Steamship Malta

[john]

Does anyone know the status of the excavation of the Steamship Malta in Missouri?  The ship went down while heading upriver in 1841 and likely still contains most or all of its cargo of trade goods.  The location has been absolutely confirmed and a google search turns up old TV news clips from a few years back saying it was scheduled to be excavated in the fall off 2017, when the groundwater table is lowest.  The river is so dynamic and the channel has moved a lot so it's not in or even that close to the current river channel, though obviously its on the current floodplain, buried in 40 feet or so of sediment, and  below the groundwater table.  The folks at the Steamship Arabia Museum likely know the scoop so a call to them should solve the mystery.  The full excavation of this ship would likely be one of the top archeological discoveries ever in terms of yielding objects from our period of interest. 

[scottc]

The KC paper noted last November the Malta excavation was put on hold until next year. They reported the area had more rain than usual so the water table was too high.

Can't wait to see their treasure,
ScottC

[john]

Thanks for the info Scott.  I think this steamship will likely add a lot to our knowledge of late fur trade period gear and equipment.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes out of the ground.

[firemanbrad]

I grew up there, so can’t wait for them to start digging!