The Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, is the name of a cargo ship wrecked in 1606 at the mouth of the River Tagus, near Lisbon, and subsequently excavated between 1996 and 2001. The ship had been seeking safer anchorage in the Tagus during strong winds, but she struck a submerged rock and went down close to shore with no loss of life. The wreck is so called because its major cargo at the time was peppercorns of black pepper, Piper nigrum, which carpeted the river and were harvested along with the fittings and other cargo by the population.