Researchers believe they have found the wreck of HMS Endeavour, which carried Captain James Cook on his exploration of New Zealand.

Cook commanded the Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand, from 1769 to 1771.

A replica of the Endeavor. Photo: Fairfax Media.

It is now 230 years since the ship was sold, sunk and forgotten.

The last sighting of the Endeavour was around 1778, when it is believed the ship was sold, renamed the Lord Sandwich, and used to transport British troops during the American Revolution.

Archaeologists now believe they have found the scuttled remains of the Endeavour in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project made the discovery, saying the ship was scuttled in the harbour by British forces in the lead up to the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

The Endeavour was found alongside 13 other ships after an investigation which combined high-tech mapping of the seabed with analysis of historical shipping documents.

Captain James Cook.

In a statement, they said: "RIMAP has mapped 9 archaeological sites of the 13 ships that were scuttled in Newport Harbour in 1778 during the American Revolution.

"One group of 5 ships included the Lord Sandwich transport, formerly Captain James Cook's Endeavour."

The RIMAP said they were "80 to 100 per cent certain" that they remains they had discovered belonged to the Endeavour.

"The next phase of the archaeological investigation will require a more intense study of each vessel's structure and its related artifacts," it said.

Otago University historian professor Tony Ballantyne said the news was interesting, but the ship was not as significant to Kiwis as other aspects of his story.

"This potential discovery is a useful reminder that Cook's career, like the pathway of the endeavour itself, was a global one, and that Captain Cook's history connects to many important aspects of the global history of the British empire," he said.

"But ultimately for us, what is more significant than the Endeavour's remains are those transformations that his arrival set in train."

- Stuff.co.nz