Indiana University professor and archaeologist Charles Beeker today unveiled two new Columbus-era wrought iron artillery cannons recently found along early trades routes established by Christopher Columbus.
They are part of a new exhibit at the Children‘s Museum of Indianapolis.
Beeker says the artifacts, which are being shown and preserved in a large water tank, are from some of the earliest European shipwrecks discovered in the Americas. The artifacts, which his team secured with help from the Dominican Republic government, are quite rare.
Beeker says while the public's perception of Columbus had changed over time, he should still be remembered.
"He should be really known in history as an explorer, a visionary, looking for new worlds and contacting these new worlds," Beeker says.
Beeker is part of a team that believes they recently found the missing Santa Maria off the coast of Haiti.