Ancient artifacts

If there is one thing we at Sportbay love it is the adventures of underwater divers and the finds they discover deep below the waves of the waterways here on Planet Earth.
Looking out over the sometimes turbulent and sometimes calm surface of the water, one cannot help but wonder what mysteries lie below.
Although the Modern Greece was excavated more than 50 years ago by US divers, its mysteries, and those like it are still being studied, according to The Bellingham Herald.
This US Civil War blockade runner led to the creation of an archeological site which is still being picked over by divers to this day.
Located just off the coast of Wilmington, the Modern Greece, a 210-foot English ship, was the first of nearly 30 blockade runners which was sunk during that infamous time during US history. This week marks the 150th anniversary of its sinking and also reaffirms that there are still thousands of artifacts to be found in the waters near Fort Fisher.
Currently, a team of East Carolina University grad students are are sifting through “muck of half-century-old storage tanks at the Department of Cultural Resources’ Underwater Archaeology Branch facility” to clean and catalog the artifacts which were rescued from the oblivion of the depths more than 50 years ago.
Some of the artifacts in the storage tank include British-made Enfield rifles, tableware, bayonets, tin sheets, ax heads, chisels and “wicked-looking antler- and ebony-handled Bowie knives.”
The goal is to provide these artifacts the pleasures of modern preservation techniques.
In addition, archeologists are looking to revisit the site and create a record of the events which unfolded.
All told, these grad students certainly have their hands full, to say the least. The Sportbay Team is looking forward to seeing what is unvieled from the remains of the Modern Greece.