Boston building crew uncovers 19th century shipwreck at seaport

BOSTON, May 27 (UPI) -- Building crews in Boston's Seaport district temporarily halted construction after uncovering a 19th century shipwreck.

The City of Boston Archaeology Program shared photos of the shipwreck and noted that construction in the area was approved as "there had never been something like this found before," and therefore it was not flagged for archaeology prior to development."

City of Boston archeologist Joe Bagley told the Boston Globe that the ship measured about 50 feet long and could have been constructed long before it wrecked.

"Nothing like this has been found in Boston, in filled-in ground, before," he said. "This is incredibly rare and incredibly amazing."

Charley Leatherbee, an executive with building company Skanska, that construction was promptly shut down after crews realized they had uncovered "something unusual."

"We immediately halted our excavation operations in the area of the site and alerted the city archeologist and Massachusetts Historical Commission," Leatherbee said. "We are working closely with both organizations to determine exactly what this structure is and if it has historical significance so we can work with the city to take care of it in the most respectful manner."

Bagley stated that archeologists were 3D scanning the entire area, as the ship could not be recovered and thanked Skanska for their cooperation.

"The fact that they took the financial impact of stalling work in order for archeologists to come in and document this — frankly, we need more developers like them," he said.