Landfilled ship uncovered at Trade Center site
The New York Times City Room Blog reports that Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of part of the rebuilt World Trade Center came upon something unexpected in the muck 20 feet below street level: a 30-foot truncated section of an 18th century wood-hulled ship. The site, which had not been dug out for the original Trade Center’s construction in the 1970s, was evidently undisturbed for more than 200 years. Like up to 30% of of lower Manhattan, the World Trade Center sits on land that was filled with garbage and debris to extend the limits of the island; archeologists now studying the ship presume it was part of that landfilling operation. Archeological study has had to proceed quickly, as the wood is quickly degrading with exposure to the air. Excavation work has continued around the ship.
