On Monday, May 2, we transported the barge and equipment to the site and secured the barge which will serve as our work platform. Monday evening we held a consultation meeting with the Africatown community and a press conference in the Robert L Hope Community Center. On Tuesday, May 3, we removed trees and snags from the archaeological site to provide access to the archaeological divers. We used images taken using side scan sonar to identify trees for removal from the vessel and to direct industrial divers to the location in this low visibility environment. Among the photos provided is an image of the sonar we used with trees identified for extraction highlighted in red boxes. We removed 14 trees.
On Wednesday, May 4, the Resolve dive team began with a final check of the wreck for trees and snags. After confirming that the archaeological site was clear of obstructions, the team began preparing the water tank that will temporarily hold the disarticulated timbers removed for inspection. Colonel Jeremy J Chapman brought his team from the Corps of Engineers, the federal agency permitting the project, to visit the site and observe operations. The maritime archaeological team members from SEARCH, Inc. and Diving With a Purpose arrived in the afternoon and we began removing the disarticulated timbers from outside the wreck on the port quarter. The artifacts were briefly inspected, measured, and recorded by the maritime archaeological team before being submerged in the tank. Artifacts recovered from a submerged context begin to deteriorate more rapidly when exposed to air so it’s important to keep them in water until they are either conserved or placed back on the site.
On Thursday, May 5, The Resolve dive team continued picking up disarticulated timbers from outside the wreck. They worked their way methodically around the wreck and finally through the center of the vessel to ensure that all the lose pieces were recovered. The maritime archaeological team (SEARCH, DWP, AHC, & ACOE) continued measuring and recording all the items that were recovered before submerging the timbers in the tank aboard the barge for temporary storage. In the late afternoon, Survtech ran multi beam sonar and aerial LiDAR so we will have the clear image of the wreck with all the trees, snags, and disarticulated timbers removed.
On Friday, May 6, The Resolve dive team continued searching between the port side of the vessel and the bank to recover all disarticulated elements of the wreck. Conservators, Paul Mardikian and Claudia Chemello from Terra Mare joined the team and began a preliminary assessment of the artifacts recovered. The SEARCH maritime archaeologists began searching the shallow water near the bank for disarticulated elements of the ship. In the afternoon, the divers began replacing non diagnostic pieces back in the wreck. The anaerobic mud protects and preserves the organic material so the best conservation practice for the pieces that are not selected for further study is to place them back inside the wreck itself. In the afternoon, the Resolve dive team focused on recovering disarticulated elements from the stern (rear) of the wreck which the maritime archaeological team (SEARCH, DWP, AHC, & COE) continued to quickly inspect, measure, and record the artifacts before re-submerging them in the tank.
On Saturday, May 7, work on the site focused on environmental science with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. What grows on and in the wreck, from bacteria to more visible marine organisms, and the role they play in the condition of the wreck is the focus. While some of those organisms are very visible, like the small crabs and worms that crawl from waterlogged timbers, bacteria in the mud and in the wood are being studied. Conditions on the river and underwater remain very favorable. The divers report that the visibility underwater is the best that has yet been found on Clotilda since archaeological study of the wreck began in 2018. The current is low, and with the removal of the trees that once covered parts of the wreck, the dive team now has a clear look at the wreck. Dr. Ayana Flewellen, one of the project’s principal investigators, has arrived and made her first dives today, as did Kamau Sadiki and Jay Haigler from Diving With a Purpose. Artifacts are beginning to emerge from the site that speak to the fire that was set to cover up the crime, including charred timbers and what may be a mixture of charcoal and mud inside the hull. As dives continue, archaeologists on the barge are doing detailed documentation of every loose timber and portion of Clotilda that has been recovered from outside the hull. Every one of them receives a catalog number that relates to where on the site it came from It is then photographed, measured, and in some cases a meticulous drawing is completed for complex timbers that require a higher level of documentation.
Sunday, May 8, the Resolve divers established a centerline in the wreck, laid a 2.5 foot grid, and began systematic probing to confirm that the portions of the wreck buried under the mud remain intact and to ascertain the depth of the mud inside the vessel. The centerline and grid help the archaeologists carefully control and record the location where samples are collected and where artifacts are recovered. Dr. James Delgado (SEARCH) and Dr. Ayana Flewellen (SEARCH/DWP/Stanford University) dived on the wreck to begin interpretation of our findings. A lead hawse pipe which guided the anchor cable and a lead flange that may be from the pump were recovered. Terra Mare Conservators, Claudia Chemello and Paul Mardikian, began stress testing a disarticulated piece of a hull plank to determine the strength of the wood. The wood is heavily deteriorated on the surface but cross sections showed a bit more integrity at the core. The fresh cut for the cross section even smelled of pine. Resolve began preparations to take hand core samples between the port side of the wreck and the shoreline to ascertain the stability the sediment in which the wreck rests.
Monday, May 9, first thing in the morning, SEARCH maritime archaeologists ran side scan sonar again to update the imagery from which we are working. Resolve divers continued probing inside the vessel to ascertain the depth of the mud inside and also continued taking hand cores to observe the nature of the sediment in and around the vessel. Mid morning, the Blakeley Delta Explorer arrived with the members of the Alabama Historical Commission who were able to observe the work from the proscribed distance. Upon the advice of Terra Mare conservators, the archaeological team from SEARCH/DWP began changing the temporary tags recording the field specimen numbers which allow us to keep track of the location from which the timbers or artifacts were recovered with more durable tyvek tags. SEARCH/DWP divers Jay Haigler and Kamau Sadiki dived on the wreck and completed more investigation inside the bow. Pete Kelsey of SEARCH joined the team today to begin scanning the artifacts and disarticulated elements that will be placed back inside the wreck using Pix4D software to create photogrammetric images that may be viewed from multiple angles. Resolve divers continued to explore the wreck itself and to record their findings. This is a slow methodical process from which a picture of the wreck is slowly emerging.
Tuesday, May 10, Pete Kelsey of SEARCH used Pix4D software to finish scanning the artifacts and disarticulated timbers collected by Resolve divers. Scanning the artifacts creates photogrammetric images that may be viewed from multiple angles. After scanning, the artifacts and timbers were carefully placed back inside the wreck where they will be preserved by the anaerobic mud. The team worked together to prepare the tank on the barge for the screening of sediment. AHC Historic Artisans Eric Montgomery and Brandon Dewberry worked with Terra Mare Conservators, Claudia Chemello and Paul Mardikian, to build a smaller tank to hold and protect one of the complex artifacts that has been selected for additional analysis. The selected artifact is a large timber with a large iron pulley and fragments of rope in pulley. There is a tentative identification but additional analysis is needed to identify its role on the schooner. During the late morning, Resolve divers began dredging the sediment in a small section of the hold of the wreck. The purpose of the excavation is only to take a small sample for scientific analysis from the base of the sediment. As stated at the beginning, the primary purpose of this investigation is to gauge the preservation state of the vessel so that we will have a conservation plan based on science. The amount of sediment that we are able to remove during the current investigation is limited by the COE permit. The sediment was screened by SEARCH maritime archaeologists into a holding tank on board the barge. Screening allows us to recover any small artifacts but none were observed today. The sediment will be contained in the holding tank until it can be placed back in the vessel.
Wednesday, May 11, RESOLVE divers continued dredging the sediment in the small section of the hold of the wreck where they began work yesterday, excavating by hand fanning silt and mud into a 3 inch dredge with a quarter inch screen on either end. A couple feet of sediment were purposefully left in place at the end of work yesterday so that the context from which the samples were taken remained intact. Dr. Frankie West of Western Carolina University prepared sterilized receptacles to receive scientific samples, secured the samples for travel, and took custody of the specimens for transport to the respective scientific labs in which the samples will be analyzed. Mike Maloney and Emma Heffernan from Stantec Engineering, collected the samples according to protocol. The sediment was screened by SEARCH maritime archaeologists led by co-principal investigator Dr. Justin Dunnavant into a holding tank on board the barge. Screening allows us to recover small artifacts but none were observed today. The sediment will be contained in the holding tank until it can be placed in burlap bags and returned to the vessel.
Thursday, May 12, RESOLVE divers began the day by collecting water column samples. Once again, Dr. Frankie West of Western Carolina University prepared sterilized receptacles to receive the samples, secured the samples for travel, and took custody of the specimens for transport to the respective scientific labs in which the samples will be analyzed. Mike Maloney and Emma Heffernan from Stantec Engineering, collected the samples according to protocol. Afterwards sand bags were delivered. We had a mid morning site visit from the Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Meg McCrummen Fowler of the Museum of Mobile. Terra Mare Conservators, Claudia Chemello and Paul Mardikian took select artifacts to be X-rayed by Applied Technical Services. Museum of Mobile will curate the artifacts selected for further analysis while they are being conserved. In the afternoon RESOLVE divers began placing the sand bags on the vessel as a protective measure.
