Final Technical Report World Trade Center Memorial and Development Plan: Data Recovery and Analysis of the WTC Ship Blocks 54, Lot 1 and Block 56, Lots 15, 20, and 21 New York, New York Prepared for: The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor New York NY, 10006 Prepared by: AKRF, Inc. 440 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10016 August 2013 Management Summary SHPO Project Review Number: 05PR04753 Site Number: A06101.018000 Involved State and Federal Agencies: Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Phase of Survey: Data Recovery Location Information Location: Block 54, Lot 1 and Block 56, Lots 15, 20, and 21; Bounded by Liberty, West, Cedar, Washington, Albany, and Greenwich Streets. County: New York Minor Civil Division: 06101 Survey Area Length: Approximately 60 feet Width: Approximately 30 feet Number of Acres Surveyed: <1 acre USGS 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map: Jersey City Report Authors: A. Michael Pappalardo, RPA Elizabeth D. Meade, RPA Molly McDonald, RPA Diane Dallal, RPA Carrie Atkins Fulton Warren Riess, Ph.D. Norman Brouwer Date of Report: August 2013 Executive Summary BACKGROUND The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) is currently redeveloping the World Trade Center (WTC) Site in Lower Manhattan. As part of this redevelopment the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is constructing an underground Vehicular Security Center (VSC) on two blocks (Blocks 56 and 54) adjacent to the south side of the WTC Site bounded counter clock-wise by Liberty, Route 9A/West Street, Cedar, Washington, Albany, and Greenwich Streets. From February 2009 through September 2011 AKRF provided archaeological monitoring during site excavation activities. On July 13, 2010, AKRF archaeologists were monitoring excavation and observed the curved timbers of the hull of what proved to be the stern of a buried ship (the “WTC Ship” or “ship remnant”). Shortly after discovery and a preliminary assessment of the ship, the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) determined the remains to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction efforts were diverted so as to avoid the location of the WTC Ship and LMDC directed AKRF to assemble a team of experts and conservators to plan and execute a short-term mitigation plan for the WTC Ship so that it could be removed from the site in a controlled manner before its condition was threatened by its exposure to the elements. The plan was implemented over a two-week period in late-July 2010. Remnants of the bow of the WTC Ship were discovered on the east half of the site in August 2011. These remains were documented and removed from the site within one week of their discovery. As of this writing, the remains are in stable condition and are undergoing a conditions analysis in anticipation of preservation at the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation (CMAC), Texas A&M University. This Technical Report was completed as part of an effort to mitigate the unavoidable adverse effect of construction of the VSC upon the WTC Ship pursuant to the WTC Memorial and Development Plan Programmatic Agreement dated April 22, 2004. SITE DEVELOPMENT The WTC Ship was discovered at a depth of between 11.5 and 20 feet below mean sea level, or between about 20 to 30 feet below the modern street grade, and appears to have been incorporated into the landfill making up Block 56 and Washington Street by the early 1790s. Prior to that time, the area had been an active waterway and was one of the busiest slips along the Hudson River. Three individuals are associated with the landfilling effort in the vicinity of the WTC Ship: (1) John G. Leake, who constructed and maintained the wharf to the south, in the vicinity of modern Cedar Street; (2) George Lindsay, who constructed and maintained the wharf to the north, along Liberty Street, and filled in the water lots on the north half of Block 56, including the location of the WTC Ship; and (3) Barnardus Swartwout Jr., who filled the water lots making up the south half of Block 56. The filling in of the ship’s location appears to have occurred in response to a development boom along the Hudson River after the American victory in the Revolutionary War. The block was entirely filled and partially developed by 1818. SHIP CONSTRUCTION The correlation between the growth rings of the timber samples from the ship remnant is sufficiently strong to suggest that the WTC Ship was built (at least partially) from timbers that grew in the same S-1 World Trade Center Memorial and Development Plan—Data Recovery and Analysis of the WTC Ship locality in the Philadelphia region and that were felled in the late-18th century. Depending on how long the timber was seasoned or stored prior to the vessel’s construction, the ship may have been built between the late 1770s and the 1780s. Several different wood types were used to construct the ship, including spruce and pine (soft woods used for the internal planking), white oak (a hard wood used for the vessel’s frames, deck beams, and some ceiling planks), and hickory (a durable wood that was used for the keel). The original intact vessel would likely have had a breadth of more than 20 feet and a length of 50 to 60 feet. Several hundred pieces of the vessel were recovered, including the inner portion of the hull (or ceiling planking); the strong heavy frames that provided the ship’s strength and maintained its shape; large flat planks that comprised the outer portion of the hull; the stern knee, which weighed over 500 pounds and supported the sternpost and rudder; the keel and keelson; and a small deck that likely supported a brick galley hearth. The hearth would have been used by the ship’s crew to cook food and generate warmth. The majority of the fasteners used to construct the WTC Ship were iron and few wooden pegs (trunnels) were observed. Unusual aspects of the ship’s construction led to the hypothesis that the ship was constructed in a small shipyard, likely in close proximity to where the trees grew. If the ship was constructed in the Philadelphia area, the center of America’s shipbuilding industry in the 18th century, it is unknown if it was constructed for use in that region or for use elsewhere. The ship is consistent with the construction methodology of a class of ship known as the Hudson River Sloop. Like Hudson River Sloops, which were designed specifically to transport large cargoes and groups of passengers along the shallow, rocky waters of the Hudson River, the WTC Ship had a broad beam, shallow draft, and a mast that was stepped aft of the bow by approximately one-third of its overall length. These construction decisions would have maximized the amount of cargo space at the expense of speed and strength. Therefore, the WTC Ship was most likely used as a merchant trading vessel in shallow, protected waters—such as those along the coastal United States and/or Hudson River—and was not likely built to be an ocean-going vessel. However, the remains of shipworms that infested its timbers prove that the vessel went as far as the Caribbean, or a similar locale with warm, salty waters. The WTC Ship was subjected to hard use during its active period, and its keel was heavily worn, presumably from frequent landings. Many repairs were observed in its outer planking, frames, and ceiling planking. As timbers were damaged or rotted, they were replaced with new timbers or smaller filler pieces. It is therefore possible that it was constructed for use in a sheltered river environment, but was ultimately used to transport cargo to distances greater than those intended by the shipbuilder, resulting in significant wear and tear to the vessel. If the ship was constructed between the 1770s and the 1780s, as the dendrochronological analysis of its timbers would suggest, and incorporated into the landfill by the 1790s, the ship would therefore have experienced a very short period of active use, and was possibly only on the water for 10 to 20 years. It is possible that the re-use of timbers from an older vessel or the replacement of older timbers with freshly cut specimens could prevent the identification of the actual date of the ship’s construction. It would appear that years of hard use, frequent repairs, and significant shipworm infestation resulted in a shortened functional lifespan for the vessel. MARINE LIFE It is not known if the vessel went to the Caribbean frequently, or if its sole journey to that area resulted in the shipworm damage that brought about its ultimate demise. However, the evidence of marine life observed and collected during the ship’s removal provides insight into the events that surrounded the deposition of the WTC Ship after it was no longer sea worthy. The remains of marine organisms found both on and within the ship appear to indicate that the vessel sat in or near its present location (or in a S-2 Executive Summary similar location) and was partially submerged for at least two years before the land around it was filled in. Oysters and barnacles attached to the sternpost, planks, and keel provide compelling evidence that the ship remnant was exposed to the water of the lower Hudson River for some time prior to landfilling. Oysters, which do not tend to survive travel from one port to another due to their sensitivity to salinity, were found on the hull of the ship remnant, suggesting that the vessel was submerged in or near the site throughout the two- to three-year life span of the largest oysters that were collected.