It’s a ship tied to two critical points in American history: Sept. 11, 2001, and the eve of the Revolutionary War.
Researchers said that a vessel unearthed four years ago at the World Trade Center site was made from wood cut around the year 1773 — two years before the start of the war and three years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, writing in the July issue of Tree Ring Research journal, said the white oak in the ship’s frame came from a Philadelphia-area forest and matched the material used to build the city’s Independence Hall.
The sloop sailed for 20 to 30 years before being sunk to the bottom of the Hudson River as landfill to extend lower Manhattan.
A 32-foot piece of the vessel was found in July 2010 about 20 feet under a street.