Alexandria — One year after its discovery, the historic 300-year-old ship found in a dig on the Alexandria waterfront is still awaiting its next voyage. In storage on South Quaker Lane, the ship is kept in bins of water to keep it preserved. According to Francine Bromberg, city archaeologist, the last year has been spent largely sorting through grants and establishing a long-term plan for the ship while keeping it maintained.
“It was a matter of getting everything in place,” said Bromberg. “We had to make sure we had the funding. Last April, as part of spring2action, the Friends of Alexandria Archaeology had a large fundraising campaign and we raised $30,000 for the ship. Plus we had allocations by the city into the budget for FY 2017, which happened in July. It has taken a while, but once we had the funding things went full speed.”
Now, Bromberg says the city is in the process of picking a conservator within the next month to do preservation work on the ship.
“When we do send the ship off for conservation, we’re going to have a bon voyage [event],” said Bromberg. “Once away, it will take three to five years before its ready to come back to the city.”