Pictures: 18th-Century Ship Found Under 9/11 Site

Treasure at Site of 9/11 Tragedy
Photograph by Lucas Jackson, Reuters
Archaeologists explore the newfound remains of an 18th-century ship's rear, or stern, at ground zero (map) in New York City last summer. With the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaching, researchers found the ship's bow, or front, last month.
The unexpected piece of New York history turned up in the future parking garage of the new World Trade Center, which will eventually feature five new skyscrapers and the U.S. National September 11 Memorial & Museum. (See pictures from the 9/11 memorial's official book.)
Centuries ago, though—when Lower Manhattan's western shore was farther in—the site was an anchorage in the Hudson River.
"Right now we're standing by the theory that [the ship is] a Hudson River sloop, a merchant vessel," said archaeologist Elizabeth Meade of AKRF, an engineering firm contracted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The World Trade Center ship "would have traveled up and down the river bringing cargo and people from the city to areas up north and might have gone as far south as the Caribbean."
Others have also suggested that the ship—which was likely deliberately sunk—may have done duty as a British troop carrier during the Revolutionary War.
—Brian Handwerk
Published August 30, 2011
Bow Discovery at Ground Zero
Photograph courtesy A. Michael Pappalardo, AKRF
A person touches a piece of the 50-foot-long (15-meter-long) World Trade Center ship's bow, found in July 2011.
The stern had been uncovered some 25 feet (8 meters) below street level in July 2010. Scientists quickly saw that its hull had been sliced in half.
They believed the ship's bow, if it still existed, would be on the other side of a 60-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) slurry wall, which stretches from the surface to the bedrock below—a theory that proved correct. Slurry walls allow for the building of tunnels or foundations in areas of soft earth that are close to open water or have a high groundwater table.
(See pictures: "9/11, Then and Now [2006].")
Published August 30, 2011
Straight from the Horse's Mouth
Photograph courtesy A. Michael Pappalardo, AKRF
The teeth (pictured) and jaw of an ancient horse or cow, found beneath the vessel at 9/11's ground zero, may have been crushed as the ship settled.
The ship was found on what was originally the bottom of the Hudson River, according to AKRF archaeologist A. Michael Pappalardo.
"But within a few years of its sinking, it was buried under 20 feet [6 meters] of fill as they filled in the river to expand Manhattan to the west."
(See pictures of 9/11 artifacts, and get the personal stories behind them.)
Published August 30, 2011
Colonial Castoffs at 9/11 Site
Photograph courtesy A. Michael Pappalardo, AKRF
Fragments of decorative tiles (pictured) are among the many artifacts found near the ship at the 9/11 site. Perhaps unassociated with the vessel, the shards may have been dumped in the river at a time when the city was literally growing.
The ship itself was likely scrapped and sunk as part of the project to fill in the river and extend the city, Pappalardo explained.
Even before it was submerged, the boat was in bad shape. The wood shows damage from worms likely picked up in the Caribbean, while the upper deck and other presumably sound parts of the structure appear to have been stripped away before the ship was sunk, he said.
(See a time line of the events of 9/11.)
Published August 30, 2011
Pipes Smoked by the Crew?
Photograph courtesy A. Michael Pappalardo, AKRF
Found within the timbers of the ship itself, some artifacts—-including these tobacco-pipe bowls—had likely been aboard the ship when it sank.
"There is evidence of burning [on the pipes], so we know that they were smoked," Meade said. "They may have been used by the crew on the ship or even by the shipmakers."
(See "Four-Hundred-Year-Old Personalized Pipes Found at Jamestown.")
Published August 30, 2011
Common as an Old Shoe
Photograph by Mark Lennihan, AP
An archaeologist displays a well-preserved piece of shoe leather in 2010. Shoe leather is common in the colonial-era trash dumps found around the ship's resting place at the site of the 9/11 attacks.
"This slip, and most of the slips like it in the area, were garbage-dumping grounds for all the people who lived nearby," Pappalardo said.
(Where were you on 9/11? Share your story with National Geographic on Facebook >>)
Published August 30, 2011
Hull From Above Ground Zero
Photograph by Mark Lennihan, AP
Scientists measure a 32-foot (10-meter) piece of the ground zero ship's hull in 2010.
The buildings that stood here before 9/11 had relatively shallow basements, which didn't encroach on the buried ship and artifacts, even as surrounding properties were long ago excavated down to solid bedrock.
"It's unheard of to get this kind of opportunity to see an entire city block or two excavated to this depth," Meade said.
"It's really an amazing experience for us, and the last time a ship was found in the city was 1982—so it doesn't happen very often."
(See pictures: "Manhattan 1609 vs. 2009: Natural Wonder to Urban Jungle.")
Published August 30, 2011
Ships' Secrets Coming to Light
Photograph by Marvin Joseph, The Washington Post/Getty Images
Volunteers with the Maryland Archeological Conservation Laboratory clean and mark timbers from the World Trade Center ship in St. Leonard, Maryland, in 2010.
The lumber used to make the vessel's hull came from trees cut down in the Philadelphia area no later than the 1770s, according to Columbia University research, Pappalardo said.
The ship has now been entirely removed from the Word Trade Center site, and the Port Authority hasn't yet announced what will become of the historic vessel.
(See "'Ghost Ship' Pictures: Gold Rush-Era Wreck Found.")
Published August 30, 2011