Wood washed up on Maryland beach believed to be from 19th century ship

Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Maryland State Parks officials said an unusual piece of driftwood that washed up on a state park beach was identified as a deck timber from a 19th century ship.

Officials wrote in a Facebook post that the 14.5-foot piece of timber washed up at Assateague State Park in December and Maryland Historic Trust experts were consulted to try to determine what it was.

"It appears that this timber is from the mid-to-late 1800s and is mostly-likely a deck timber with some other parts attached to it," the post said.

Officials decided not to remove the timber from the beach, instead fitting it with a tag so it can be tracked when it is swept out to sea and located if it washes up on another beach.