Remains of 50-Foot 18th-Century Ship Discovered at Construction Site

PHOTO: Archaeologists have uncovered the hull of an 18th century ship in Old Town Alexandria, during excavation work for a new waterfront hotel. Visit Alexandria photo (left) and City photo

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ALEXANDRIA, VA — Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the hull of a 50-foot vessel on the Indigo Hotel construction site at 220 S. Union St. in Alexandria, the City announced Monday.

“We had no idea it was there,” said City Archaeologist Francine Bromberg. “We knew there was potential for ships to be there, but this is one of our most exciting finds.” Conservationists are in the process of dismantling the discovery for preservation.

Bromberg said it’s still a guessing game as to how the ship was used at the time. “It could have been used for trade, cargo — military use can’t be ruled out at this point. It could have been used in the Revolutionary War, but we really don’t know. It was used before 1798.”

What will happen to the find? Bromberg said that in a perfect world, funding from a variety of sources will come through and the ship will be displayed in space on Alexandria’s waterfront, which is being developed. “I think it provides us with an incredible opportunity to do something along the waterfront as part of the whole waterfront development process — it can bring the whole history of the city together and evoke that maritime past and I think that it gives a theme to all of the connecting pieces, if interpretation of the history can be included.”

For now, work is ongoing to preserve the historic discovery. The wood — pieces of oak and pine have been found — must be kept wet for preservation sake, she said.

The hull is the second find at the site. In September, a 260-year old warehouse was uncovered. The town was only six years old when the Trustees ordered its construction, the City noted. George Washington was still a young man at the time, and the area was still a British colony, the City noted after the find.

Scuttled sometime in the late 18th century, the ship that was found in December served as the framework for part of the landfill process that extended the waterfront out to the deep channel of the Potomac River, helping to make the early town a thriving international port, the City noted in a news release.

The find was not totally unexpected, the City noted; prior research by City archaeologists suggested that the remains of ships used in the filling process at various points along the waterfront might be discovered, and the Archaeological Commission had reiterated that possibility in the City’s Waterfront History Plan.

The discovery resulted from the implementation of the city’s Archaeological Protection Code. Thunderbird Archaeology, a division of Wetland Studies, conducted the investigation for the developer, Carr Properties. About a third of the hull of the vessel is present. It is sturdily built and well preserved, enough that it may offer archaeologists a great deal of information, the City said. Further study of the ship has the potential to provide insight into ship-building practices of this early era of our history, and it may represent a vessel type that has not yet been documented through archaeological research.

This week, City archaeologists, working with Thunderbird and other professionals in both maritime history and conservation, will dismantle the ship after it has been documented with 3-D laser scanning, photographs and measurements/drawings on site. The wood will then be maintained in a wet environment to allow for further study and possible conservation.

Location where public was invited to view ship Tuesday: