Remains of a wooden ship found covered in mud in Alabama may belong to the last vessel to bring slaves to the U.S. nearly 160 years ago.
The wreck could be the Clotilda, which was burned after delivering captives from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile in 1860.
"I'm quaking with excitement," historian John Sledge told Al.com. "This would be a story of world historical significance, if this is the Clotilda. It's certainly in the right vicinity ... We always knew it should be right around there."
The stunning discovery was made by Al.com reporter Ben Raines after the remains were left exposed by low tides.
Archaeologist John Bratten, who explores shipwrecks, told Al.com there was "nothing here to say this isn't the Clotilda, and several things that say it might be."
The discovery was made in the same location where the Clotilda's captain wrote that he burned and sank the ship. The wreck shows evidence of damage from fire, and experts say the vessel was constructed using techniques of the 19th century.
The schooner set out for Africa on a bet by an Alabama steamboat captain and plantation owner who wanted to show he could sneak slaves into the country. President Thomas Jefferson had signed a law in 1807 forbidding the importation of slaves, but slavery remained the backbone of the economy of the South.
"These ships were the 18-wheelers of their day," shipwright Winthrop Turner told Al.com.
"They were designed to haul a huge amount of cargo in relatively shallow water. That's why you see the exceptional number of big iron drifts used to hold the planking together. That's also why the sides of the ship are so stout. They are almost two feet thick. The construction techniques here, no threaded bolts, iron drifts, butt jointed planking, these all confirm a ship built between 1850 and 1880."
The 110 slaves on the Clotilda delivered to Mobile were freed when the Civil War ended in 1865, but their captor refused to pay for their voyage back to Africa, according to the 2007 book "Dreams of Africa in Alabama" cited by Al.com.
After the U.S. government also turned them down, the group of 110 purchased land and created Africatown, according to the book. One of them lived to be 94, and passed away in 1935.
Africatown still exists today, a historic community just miles from Mobile. Some of the descendants of the Clotilda slaves still live there.
"If it turns out to be the last slaver, it is going to be a very powerful site for many reasons," archaeologist Greg Cook told Al.com. "The structure of the vessel itself is not as important as its history, and the impact it is going to have on many, many people."
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