courtesy alabama historical commission
summer, when a team partnered with Marine Sonic Technology to scan more than 2,500 miles of Lake Superior using sidescan sonar, which revealed a total of nine shipwrecks. The Atlanta sank on 4 May 1891, carrying coal from Buffalo to Duluth, Minnesota. The towline connecting the barge to the steamer Wilhelm parted during a storm, and the crew abandoned ship. Their lifeboat overturned as they approached Crisp Point Life-Saving Station and only two crewmembers survived; their accounts of the ordeal were reported in the local paper, the Soo Democrat. (www.shipwreckmuseum.com) ... In early May, archaeologists and technicians returned to the Clotilda wreck site in the Mobile River for a 10-day expedition to recover targeted artifacts, remove trees overlaying the site, and make an environmental and structural assessment of the ship’s remains. In the 2021 FY budget, the State of Alabama through the Governor and Alabama State Legislature appropriated $1 million to the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) to begin Phase 3 of preservation efforts for the Clotilda. The envi-
Maritime archaeologists from SEARCH and Diving With a Purpose (DWP) survey the river bottom between the starboard side of the Clotilda site and the riverbank to collect disarticulated elements of the wreck for evaluation, recordation, and preservation. ronmental study examined the composition of the sediment around the wreck, monitored water movement, and performed a biological review of the species that have colonized the wreck area. After confirming
that the wreck site was clear of obstructions, divers from Resolve Marine systematically removed 94 disarticulated timbers for archaeological assessment. That work focused on cataloging and documenting recovered
Your Chesapeake adventure begins here! CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM 213 N. Talbot St., St. Michaels, MD | 410-745-2916 | cbmm.org
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SEA HISTORY 179, SUMMER 2022
