Marina Artifacts
If you don’t know what to look for, you will miss it. The tall glass display
case hides in the back corner of the marina lounge, next to the office.
John Maiola, and many other CLYC members, has spent a lot of effort publicizing
the Civil War Era Shipwreck and Cypress Landing Brick Kiln. Through their
efforts, the display case contains artifacts from an East Carolina Research dig
and other sources. Bottles, brick, pottery, and even a “human bone complete with
teeth marks” are all there.
The brick kiln was located on the point of land at the shore end of Dock E. Over
the years, bricks have been uncovered and removed for various purposes.
Apparently a dock existed and a Carolina Scow Schooner (73’ x14’), sometimes
called a sail flat, docked there. Maybe the flat bottom, barge-like sail craft,
was used to transport the brick produced here or maybe it was used for other
purposes.
The shipwreck, discovered accidently in 1994 during an early building phase of
the marina, was examined in an East Carolina University dig in June, 1995. The
dig was recorded in Research Report #9, The Cypress Landing Shipwreck of
Chocowinity Bay: A North Carolina Sail Flat, by Ann M Merriman. This document
indicates the scow sunk next to a dock, accidently or on purpose (to make a
breakwater). Our site is the only known resting place in North Carolina of this
type of ship.
In shallow water near shore, remnants of the craft’s ribs remain where
researchers found that a layer of brick lined the scow’s hold, either as ballast
or cargo. In the April, 2007 blowout, the site was uncovered and recorded in
2007 Low Water photos preserved on this site. The remains are all there, hidden under shallow
water, marked by buoys and posts.
Next time you’re in the marina lounge, look at the artifacts. And while you’re
at it, just click on the research report link here or on the STORIES page. It
makes interesting reading.
|
