. "The stem scarf is identical, absolutely identical."

He added, "This stem scarf is also a very unique feature - we've gone through a whole bunch of 18th-century ship's plans, and we can't find anything else like it."