A couple of paragraphs from the New York Times article--
" 1797 map shows that the excavation site is close to where Lindsey’s Wharf and Lake’s Wharf once projected into the Hudson. So, no matter how many mysteries now surround the vessel, it may turn out that the ghost even has a name.
Readers who know a thing or two about boat-building or maritime history are encouraged to look through the slide show and offer their interpretations."
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com
Note that the writer claims, states, that construction can not be stopped.
"News of the find spread quickly. Archaeologists and officials hurried to the site, not only because of the magnitude of the discovery but because construction work could not be interrupted and because the timber, no longer safe in its cocoon of ooze, began deteriorating as soon as it was exposed to air.
For that reason, Doug Mackey, the chief regional archaeologist for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, was grateful for the rainfall. “If the sun had been out,” he said, “the wood would already have started to fall apart.”"
MJ COMMENT:
I disagree with the writer of the article, of course, construction can be stopped and should be stopped while an archaeology dig is completed on this site.
We are talking about wooden structures------what else may be found in the watery foundation----what was the ship carrying----are there any items to be retrieved ------are there records stored in the Ship's Captains boxes (some do survive for centuries untouched in the watery deep)?
This is an historical site and New Yorkers should treat it as such demanding an immediate stop-work order until the site is fully excavated.
This is the history of America in the 1700's and should fully examined. Given the time frame it is very possible that a dig would unearth details of the Revolutionary War in the 1700's and the immigrants who came here to be a part of America.
mj |
