Researchers have also determined that the vessel was a merchant ship, measuring up to 45 feet long, and built to travel on the Chesapeake Bay, not the ocean. It probably carried tobacco, grain, corn, and other products from local plantations to various ports along the Bay. The timbers were held together with wooden pegs and few iron fasteners, which is a definitive sign of early shipbuilding. After finding several minor construction flaws, archaeologists hypothesize that the ship was built at a smaller, local facility rather than a large shipyard.
As for the cause of the sinking, there are a few possible explanations. It may have been purposefully scuttled, or simply sunk when it was no longer seaworthy, or it could have been a victim of a Revolutionary War skirmish in the town of Vienna. Historical documents tell of an attack in which the British shelled the town and sank several boats owned by revolutionary sympathizers. Interestingly enough, logs from the wreck were scorched, as if they were burned just before sinking…
As of yet, the SHA has not decided what to do with the wreck, though archaeologists are currently working on a digital reconstruction that will allow the public to see what the ship would have looked like before she sank.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - 09:00
Last April, an 18th Century shipwreck was discovered by the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) at the bottom of the Nanticoke River near Vienna, MD. A barge crashed into a protective barrier under the Route 50 Bridge, and while SHA workers were removing debris, they discovered that some of the wood seemed much older than the material from the barrier. Pieces of the wreckage were then removed to the Maryland Archaeology Conservation Laboratory (MAC lab) in Calvert County for stabilization and research. Most of us are just now learning of this discovery because it is only recently that archaeologists have begun to determine the ship’s origins.
After examining growth rings in the ship’s timbers, SHA archaeologists can determine precisely where and when the oaks were cut down to build the ship: 1743, somewhere between the Potomac River and Annapolis. That means it was probably built soon after 1743 and sank before 1800; potentially making this discovery one of the oldest Maryland-built shipwrecks recovered in the Chesapeake.
Researchers have also determined that the vessel was a merchant ship, measuring up to 45 feet long, and built to travel on the Chesapeake Bay, not the ocean. It probably carried tobacco, grain, corn, and other products from local plantations to various ports along the Bay. The timbers were held together with wooden pegs and few iron fasteners, which is a definitive sign of early shipbuilding. After finding several minor construction flaws, archaeologists hypothesize that the ship was built at a smaller, local facility rather than a large shipyard.
As for the cause of the sinking, there are a few possible explanations. It may have been purposefully scuttled, or simply sunk when it was no longer seaworthy, or it could have been a victim of a Revolutionary War skirmish in the town of Vienna. Historical documents tell of an attack in which the British shelled the town and sank several boats owned by revolutionary sympathizers. Interestingly enough, logs from the wreck were scorched, as if they were burned just before sinking…
As of yet, the SHA has not decided what to do with the wreck, though archaeologists are currently working on a digital reconstruction that will allow the public to see what the ship would have looked like before she sank.
Researchers have also determined that the vessel was a merchant ship, measuring up to 45 feet long, and built to travel on the Chesapeake Bay, not the ocean. It probably carried tobacco, grain, corn, and other products from local plantations to various ports along the Bay. The timbers were held together with wooden pegs and few iron fasteners, which is a definitive sign of early shipbuilding. After finding several minor construction flaws, archaeologists hypothesize that the ship was built at a smaller, local facility rather than a large shipyard.
As for the cause of the sinking, there are a few possible explanations. It may have been purposefully scuttled, or simply sunk when it was no longer seaworthy, or it could have been a victim of a Revolutionary War skirmish in the town of Vienna. Historical documents tell of an attack in which the British shelled the town and sank several boats owned by revolutionary sympathizers. Interestingly enough, logs from the wreck were scorched, as if they were burned just before sinking…
As of yet, the SHA has not decided what to do with the wreck, though archaeologists are currently working on a digital reconstruction that will allow the public to see what the ship would have looked like before she sank.