During work overseen by the Alabama HIstorical Commission in May 2022, timbers found at the Clotilda site were held in a tank full of river water while being studied. After being cataloged, most were returned to the wreck site.Alabama Historical Commission

Researchers describe their latest examination of the Clotilda wreck as a “biopsy,” a carefully limited examination to retrieve samples that will help map out the path ahead.

A team working under the auspices of the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) just completed 10 days of work at the site. Their actions included clearing away obstacles, taking samples and reserving some “complex” objects for further study.

The AHC has posted some details and photos online, and participants of the team shared more information at a Thursday night forum in the Africatown area. So far, they say, none of the artifacts found related directly to the human cargo carried by the ship on its infamous final voyage. However, some of the objects may say a lot about the ship itself -- and may help determine what is done with it.

State Archaeologist Stacye Hathorn said the purpose of the mission was “testing to see the best path forward for this resource … When we move forward with preservation of this vessel, we want to make sure that we do everything right to protect the best we can.”

Jay Haigler, director of the group Diving With a Purpose, credited the AHC with putting together a “world class team” and said he was gratified by “the care that the entire team put forth when they were attending to the Clotilda.”

On a personal level, Haigler said he had been diving on possible slave ship wreck sites for 20 years and that this visit to the Clotilda was “by far the most profound experience I’ve had.”

This artifact from the Clotilda features a pulley mounted to a timber, with remnants of rope still in the pulley. It may have been part of the ship's steering gear.Alabama Historical Commission

Among the tantalizing findings: A timber subjected to stress testing showed heavy deterioration on the surface but still had some integrity at its core. When sliced for a cross-section, it “smelled of pine.”

Other pieces recovered included a “lead hawse pipe which guided the anchor cable and a lead flange that may be from the pump” and “a large timber with a large iron pulley and fragments of rope” in the pulley.

This round of work was funded with a $1 million state appropriation, and was conducted under a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition to the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), partners in the effort included Resolve Marine; marine archaeology company SEARCH, Inc.; Diving with a Purpose; conservationists from Terra Mare Conservation; and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Marine archaeologist James Delgado said that some 94 pieces were brought to the surface, and that these were all timbers that had already been dislodged over the years. “Nothing that was attached to Clotilda was removed,” he said. All but four of the pieces were documented and returned to the water. Those four will become test cases for preservation work.

Delgado and a participating conservationist, Claudia Chemello, said that simply stabilizing those pieces so that they could be displayed in a museum environment was a complex technical challenge that could take years. It follows that a decision on whether it was possible or desirable to raise and preserve the entire hull would be even further down the line, participants said.

A timber from the Clotilda site rests on a barge used by a team exploring the wreck in May 2022Alabama Historical Commission

“Nothing has been ruled out or in,” said Hathorn. “The whole purpose of what we’ve done here is to gather information to make the best, informed decision.”

Aaron Jozsef of Resolve Marine, manager of the project, and Delgado referenced several other comparable projects in which the preservation efforts needed to make historic shipwrecks stable and presentable have continued for decades.

Delgado made several revelations about the state of the Clotilda. Although it is a preliminary conclusion, he said that evidence suggests the ship sank by the stern, meaning the stern was less damaged by a fire. But a portion of the stern has broken off, meaning the hull is in at least two pieces.

Divers also found wiring and other remnants of navigation lights they believe were placed on the hull in the 1920s to warn river traffic of a navigational hazard. That means people were certainly aware of the wreck in that era, though the people who placed the lights might not have had any idea of its identity.

Based on what researchers had learned about the site, Delgado said, it would be a bad idea to build a cofferdam around the site so that it could be drained. “One of the things we have found,” he said, “is that Clotilda sits on hard-packed sand, with the mud surrounding it but [it is] not completely resting within that cocoon of mud. In that sand, there is gravel … To hammer sheet pilings in that close to the wreck might have shaken it apart, or otherwise damaged it.”

In response to a question from Darron Patterson, president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, Delgado said that at least one small core sample had been taken from a corner of the ship’s hold with the specific goal of looking for DNA. Those samples are on their way to labs for testing.

Now, said Delgado and Hathorn, the team will wait for laboratory testing and expert examinations to see what insight can be drawn from the samples, artifacts and data produced by this trip.

“We’ve made some interesting discoveries. With those discoveries have come additional questions,” said Delgado. “But also, I think we found things that in the laboratory as the next few months unfold, given the number of scientists and the number of laboratories that we’re working with, answers will also come.”

The Alabama Historical Commission has posted an extensive day-by-day account of the work on its website. A summary follows. Much of the work focused on “disarticulated” timbers, meaning pieces of the ship that had become detached from the hull and were lying loose beside or on the hull.

Monday, May 2: A barge was moved into place as a work platform.

Tuesday, May 3: Using side scan sonar images, 14 sunken trees were identified on and around the wreck and removed.

Wednesday, May 4: After a final check for obstructions, a team from Diving With a Purpose arrived and began removing disarticulated timbers from outside the wreck’s port side. “The artifacts were briefly inspected, measured, and recorded by the marine archaeological team” before being submerged in a temporary holding tank for short-term preservation.

Thursday, May 5: Divers continued to pick up disarticulated timbers, working around and across the vessel. These were measured, cataloged and moved to the temporary preservation tank. Late in the day, “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.”

Friday, May 6: As the search for more disarticulated elements continued, conservationists began a preliminary assessment of recovered artifacts. Some pieces were selected for further study; divers began returning others to the wreck. “The anaerobic [low oxygen] 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,” said the AHC record of activities.

Saturday, May 7: The focus shifted to environmental science involving researchers from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, who gathered data on the life around and in the wreck, from bacteria to bigger creatures such as worms and crabs. Divers reported good conditions, with relatively clear water and low current. According to the AHC account, “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: Divers established a centerline and grid system 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.” Also on this day, “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: Work continued on multiple fronts. Divers “completed more investigation inside the bow,” and a new scanning and imaging process began, creating 3D imagery of the artifacts that will be placed band inside the wreck.

Tuesday, May 10: Scanning and replacement of artifacts continued. A second preservation tank was built to hold one of the artifacts selected for further study: “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.” (Thursday evening, Delgado said he suspects it was part of the ship’s steering apparatus.) Additionally, 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 sediment sample was screened for small artifacts but none were found.

Wednesday, May 11: Sediment dredging continued, with divers “excavating by hand fanning silt and mud into a 3 inch dredge,” essentially a low-pressure suction pipe. Samples were prepared for transport to labs. Again, no small artifacts were found in the sediment.

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