In Shipwreck Hunt, a Crucial Finding

Wooden beam in Lake Michigan apparently there for centuries
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 19, 2013 9:02 AM CDT
In Shipwreck Hunt, a Crucial Finding
In this photo made June 16, 2013, and provided by Great Lakes Exploation Group, diver Jim Nowka of Great Lakes Exploration Group inspects a wooden beam extending from the floor of Lake Michigan.   (David J. Ruck)

A wooden beam embedded at the bottom of northern Lake Michigan appears to have been there for centuries, underwater archaeologists announced yesterday, a crucial finding as crews dig toward what they hope is the carcass of a French ship that disappeared in the 17th century. Expedition leaders still weren't ready to declare they had found the long-lost Griffin, but Michel L'Hour, director of France's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research, says the timber appears to be a bowsprit (a spur or pole that extends from a vessel's stem) that "has been buried in the sediment of the lake for many centuries."

L'Hour, who dove to inspect the beam with two French colleagues Monday and yesterday, adds that it seems to be attached to another structure below the lake bed. Commercial divers overseen by scientists last week began excavating at the base of the wooden beam, which extends 10.5 feet above the lake bed, and underwater excavators were opening a pit at the base of the post to determine whether it's affixed to anything beneath. In another key development yesterday, they reported that a probing device had detected a hard surface 18 to 20 feet below the lake bed. It could be a ship's hull or deck. It probably will take another day or two to widen the hole and reach the hard surface. Click for more on the mystery. (More The Griffin stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X