Forty years before Raleigh discovered Virginia, groups of fishermen from the Basque region of Spain were making dangerous crossings of the Atlantic in search of whales. They were the first Europeans to stay and exploit the marine resources of North America. Archaeologists have now discovered the remains of their daily lives on both sand and sea. The wreck of the ship, the San Juan, gives a fascinating insight into the development of boat-building, while the vats for extracting blubber mark the start of an industry that today has almost led to the whales' extinction.