The challenges involved in preserving what is left of the slave ship Clotilda came into sharper focus Thursday, with a leading marine archaeologist telling listeners that “Clotilda is broken” and that the ship is “basically half an eggshell.”

The comments from James Delgado came at a public meeting at which the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), along with partner agencies and organizations including Delgado’s SEARCH Inc., presented the final report on a 2022 research mission to the site. In addition to clearing submerged trees away from the wreck, the effort gathered up numerous timbers and other pieces scattered from the deteriorating hull; scientists collected numerous samples and reserved a few artifacts for conservation and closer study.

The effort to analyze all the data and samples gathered has taken two years. The results are presented in a 400-page report available now on the Alabama Historical Commission’s website. They were discussed at a Thursday night forum held at the Robert Hope Community Center in Mobile. Participants included Delgado; Lisa D. Jones, executive director of the AHC; state archaeologist Stacye Hathorn; Eric Smith of Resolve Marine Group, which managed the 2022 effort; and Timothy Dodson, a regulatory archaeologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Clotilda is believed to have brought the last known shipment of captive Africans into slavery in the United States in 1860, and its significance is increased by the fact that some of its survivors went on to found the nearby Africatown community when they were freed after the Civil War. Since the AHC and partner researchers said in 2019 they had positively identified wreckage in the Mobile River as the ruins of the ship, there has been keen interest in learning more from it, and potentially raising and restoring it for exhibition. Some of the challenges to doing so were known: The ship was scuttled, burned, and dynamited, and what’s left has been submerged in mud for a century and a half. There were also many unknowns, such as the condition of the wood and the integrity of the structure submerged for so long.

The findings of the “Phase III” report released Thursday indicate that major challenges and risks would be involved in any attempt to excavate the Clotilda. The AHC recommends the shipwreck be preserved in place. However, Delgado – who was its principal author – and others stressed that the report is intended to provide a firm scientific basis for decisions about what happens with the Clotilda, rather than making the decisions.

Some key points from Thursday night’s discussion:

Damage: When Delgado said the Clotilda was broken, he was referring to findings that the rear portion of the hull had been crushed, broken off and shifted away from the rest of the ship by an unknown impact. Delgado said it likely was decades ago when some other ship hit the wreckage, possibly as far back as the World War II era. His “eggshell” comment referred to the integrity of what’s left: trying to lift it out probably would cause it to collapse, he said, so it either would have to be disassembled or reinforced before being moved.

Integrity: In a statement accompanying the release of the report, Hathorn said that “Archaeological integrity and structural integrity are two different concepts. Archaeological integrity means that the vessel still has the ability to tell its story through careful scientific investigation. Structural integrity means that the structure of the vessel remains strong and intact. This study has demonstrated that while the Clotilda retains significant archaeological integrity, its structural integrity has been severely compromised by the original act of barratry and subsequent impacts, both natural and human, over the past 164 years.”

Preservation: Pressed by Africatown activist Cleon Jones on the question of how much it might cost and how long it might take, if the surviving forward portion of the hull was excavated and preserved, Delgado offered a very rough guess that it could be $25 million to $30 million and 10 to 20 years before the preserved result could be displayed. Among other things, he said, the task would require complete disassembly of the hull so that metal fittings and wood could be treated separately.

Markers: The next likely development is the addition of navigational markers intended to keep river traffic away from the wreck site. The exact details of these markers haven’t been finalized, but Dodson said there likely will be four of them, spaced about 100 feet away from the wreckage, and that they will be tall enough that signs will remain visible during flooding. Some of those present at the meeting expressed interest in a no-wake zone at the site. Dodson encouraged people to submit such requests and suggestions to the Corps of Engineers for consideration.

DNA: Delgado said that fish, alligator, and bacterial DNA had been identified in samples taken from the ship, but no human DNA had been found so far.

Phase IV: Asked if any plans had been made for another expedition that might delve further into the submerged, mud-filled hull, potentially finding artifacts that speak directly to the Clotilda’s slaving purpose, Hathorn said that, as with other options, the Phase III would provide a basis for discussion of further investigation.

After the presentation, Jones said it would take some time for the community of Clotilda descendants to settle on a course of action. “We’ve always known what we’ve wanted, as a community,” Jones said. “But if you can’t have the ship raised up … what’s the second-best thing? For me it would be to memorialize the area, to make some kind of shrine or park.” Jones said he thought a five-year timetable might be realistic, at least to settle on a plan and get started.

Karlos Finley, executive director of the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation, said the first task at hand for the community was simply to digest the 400-page Phase III report. After that, he said, the challenge would be to bring the community together in a focused discussion of the options.

“This is such a sensitive situation, archaeologically, we don’t want to make a misstep that will hurt something,” Finley said. “So, my position is that it’s not about the haste of doing something, it’s about making sure that whatever we do, we’re able to preserve this piece of history.”

There’s another angle, Finley said: If $25 million or $30 million might be raised and spent to preserve the ship, what might the same money do for the community, for example if it helped build affordable housing? “I’m all for history,” he said. “But there’s a balance here that I think we need to be looking at, and that’s what going to be most advantageous to the sustainability of this community. The sustainability of Clotilda, she’s been down there 164 years. But what about the people?”

A similar counterpoint came from the Clotilda Descendants Association, which issued a statement in advance of Thursday night’s meeting.

“Any conversation that focuses on raising the ship is a distraction from the 110 survivors aboard Clotilda and the horrendous crime committed,” it said. “We believe the narrative and the attention of any article or media outlet should primarily focus on the survivors, their descendants, or the communities where the survivors lived such as Africatown, Dallas County, Gee’s Bend, etc. It is not about the ship, it is about the people on the ship, their descendants, and their communities and that is where our focus will continue to remain.

“We look forward to learning more about preserving Clotilda and learning more about the final voyage of Clotilda and how it impacted our ancestors,” said the CDA statement. “We also look forward to partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Mobile District (USACE) and the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) on a memorial that honor the lives of the 110 aboard Clotilda and at the current site where it remains.”