Archaeologists scan 1800s ship found below Boston construction site

BOSTON -- A sunken, burned ship discovered last week by a construction company performing work in Boston's Seaport District was given a 3D scan by archaeologists Friday, CBS Boston reports.

City archaeologist Joe Bagley said it's the first time a shipwreck has been found in that section of the city and only the second one found on land that was filled in to expand the city's footprint. Also, unlike most other wrecks, its cargo is mostly intact, he said.

"This has never happened in Boston," he said.

A 19th century fork was recovered next to a stack of burned dishes in the wreckage, along with dozens of barrels of lime used for masonry and construction.

The ship, a wooden sloop at least 50 feet long from the mid-to-late 1800s, was uncovered late last week during construction of a 17-story building at 121 Seaport Boulevard. It was found about 25 feet below grade.

The construction company, Skanska, met with city officials to discuss the discovery.

"You certainly come across a lot of interesting things when you do below-grade excavation, but I've never seen anything like this in my career," said Skanska president and CEO Shawn Hurley. "I can say in my entire career I've never come across an artifact."

The area was once mudflats that alternated between dry land and water based on the tides, so ships "kind of sailed right over" the property, Bagley said.

In the late 1800s, that section of Boston Harbor was filled in. Now, it's home to office buildings, expensive condos and upscale restaurants.

Archaeologists studying the vessel found a shattered ceramic vessel, a knife, construction equipment and some loose nails, Bagley said.

The lime would have been unusable after getting wet, so the cargo was left where it was, Bagley said.

He called that fact "pretty remarkable," since at the time ships typically would have been completely scavenged of their valuables within days of being wrecked.

The lime was likely brought from Maine to Boston during a 19th century building boom, he said. Bagley noted the coincidence that the ship was found now, during another building boom in the city.

"They're really part of the same narrative of Boston growing as a city," he said. He said the discovery says a lot about the 386-year-old city. "To me what it says is that history is everywhere in Boston - sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to find it," he added.

Construction is expected to start up again next week and the ship itself will be impossible to recover. But the 3D images will provide an opportunity to learn more about its history.

"It's really cutting edge technology that's going to give us the best records ever taken of an archaeological example of anything in Boston," said Bagley.