18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site

[Donnachaidh]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/18th-century-ship-found-at-trade-center-site/?src=twt&twt=nytimes

In the middle of tomorrow, a great ribbed ghost has emerged from a distant yesterday.

On Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of the underground vehicle security center for the future World Trade Center hit a row of sturdy, upright wood timbers, regularly spaced, sticking out of a briny gray muck flecked with oyster shells.

Obviously, these were more than just remnants of the wooden cribbing used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to extend the shoreline of Manhattan Island ever farther into the Hudson River. (Lower Manhattan real estate was a precious commodity even then.)

“They were so perfectly contoured that they were clearly part of a ship,” said A. Michael Pappalardo, an archaeologist with the firm AKRF, which is working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to document historical material uncovered during construction.

By Wednesday, the outlines made it plain: a 30-foot length of a wood-hulled vessel had been discovered about 20 to 30 feet below street level on the World Trade Center site, the first such large-scale archaeological find since 1982, when an 18th-century cargo ship came to light at 175 Water Street.

Pictures at the link ---

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How very cool!

I was especially struck by the picture of someone holding the remains of a sandal...

Someone wore that, so long ago...

Amazing pictures...

Recommended.

[aquart]

2. omg. Does this mean an archaeological halt to construction?

[Donnachaidh]

3. they are working around it for now.

I hope they get all of the relics - the shoe is a cool picture!

[backscatter712]

7. It's a race against time. The wood of the ship is deteriorating.

Once it was exposed to air, it immediately started to break down, so the archaeologists are racing to preserve what they can and record the find.

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. The pics showed a team of Archaeologists, but noted that work was continuing.

[UpInArms]

5. thanks for the post! that was amazing!

:toocool:

[applegrove]

6. Cool!