ArchaeoBlog

New clues to ship’s
history found at ground zero dig site

Archaeologists trying to unravel the history behind an 18th century ship excavated from ground zero have found some important maritime clues: birdshot pellets, musket balls and small cannon shot the size of golf balls embedded in the ship’s wooden planks.

Why on a merchant ship? There were New Jersey “gangsters” who hid in the marshes of the Hudson River and attacked ships as they entered New York Harbor, said Warren Riess, 62, lead maritime archaeologist and historian working on the dig. Some of the remnants also may have come from weapons the ship’s own crew used to protect it.

“There were still some pirates in the Caribbean at the time, but there were also gangsters in New Jersey who came out of the marshes and did some nasty things,” he said.

Not a whole lot new, but a couple of interesting items mentioned.

Colonial-era graves for dogs found in Williamsburg

wo Colonial-era graves found on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg contained dogs, a find that is “unprecedented,” archaeologists said Friday.

The discovery raises questions about who would have valued their animals enough to give them a formal burial, said Joe Jones, director of the college’s Center for Archaeological Research.

No animal graves associated with the European colonists of that period have ever been found.

Odd, but they don’t seem to be actual burials, just some remains mixed in with the sediment. Huh.

Archaelogists uncover a long lost Civil War camp

On Aug. 18, archaeologists from Georgia Southern University announced their unearthing of the hidden and thought to be long-lost Confederate Camp Lawton.

CampLawton, located in Magnolia State Park just north of Millen, Ga., had been hidden underground for nearly 150 years before work began to uncover it last December. Though the camp has been out of sight for a little over a century, its existence was known through historical documents such as a drawing of a map that was used by the team of Georgia Southern archaeologists to find the camp.

Workmen May Have Accidentally Cut World Trade Center Boat in Half

Construction workers at the World Trade Center may have unwittingly destroyed the 30-foot back section of an 18th century boat that was discovered near the site nearly two weeks ago, archaeologists say.

A report by a team of archaeologists theorizes that the damage to the boat’s aft was done late last year, when Port Authority workers were seeking to mitigate delays caused by the still-standing Deutsche Bank building.

Port Authority officials had ordered workmen to build a concrete slurry wall just west of the Deutsche Bank site so that they could begin excavating on one side of the wall without undermining the foundation of the soon to be demolished building.

No ‘whoops’ really, although you would think they would have noticed. . .well, maybe not. Might have shattered the wood and made it not really recognizable. Note that the rest of it still could be in the wall. Which would be par for the course, you hardly ever find anything not stuck halfway into a baulk.

Archaeologists find 1973 class ring

A Texas woman said archeologists working at the site of a Texas Revolution battle found the class ring she lost in 1974.

Judith Goode Fesler, of Kerrville, said she lost her 1973 Deer Park High School class ring at the Harris County site of the battle of San Jacinto in the summer of 1974, and the ring was returned to her Wednesday by park Superintendent Russell Kuykendall, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

Doesn’t really say how they found it, presumably while they were excavating somewhere? (Yes, it was four inches down so they obviously were digging, but they might have been using metal detectors and just doing spot digs)

This from a couple of weeks ago: Crews To Remove WTC Ship From Site

A ship found at the World Trade Center site is on the move again after spending the past 300 years underground.

Archaeologists and workers are beginning to take apart the ship, which dates to the 1700s.
It was found by construction workers excavating for a parking garage at the World Trade Center site.

The 32-foot ship will be taken to a lab in Maryland for research, but scientists say it was probably once used to deliver goods to merchants in the city.

From the NY Times. Slow loading because of the embedded 360 photo, which I have decided is the ultimate in cool.

This from a couple of weeks ago: Crews To Remove WTC Ship From Site

A ship found at the World Trade Center site is on the move again after spending the past 300 years underground.

Archaeologists and workers are beginning to take apart the ship, which dates to the 1700s.
It was found by construction workers excavating for a parking garage at the World Trade Center site.

The 32-foot ship will be taken to a lab in Maryland for research, but scientists say it was probably once used to deliver goods to merchants in the city.

There’s video at the site but it doesn’t seem to add anything except for the pictures.

They are still lost and presumably dead.

Okay, really: Canadians discover long-lost ship ‘fundamental’ to Arctic sovereignty

The wreck of HMS Investigator was detected in shallow water within days of Parks Canada archeologists launching an ambitious search for the 422-ton ship from a chilly tent encampment on the Beaufort Sea shoreline.

“It’s sitting upright in silt; the three masts have been removed, probably by ice,” said Ifan Thomas, Parks Canada’s superintendent of the western Arctic Field Unit. “It’s a largely intact ship in very cold water, so deterioration didn’t happen very quickly.”

Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who arrived at the camp on Tuesday, said that finding a relic linked to the discovery of the Northwest Passage represents a reasserted Canadian claim to Arctic sovereignty.

Technically not part of the Franklin expedition, but still neat. Be sure to read the whole article. Hopefully, they will have similar luck finding the actual Franklin ships.

Not in the US this time: Archaeologists investigate Alderton Mount site

Alderton Mount near Towcester in Northamptonshire was home to a castle from the early 12th century until the latter half of the 14th.

Archaeologists are there until 6 August to investigate more about its history and use.

Tim Upson-Smith from Northamptonshire Archaeology led a dig at the Mount in 2009.