The wreck of British explorer James Cook's ship Endeavour has been identified after languishing on the bottom of Newport Harbour in the US for more than two centuries, but one of the organisations involved in the search says it's too soon to confirm.
Cook famously sailed the ship around the South Pacific before landing on the east coast of Australia in 1770.
Australian National Maritime Museum CEO Kevin Sumption announced that after a 22-year program of archival and archaeological research, "we can conclusively confirm that this is indeed the wreck of Cook's Endeavour".
"This is an important moment," he told reporters at National Maritime Museum in Sydney on Thursday.
"It is arguably one of the most important vessels in our maritime history."
The ship played an important role in exploration, astronomy and science and was an important artefact in the history of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and now the US, he said.
A "preponderance of evidence" had led to the conclusion that an archaeological site known as RI2394 in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, "does indeed comprise of the shipwreck of HM Bark Endeavour", he said.
But not everyone agrees - yet.
