Earlier this month, a group of archaeologists, rescue personnel and others ventured into a series of sea caves near Manzanita, recovering pieces of a centuries-old mystery.

Remains believed to belong to the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Manila galleon ship that wrecked in the late 17th century along a series of North Coast headlands, were retrieved for study by experts.

Remains have now found their way to the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, where I recently had the chance to take in a series of exhibits focused on the Columbia-Pacific region’s notorious waterways, including a new display on shipwrecks.

Vessels like the Rosecrans, Iowa, Laurel and others are profiled in the display, brought to life by news archives, rescue gear and artifacts.

Some weeks earlier, I also visited the Nehalem Valley Historical Society in Manzanita, where two exhibits now on view highlight maritime artifacts and legends. Both museums have on display large pieces of beeswax, found along local shores, the spoils of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, known locally as the beeswax wreck.

It’s one of thousands of recorded shipwrecks across the region, discussed among visible sites like the Wreck of the Peter Iredale.

The shell of the latter, explored by generations of visitors among the breaking waves at Fort Stevens State Park, is chronicled in a series of vintage photographs at the Maritime Museum, reminders of change, and of what remains.