We've estimated that there are around 4,000 ships that have sunk since the 1500s in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Of course, we've only found a very small percentage of those.
We don't know a great deal about what we're going to find, that's part of the experience of exploration.
What we're hoping to see today is a ship that was identified first from an oil and gas industry survey back in 2002.
We have made several attempts to try to identify what this might be and so far this is going to be our absolutely best chance.
The interesting thing about shipwrecks is that they truly are a glimpse into a window of time.
I think the switch from Roman numbers is before 1825, in terms of a construction date.
What's interesting to note about this is that you can see that the number 12 is buried, indicating that there's a lot more hull underneath the sediment.
We're looking at something maybe 1830ish?
That would certainly, in the Gulf of Mexico, would place it at the height of the cotton trade.
It's a period that we have not seen, I think, other wrecks in the Gulf, so this is unique.
Unlike an archaeological site on land, which could span decades or even centuries,
everything that was on board that ship when it went down was likely in use.
As archaeologists, one thing we hate is the word "treasure."
The treasure we're interested in is the treasure of knowledge and understanding, not something of intrinsic value.
Vessels like the Okeanos Explorer, with their high-def cameras, their lighting system,
really enables us to see what's on the seafloor that otherwise we would not be able to.
Shore-side, how is this looking so far?
This is literally a dream come true for me.
The goal is to attempt to construct a three-dimensional model.
So by taking the images in the way that we're going to acquire them,
we should be able to run this through software that will render it as an actual 3-D viewable model.
It's not something that's going to be sold or wind up on eBay or QVC or anything like that,
but more just the treasure of what we can learn from it.
It's a way to connect with the past, and to understand where we came from,
and kind of also what led to our own present.
Well, I got what I wanted for Christmas.