There is a certain amount of confusion, if not controversy, about the positive
identification of what is commonly called the China Wreck by local divers. What is
certain is that some 10,000 pieces of pottery have been plucked from the wreck site,
about a dozen miles off Cape Henlopen. Hence, its nickname, the China Wreck.
In all likelihood, the muddy, coral and salt-encrusted mound 39 feet down is the hulk
that was once the proud Principessa Margherita di Piemonte, out of Naples, Italy. She
was sailing from Plymouth, England to Philadelphia with her holds stacked securely with
tons of stoneware and pottery. On March 12, 1891, the Principessa foundered and
wrecked on Hen and Chickens Shoal.
Discovered by the NOAA vessels "Rude" and "Heck" in 1972. The ship's nearly two-
ton anchor has been salvaged, and thousands of neatly packed ironstone earthenware
has been recovered. Much of the pottery is marked and clearly identifiable as being
from British pottery makers of the late 1800's.