archaeologists discovered on an island in the Pacific Ocean traces of the prototype of Robinson Crusoe - the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, after a quarrel with the captain landed on an uninhabited island and lived there alone for 4 years
This is stated in an article published in the journal Post-Medieval Archeology.
Archaeologists have found a fortification. where Robinson lived.
In particular, two navigation devices were found that most likely belonged to him.
Selkirk in October 1704, after a quarrel with the captain of the galleon Cinque Ports, was abandoned on the deserted island of Mas Atierra or Aquas Buenas, now named after Robinson Crusoe, which is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. 640 kilometers off the coast of Chile. He was left with a musket, gunpowder, knife, carpentry tools, and also the Bible. He spent four years and four months in complete solitude until another ship discovered him.
It is believed that it was the story of Selkirk that became the basis of the plot of the famous novel by Daniel Dafoe about Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719. It is not known for certain if Dafoe met Selkirk, but he may have heard of his adventures.
Promotional video:
“The evidence found confirms the history of Aleksandr Selkirk's stay on the island and allows us to understand his stay here in a new way. We hope that Aquas Buenas, if handled with care, can become an attractive destination for tourists,”said one of the study's authors, David Caldwell of the Scottish National Museum.