Ben Brenman Pond in the Cameron Station neighborhood of Alexandria's West End.
Alexandria's archaeologists and historic preservationists have come up with a creative solution to store the timbers from three wooden ship remains found at the Robinson Landing construction site in 2018.
The ship's timber remnants, which have been stored in large water tanks, will be stored at the bottom of the pond at Ben Brenman Park in Alexandria's West End. They could stay there for decades.
Photo courtesy of EYA
Ship excavated at building site in Alexandria.
"This creative storage solution will continue to preserve the wood and allow for future study and conservation. Archaeologists will reassess after 20-25 years to decide whether to continue to preserve the timbers in the pond, or if a different stabilization method such as conservation is the best option for the artifacts," city officials explained.
The pond was constructed in the late 1990s as a stormwater management facility for the neighborhood and is now home to ducks, geese, turtles and other wildlife.
According to city officials, "The ship remains will be secured at the bottom of the pond and regularly monitored. A small sample of timbers will be conserved. Three interpretation signs will accompany the ships, explaining their significance and why the pond was chosen for storage."
On Sunday, May 15 from noon - 4 p.m., residents will be invited to "SeeWorthy in the Park," an event where residents can talk to archaeologists and participate in science-based activities to learn about wood preservation and more.
The ship's remains were found in 2018 during excavation of land for the Robinson Landing development along the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria. More than 200 years ago, Alexandrians repurposed the old merchant ships to build out new land along the river. That year, City of Alexandria archaeologists worked with developer EYA, LLC, its team of archaeologists from Thunderbird, a division of Wetlands Studies and Solutions, Inc., and other experts in the research and excavation of the three ships and other land-making structures.
“These rare and unique artifacts represent Alexandria’s historic seaport,” said Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist. “We look forward to sharing the story of their discovery, excavation, and preservation with Alexandria residents and visitors in the Alexandria Archaeology Museum and in many other ways.”
Over the last two years, Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Lab (CRL) 3-D laser scanned more than 1,000 timbers recovered from the three Robinson Landing Site ships. Staff from the CRL used these scans to produce digital and physical models of the ships for future study and interpretation. The physical models will be on exhibit on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center until June 5 as part of “SeeWorthy: Modeling Maritime Archaeology.” The fourth ship, discovered by archaeologists before the construction of the Hotel Indigo, is currently undergoing conservation in Texas at the CRL.
