18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site

[IDemo]

Source: New York Times

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.

Read more: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/18th-century-ship-found-at-trade-center-site/?partner=rss&emc=rss

[dipsydoodle]

1. If that was in London

all work would now grind to halt for some months during archeological investigation.

[enlightenment]

15. As it should.

Progress marches inexorably on - physical history deserves a few months before it is bulldozed under.

[dipsydoodle]

25. This find in London was simply moved to safety.

Temple of Mithras : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Mithraeum Its supposed to be being moved back again. The street level of London is about 80 feet higher than Roman times : London is built on dirt and rubbish which couldn't really be moved out until the advent of the railways. So - there's lots down there !

And Verulamium is 10 minutes drive my house but that's in open countryside http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verulamium

I've got a friend coming over from OH in September who wants me to drive her down to Stone Henge despite the fact the stones are not big as some think and you can't even get close to the circle these days anyway. When I was kid you do as you pleased - walk in and out between the stones.

Broadly speaking any significant finds here do cause building work to be suspended for agreed periods of time while the local archeologists move in - quite rightly so.

:hi:

[enlightenment]

29. Good to hear.

I do understand the nature of salvage archaeology - getting a little information is better than nothing - but it always breaks my heart to see interesting bits of the past destroyed for another ugly business complex or tract housing development.

In Las Vegas (my current abode. yuck) I honestly believe the attitude is that anything older than 50 years must be destroyed - as if, somehow, any hint of permanence will fracture the fantasy of the Strip. Vegas was a farming community in the 1880s - a railroad town at the turn of the century. It has a past that is rarely discussed, much less appreciated.

Makes me rather ill, sometimes. :(

[Rhiannon12866]

31. I agree with you, depresses me, too.

In other countries, history is valued. Here, anything over 20 years old is considered bulldozer fodder and something equally transitory erected in its place. I visited Russia and stood in a 9th century church! In Ireland, people still actually live in ancient dwellings... Here, we knock it down and put up another strip mall. :( :hi:

[xchrom]

2. that's wonderful! nt

[Blandocyte]

3. I'm rewriting the Bible to reflect conservative views--

This ship is clearly Noah's Ark, and landed here as a message that there should be no mosque built at the WTC site. There, I fixed it. :D

[old mark]

5. It could also have been the boat jesus used when he came to America to visit the

lost tribe of Israel in Utah....

Or not.

mark

[Soylent Brice]

9. the boat that brought the dinsoaurs here as well, no doubt.

:rofl:

[dipsydoodle]

8. Start spreading the gnus...New York, New York.

:)

[SpiralHawk]

4. Could it be the evil, occult BFEE pirate ship Skull & Boner?

[Soylent Brice]

10. this thread is awesome. n/t

[cindyperry2009]

12. hahah

funny

[Omaha Steve]

6. Great find

K&R!

[tanyev]

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

That's right up there with my favorite Abe Simpson quote:

You know, you remind me of a poem I can't remember, and a song that may never have existed, and a place I'm not sure I've ever been to ..

[mitchum]

23. That sounds like Rod Serling pitching a massive drunk

[MgtPA]

11. San Francisco has quite a few buried ships too.

Buried Ships:
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/hgshp1.htm

Map:

[wisteria]

13. Very interesting. I hope we get to read more about this ship in time. n/t

[Historic NY]

14. They found a 19th century vessel in Newburgh sunk on shore...recently

Crew Trying to Dislodge Old Boat Stuck In Hudson River
NEWBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — A dredging crew is having a tough time yanking the sunken hulk of an old passenger boat from the Hudson River.

Contractors working for Central Hudson Gas and Electric have been trying to dislodge the 80-foot-long wreck of what archaeologists believe is the New York, a steamer that burned at the harbor in Newburgh in October 1908.

Crews came across the wreck last year when they started a project to dredge coal tar and toxic sediments from the river.

Workers have used a crane, an excavator and a barge in unsuccessful efforts to pull the boat from the muddy riverbed. Central Hudson officials say that if the wreck can't be removed intact, it may have to be broken into pieces.

The New York operated between Albany and New York City from 1887 to 1908.

___

Information from: The Times Herald-Record, http://www.th-record.com

[demoleft]

16. Ship's hull discovered at New York's Ground Zero

Source: ANI

NEW YORK: Excavators have unearthed the hull of a ship at the site where the World Trade Centre once stood.

The 32ft hull of a ship may have been buried in the 18th century.

Archaeologists said the vessel was probably used along with other debris to fill in land to extend lower Manhattan into the Hudson River.

Archaeologists Molly McDonald and A Michael Pappalardo were at the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks when workers uncovered the artefacts.

Read more: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_ship-s-hull-discovered-at-new-york-s-ground-zero_1410221

---

not bad.
the pics: http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2010/07/15/foto/ground_zero_scoperto_un_vascello_del_700-5614734/1/?rss

[virgogal]

17. Astonishing.

[northzax]

18. that's odd, really

doesn't look all that deep, you'd expect the foundations of the original buildings to extend at least that far, wouldn't you? wasn't there a parking garage under the towers?

[Historic NY]

27. No not really the World Trade site is all filled in river property. ..

lots of the city and Manhattan are filled in. They used whatever was around too.

[northzax]

30. well yes, I get this

but this hull looks no more than 50 feet below surface level. did they really build a 100 story building with that shallow of a foundation on landfill?

[TwilightGardener]

19. Cool!

[ZombieHorde]

20. So the truth comes out. 9/11 was really about 18th century sailors. nt

[monmouth]

21. That next to last photo would indicate a large foot....n/t

[Igel]

26. Absolutely.

It was an attack on the ship right there that led to the fighting that led to the Treaty of Tripoli.

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. It wasn't a plane at all, but a flying ship!

The CTers were right all along!

[Old Troop]

24. That is just so cool. They should stop construction until the scientists

have checked out the entire area.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. I agree completely. This is an amazing find...

This has become a country that doesn't much value history and look where it's gotten us. :(