19th Century Shipwreck Washes Ashore On Cape

BOSTON -- A centuries-old ship washed ashore on a Wellfleet beach after Sunday's storm on Cape Cod, according to a published report.

The 19th-century schooner could be seen south of Newcomb Hollow Beach on Tuesday, the Cape Cod Times reported. It's not clear when the ship sunk, but it's the largest shipwreck to wash up or be uncovered since a similar ship appeared on a beach in Orleans about 10 years ago, according to William Burke of the National Park Service.

Burke estimated that the vessel dated to the 1800s or older, but another historian said that it could be the Logan -- a boat that wrecked around 1920.

The National Park Service plans to document the new shipwreck in photos and take measurements. Burke said that visitors were welcome to look and touch the vessel, but are not allowed to take a piece of the shipwreck.

Between 1850 and 1980, there were more than 3,500 shipwrecks in the waters off Cape Cod.