Public Archaeology Report

1. La Belle 2015
The La Belle Excavation
Willie P. Cook
Public Archaeology Project
APA Format

2. Background
After many years of searching for the lost La Belle , divers from the Texas Historical
Commission (THC) located the shipwreck on the bottom of Matagorda Bay, near the Texas coast. The
ship contained historic artifacts of European origin. The first cannon lifted from the waters bore late
Seventeenth-Century French insignias. THC Archeology Division Director James Bruseth, led a full
excavation of the La Belle. The conservation of the ship was completed at Texas A&M University's
Conservation Research Laboratory. A&M was able to preserve more than one million artifacts from
the wreck. The La Belle is still considered a sovereign naval vessel belonging to the French
Government under international maritime law. A formal agreement negotiated by the French Republic
and the US Department of State allows the ship and artifacts to remain in Texas permanently (Texas
Beyond History, 2008).

3. Introduction
Road Trip
For my Public Archaeology
Project, I chose to visit and report
on the Corpus Christi Museum
which required a 150 mile road trip
to Corpus Christi, Texas. The
museum is an affiliate of the Texas
State History Museum system
which is headquartered in Austin.
Click on picture to visit the site.

4. Introduction
Road Trip
I chose this museum for its role in the
recovery of the exhibition of the French
Ship La Belle and to assess their
outreach to educate the public about
locating, excavating and preserving this
historic ship. They have some of the
artifacts so I figured they could tell the
story about the ship’s journey from
France to the Museum.
A bronze cannon from the La Belle

5. Introduction cont.
Online Research
My project also involved some online research at
the Texas State History Museum in Austin, the
Texas Beyond History site at the University of
Texas at Austin, and the Texas Historical
Commission site. Their online outreach is
exceptional in my opinion. As a matter of fact,
most of my research was done at these sites
because the Corpus museum fell very short of
telling the story about this significant
accomplishment.
Click on picture to visit the site.

6. Introduction cont.
Upon arrival at the Corpus Christi museum, I introduced myself to the
staff. Afterwards, I asked if the curator or anyone who had worked on
the La Belle project was available. I was told that I had just missed her
and that she had left for the day. Then I asked the staff if they could
answer a few questions about public/community outreach concerning
the recovery of La Belle. They looked a little surprised and became
guarded as if they thought I might be a reporter. I explained to them
that I was a UMUC student working on an Archaeology class project.
They seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. I was then told that their
training department was currently working a public outreach plan and
that it should be finished with the next few weeks or so. Then they
offered to answer my questions.

7. Introduction cont.
My questions were as follows:
• Have you ever offered volunteer opportunities to help with the project? A. No, the La
Belle artifacts are delicate and they require special handling.
• Was the public invited to the exaction site? A. Yes, I think visitors were allowed to view
from the top of that thing (cofferdam) used during excavation.
• Other than the museum display, has there been anything else done to educate the public
about the recovery and preservation of La Belle? A. Yes, there are YouTube videos and
live streams from Austin detailing the La Belle’s history. (There were none at the museum
explaining the process of locating and recovering the ship)
I also asked other questions about La Salle and La Belle to which the staff had no answer
for.
The Corpus Christi Museum has a marginally effective public outreach program due to their
link with other exceptional museums in the state. The Corpus Christi museum needs
improvement.

8. Locating La BelleTheory
Texas Beyond History (TBH) (2008), one of the
exceptional websites, highlighted the fact that the La Belle
was lost for well over 300 years (para. 6). Scientist knew
that it was somewhere in or around Matagorda Bay;
however, the exact location was hard to pin point because
Matagorda Bay is comparable to a ship graveyard. Using
17th Century maps, the Texas Historical Commission (THC)
began searching for the La Belle in the 1970s (TBH, 2008,
para 1). The Corpus Christi museum did not have any
information about methods used in the search for La Belle.
When asked, one staffer flat out said “I’m not even sure.”

9. Search Methods
For 10 long weeks in the 1970s,
scientists used a magnetometer in
an attempt to locate metal objects
on the seafloor of the designated
search field. They were unable to
find the La Belle; however, they did
find other shipwrecks. The Corpus
museum staffers could not tell me
how the La Belle was located.
“A floating magnetometer is pulled behind a boat through the
waters of Matagorda Bay in an attempt to locate the
shipwreck”(TBH, 2008)
(TBH, 2008, para. 1)

10. Search Methods
In 1995, technology was much
better and the search began again
in the same area. This was to be
the final search. The new
technology was a game changer.
Scientist hovered over an area of
unusual magnetism. When divers
went down to check they found
several items including a large
piece of what, they thought, might
belong to a ship.
“Contour map of magnetic anomalies pinpointing the position of La Belle shipwreck in
Matagorda” (TBH, 2008).
(TBH, 2008, para. 2)

11. Identifying La Belle
After finding several small items, divers finally found something to positively confirm the La Belle.
A large tubular object that turned out to be a bronze cannon with handles in the shape of
dolphins. The cannon had the crest of King Louis the XIV. The divers had recovered one of the La
Belle’s cannon (TBH, 2008, para. 4).
“Decorated with elegant handles in the shape of leaping dolphins and French insignias, the
cannon was the "smoking gun," so to speak-the evidence that convinced searchers that the Belle
shipwreck finally had been discovered” (TBH, 2008).

12. Historic Excavation
One of the cannons is on display in the Corpus Christi museum but
the banner doesn’t say anything about how it was found and
preserved. It took many years to locate the shipwreck, and a ground
breaking excavation project to recover the ship and the artifacts. The
museum needs to do a better job at telling the story of this
extraordinary accomplishment. The important details are not
available on the exhibit banners, and also, the staff is unable to
answer questions about the ship’s journey from Matagorda Bay to the
museum. It seems like they are just using the artifacts to attract
customers to the museum for financial gain.

13. Historic Excavation
The historic cofferdam excavation of the La Belle produced well over one million artifacts including the La
Belle’s wooden hull. Three bronze cannons that clearly identified the La Belle, several thousand beads, bronze
bells used on hawks during hunting, and the skeleton of a crew member (THC, 2015, para. 2). The bronze hawk
bells, some glass beads, brass rings and one of the cannons were all on display at the Corpus Christi Museum.
The banners had sufficient information about the artifact; however, they tell explain how they were recovered.
I took these photos while there. Click on them to learn more and get a better view.

14. Science Meets History.Important issues on excavation and preservation
The Corpus museum has a similar exhibit. They should install a monitor that plays this video. It would go a long way in explaining how the artifacts arrived
at the museum.

15. Excavation Methods
After the cofferdam facilitated
excavation, scientist started
removing the artifacts piece by
piece, including the ship, and
sending them off to Texas A&M
for cataloguing and preservation.
Click on the video to learn more
(TBH, 2008, para. 11).

16. Preservation MethodsImportant Issues (Historic Preservation)
After recovery, the artifacts
were preserved and made ready
for their public debut. This
video is from the Texas State
museum and it sheds light on
this incredible underwater
Archaeology project (Texas State
Museum, 2015). It is one of the
many efforts that they have
made to educate the public
about the La Belle. This is not
available at the Corpus museum
or their website.

17. La Belle Live
Public Outreach and Education about the Project
Live updates from the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin, Texas
The state museum is
extremely effective at
educating the public
about the ongoing
efforts to preserve the
La Belle. This live
stream is one of the
many ways. They even
take advantage of
Facebook and Twitter.

18. Updates during the excavation
Continuous Public Education about the Project
Archaeologist find skeleton (video) News about La Belle shipwreck (video)
Both videos are available on YouTube and at the Bob Bullock (Texas State History) Museum. The video on the right is from the 90s.

19. Conclusion
The main problem that I found in my assessment of the Corpus Christi Museum is their lack of
information about the La Belle. Sure they have artifacts on display, but they don’t tell the story.
This was a historical underwater Archaeology project and public education about the project at
Corpus Christi seriously lags behind other museums in the state. There are simple improvements
that could be made. They could include links on their website that lead to the TBH or THC websites.
Also, they could run the live feeds from the Texas State Museum. Additionally, they could add
exhibit banners that better explain how an artifact made it from Matagorda Bay to the museum.
Overall, it was still worth the 300 mile round-trip because the museum had many excellent exhibits
on display. It was a tremendous opportunity for me to see some of the stuff that I have studied this
semester in Archaeology and Geology.

20. References
Bob Bullock Museum (2015). Educational Resources. Retrieved from
http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/educational-resources
Corpus Christi Museum (2015). Personal visit on February 21, 2015. Online information retrieved from
https://www.ccmuseum.com/
Texas Beyond History (TBH) (2008). Discovery and Investigation: Excavation and Preservation. Retrieved from
http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit/excavation-and-preservation
Texas Beyond History (TBH) (2008). Discovery and Investigation: The Recovery of La Belle. Retrieved from
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/excavations.html
Texas Historical Commission (2015). La Salle Archeology Projects La Belle: Fort St. Louis Excavations. Retrieved from
www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/archeology/la-salle-archeology-projects

21. Video References
Slide 14
Bob Bullock Museum (2015). Theory and Recovery. Science Meets History. Retrieved from
http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit
Slide 15
Kxan News ABC (2015). Historic La Belle shipwreck ready for Bullock museum. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-WkfMOon90
Slide 16
Texas Beyond History (TBH) (2008). Discovery and Investigation: Excavation and Preservation. Retrieved from
http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit/excavation-and-preservation
Slide 17
Bob Bullock Museum (2015). Live video stream. Retrieved from
http://new.livestream.com/bullockmuseum/events/3554909
Slide 18
Bob Bullock Museum (2015). The La Belle Skeleton Update. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lexml9Tl0PQ
Bob Bullock Museum (2015). News Coverage of La Belle Shipwreck Project. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMHHefslwgo