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300-year-old ship discovered at construction site near Washington, D.C.


Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the hull of a fifty-foot vessel on the Indigo Hotel construction site on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.

300-year-old ship discovered at construction site near Washington, D.C.
The late-18th-century ship was discovered during excavations on the Old Town Alexandria waterfront 
[Credit: alexandriava.gov]
Scuttled sometime in the late eighteenth century, the ship served as the framework for part of the landfill process that extended the waterfront out to the deep channel of the Potomac River, helping to make the early town a thriving international port.

The find was not unexpected; prior research by City archaeologists suggested that we could find the remains of ships used in the filling process at various points along the waterfront, and the Archaeological Commission had reiterated that possibility in the Waterfront History Plan.

The discovery resulted from the implementation of the city’s Archaeological Protection Code. Thunderbird Archaeology, a division of Wetland Studies, conducted the investigation for the developer, Carr properties.

300-year-old ship discovered at construction site near Washington, D.C.
View of the remains of the late-18th-century vessel discovered during excavations for a new hotel on the Old Town 
Alexandria waterfront [Credit: Thunderbird Archaeology]
About a third of the hull of the vessel is present.  It  is sturdily built and well preserved, enough that it may offer archaeologists a great deal of information. 

Further study of the ship has the potential to provide insight into ship-building practices of this early era of our history, and it may represent a vessel type that has not yet been documented through archaeological research.

This week, city archaeologists, working with Thunderbird and other professionals in both maritime history and conservation, will dismantle the ship after it has been documented with 3-D laser scanning, photographs and measurements/drawings on site.

The wood will then be maintained in a wet environment to allow for further study and possible conservation.

Source: City of Alexandria, VA [January 04, 2016]