Mobile River shipwrecks project

The Alabama Historical Commission will begin a project to inventory shipwrecks and other cultural resources in submerged portions of the Mobile River in Mobile County, Ala. The project will ultimately result in a National Register Maritime Historic District, and the possible discovery of the Clotilda – the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans to the U.S. In March, the Alabama Historical Commission, National Park Service, Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture, and SEARCH completed an investigation into a shipwreck’s remains in nearby Baldwin County that was believed to be the Clotilda. It was not. The Historical Commission has recently contracted with SEARCH to complete Phase I’s remote-sensing survey to locate significant submerged cultural resources. Afterwards, SEARCH will conduct an archaeological analysis of acquired data. In conjunction with local/state partners, the archaeological process will occur in multiple phases. Phase I is to begin in June. (Source: Alabama Historical Commission 05/31/18)