Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Article: Origins of Mysterious World Trade Center Ship Revealed

Archeological find discovered in the excavation for the new World Trade Center.

While mostly made of oak, the keel of the ship used hickory. This allowed the researchers to narrow the field to eastern North America. Study of the tree rings of the oak further narrowed the origin to the Philadelphia region. Seems that the trees rings of the boat's oak matched tree rings found in the oak of Independence Hall, and other historically verified wood samples.

Study of the tree rings also allowed the researchers to date the construction of the wood to the 1770's.

The wood had been damaged by borers, common in tropical waters. And the boat had become encrusted with oysters before its final burial. The boat was about 20 years old when buried (dated by artifacts surrounding the boat).

Therefore, the boat was made in the Philadelphia region in the 1770's traveled at least once to the tropics (probably the Caribbean), on its final voyage went to New York, specifically lower Manhattan where it was tied up for some time prior (allowing the oysters to grow) before its final burial.

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