18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site — The remnants of a wooden 18th century ship were discovered on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City, 20 to 30 feets (10 meters) below street level. The articles in the New York Times says that "a 1797 map shows that the excavation site is close to where Lindsey’s Wharf and Lake’s Wharf once projected into the Hudson."
However "archaeologists and officials hurried to the site, not only because of the magnitude of the discovery but because construction work could not be interrupted and because the timber, no longer safe in its cocoon of ooze, began deteriorating as soon as it was exposed to air."