(FORT MORGAN, Ala.) Sept. 15 -- When the storm surge of Hurricane Ike subsided, the waters returned to the Gulf of Mexico leaving behind destruction and dispair in some places. But in Fort Morgan in Baldwin County, Ike left behind something else: the exposed remains of an old ship -- a very large ship, about 150 feet long. It's a ship made of heavy timbers and wooden pegs and iron rods and nails. From the photos you're sending, this wreck is a instant source of fascination and speculation.
This is not the first time that a storm has uncovered a shipwreck. And every time it happens, we all start asking the same questions. What ship was it? Who were the people aboard? What were they doing? And more important, how did this shop meet it's fate? One place to start searching for answers is at the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama.
"I think any information on scarce cultural resources is good information. They're not making these boats anymore!"
Spoken like a true archaeologist! Which is Dr. Ashley Dumas' line of work. She and her colleagues believe they have seen this wreck before, they took pictures of another such revelation after high tides in 2006.
"This one was rumored to be the SS Magnolia," Dumas said. "Which is a freighter, but the SS Magnolia is reported to be at other places on the Gulf Coast as well, as a wreck."
If this is the same wreck, this time there is much more revealed. Timbers and beams and even bronze hardware on the bow. Two years ago one scholar speculated this was the schooner Monticello, burned by the Union Navy during the civil war. No one knows for sure. But Dumas says there's so much more revealed this time, it's worth a second look. It's relics like these that connect us with our past, she says.
"Oh, sure! The element of mystery and finding the missing pieces to the puzzle of our history, and the history of people who are different but still have the same concerns and cares and worries about life that we do. Absolutely. That's part of the allure... although I can't say I've ever found a golden monkey head or carried a whip!"
But you never know what history will reveal tomorrow!
