Patrons at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center also see the encrusted sediment, known as concretion – a mix of sand and remains of sea life – that Mardikian likens to a “black box.”īy removing the material, he says, researchers will be able to do more precise analysis of holes in the hull and its condition, the Hunley’s speed and performance in the Atlantic Ocean and whether gunfire from the USS Housatonic, its target, contributed to the submarine’s demise.

Dive planes and remnants of other submarine components, including ballast tanks, are evidence of the innovation and care of the sub’s designers and builders. You are going to look at the face of the submarine for the first time,” says Paul Mardikian, the project’s senior conservator.Īlready, the Hunley impresses visitors who gaze down to a 90,000-gallon freshwater conservation tank. A chemical bath will peel away the final layer of sediment that covers the exterior of the well-constructed hull and the Hunley’s interior. The Hunley Project, a consortium of researchers, scientists and state and federal agencies, this year begins a conservation phase that might add an important piece to the puzzle of what happened to the submarine.

There is hope that some additional clues may emerge soon.

Hunley submarine civil war