In Old Town Alexandria an 18th century ship was found while construction workers were working in the area building a new hotel. The ships parts were found near the Potomac river. This is a huge find for archaeologists and city historians. Its rare to find something like this when there has been a long history of human activity and so much natural disturbance going on.
https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=89045
The hotel is still going to be going up in the same spot. Naval archaeologist are in the area now that the ship was found examining every piece of the ship to see what information they can learn from the parts. According to the Smithsonian, the ship was most likely built by colonists during the revolutionary era.
John Mullen, an archeologist says ” This is like the jewel in the crown for us”. This is the second time that they have found something dated to the same time in that same area on Union street. Its super rare to find two well preserved historical things at the same construction site.
I think its really interesting that they found these ships from so long ago considering Alexandria is one of the oldest independent cities in Virginia. The Smithsonian which is also looking into the ship is funded by the National government and from outside donors. For more information on this click on the link below.
http://www.si.edu/OGC/legalhistory
