Divers discover Gallipoli wrecks

A Sydney-based archaeological team has discovered several new shipwrecks from the World War I Gallipoli campaign in Turkey.

The joint Australia-Turkish team of 12 experts located several new wrecks from battle sites off Anzac Cove not previously explored by archaeologists.

The shipwrecks were examined during a side-scan sonar survey of the seabed adjacent to the beaches where Australian and New Zealand troops landed in the 1915 campaign.

Among the historic findings was a barge used for carrying dead and wounded troops off the beach.

The researchers also proved a wreck in Suvla Bay was the remains of the British destroyer HMS Louis, which was destroyed by Turkish shellfire in 1915.

NSW Planning Minister Tony Kelly said Project Beneath Gallipoli completed the first ever scientific survey of the 1915 campaign.

The survey was funded by a $21,000 NSW Government grant and private donations.

An archaeological team has just returned from a survey of the underwater battlefield of ANZAC Cove in Turkey, after discovering new shipwrecks from the Gallipoli campaign. Pictures: Mark Spencer