CHARLESTON, South Carolina (22 Nov 2003) -- The excavation of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is complete, more than three years after the sub was raised from the Atlantic off the coast of Charleston. Scientists this week finished removing sediment from the ballast tanks of the sub after recovering a coil of waterlogged rope. They also recovered some tools from the crew compartment, which might indicate the crew had been making repairs the night the Hunley sank. A small wooden cask found in a ballast tank last month, once thought to be a chamber pot, is likely a bucket used to make repairs aboard the hand-cranked submarine. Scientists think the material it contained is a lead-based material to caulk leaks. "Right next to the bucket lay an iron tool with the shape of a chisel that could be a caulking iron," said Maria Jacobsen, senior archaeologist for the Hunley project. When the bucket was uncovered last month, it was filled with orange-colored sediment not typical of sediment found in other places on the sub. A sample of the sediment has been sent to Clemson University for analysis. The Hunley, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship, sank with its crew of eight Feb. 17, 1864, after sinking the Union blockade ship Housatonic off Charleston. The sub was raised in August 2000 and brought to a conservation lab at the old Charleston Naval Base. | | Scientists started excavating the ballast tanks last month. During the work, they also recovered a wrench, a hammer and three bolts from the central crew compartment. The tools were encrusted to the hull. The location of those tools could indicate sub's commander, Lt. George Dixon, was making repairs or adjustments the night the sub sank, said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, chairman of the S.C. Hunley Commission. McConnell said with condensation in the sub and water likely pooling in the bottom of the hull, it seems unlikely Dixon would have left the tools in the bottom where they would corrode. About 1.5 tons of sediment was removed from the ballast tanks of the Hunley. Both the forward and the aft ballast tanks were damaged, and scientists hope analyzing the layers of sediment will provide a clue as to why the Hunley sank. Scientists still are working to identify the remains of the eight-member crew and reconstruct the faces of the crewmen. The crew will be buried during a service in April. |
