Galle Fort maritime archaeology: VOC ship Avondster (1659) wreck and museum artifacts?

The Dutch East Indiaman Avondster sank in Galle Harbour in 1659 after slipping its anchor. Excavated by maritime archaeologists from the Central Cultural Fund and Western Australian Museum, the anaerobic harbor mud preserved an extraordinary collection of organic artifacts now exhibited in the 1671 Dutch warehouse museum inside Galle Fort. Highlights include waterlogged timber ship frames, brass navigational dividers, intact Dutch clay pipes, blue-and-white Kraak porcelain, iron cannonballs, and wooden barrels containing preserved beef bones.