Documenting the Wreck

At the end of the week, we found ourselves on a floating barge working in extreme heat, but at least we were on the water. We have completed the excavation in two of the trenches. The upstream end has been nicely exposed and we are mapping and filming underwater to document the bow.

The downstream trench now has archaeologists measuring and mapping the large beams and decking--it does not appear that we have found the stern, yet. We are also continuing to excavate in the center of the wreck. Archaeologists working in this area are down to the decking. They found a long iron strap with rivets that was lying atop, but not attached to the wreck.

Dr. Robert Neyland prepares a video camera for underwater documentation. The camera is a great addition to a project that has poor water visibility, it picks up much more detail than the human eye.

While mapping the wreck, we are picking up any artifacts that seem to be loose and not in situ.  Around the end of the wreck, we found what appears to be a pig bone. When the site was examined in 1980 by author Don Shomette, large holes were excavated and at some point appear to have been backfilled with modern sediment and debris. Since the sediments have been disturbed, we are not sure if this bone represents mid-20th century garbage or a sailor's ration. We will be forwarding the images of the bone to a faunal analyst for a positive species identification. 

Medium sized mammal bone. 

Another interesting artifact recovered from the bow was a deadeye.  Deadeyes are used for ship's rigging. Our deadeye is a on the smaller side (approximately 5 in. x 10 in.) and is missing the wooden center with three drilled holes. The two holes on top and the one in the center give it this hardware the appearance of a skull...hence the name.

Deadeye found near bow. 

Example of 19th century deadeyes incorporated into ship rigging (courtesy shutterstock.com).

In addition to artifacts associated with the wreck, we are also coming across coffee cans, beer cans, glass,  etc. On Friday, a leather sole popped up from the end of the wreck.  It measured 11 in. long and was for a man's left foot. It looked old, but it was not from the War of 1812 wreck. Footwear was not regularly made in "lefts" and "rights" until the mid-19th century.

Bottom leather sole from a man's shoe or boot (post-1850).

Monday we will be back out on the site and will continue searching for the stern and the sides of the wreck. We only have two weeks left to find out the size of the shipwreck.