May 18, 2012 9:01 AM by AP
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gin bottles, cannons, muskets and ceramic dinnerware, some 200 years old, have been discovered at a shipwreck site in little-chartered waters off the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists say the site, about 200 miles off the coast and about 4,000 feet deep, is one of the most well-preserved shipwrecks discovered in the Gulf. Experts say the depth of the site has kept it largely undisturbed during two centuries of storms and hurricanes. Although most of the wood has long been eaten up by the salty water, the vessel's copper hull is still intact and its contents largely in place.
The team of NOAA and university researchers won't give a precise location for the wreck, citing concerns over possible plundering.