Mussel Mass in Lake Ontario

Digs & Discoveries March/April 2013

(Courtesy City of Hamilton, Photo:ASI Group Ltd; Courtesy City of Hamilton, Photo: Emory Kristof, National Geographic)
SHARE:

For the last 25 years, invaders have staked an ever-more-alarming claim to the Great Lakes. Zebra and quagga mussels, small molluscs native to eastern Europe, are a serious problem in bodies of freshwater throughout the Midwest. They have colonized and blocked water pipes, and can lead to the breakdown of dock pilings and even steel and concrete. The ongoing invasion has underwater archaeologists concerned about the fate of the lakes’ many historic wrecks. This concern led Parks Canada and the city of Hamilton, Ontario, to begin a new effort to examine the wrecks of Hamilton and Scourge, two merchant ships that were pressed into military service in the War of 1812 and sank in a sudden squall in 1813. Recent surveys using sonar and remotely operated vehicles have revealed significant infestation of the well-preserved wrecks. The quagga mussels present a long-term preservation concern, and they also conceal the wrecks (even though, ironically, they tend to make the water clearer), making the sites increasingly difficult to study and assess.

  • Features March/April 2013

    Pirates of the Original Panama Canal

    Searching for the remains of Captain Henry Morgan's raid on Panama City

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Captain Morgan Rum Co.)
  • Features March/April 2013

    A Soldier's Story

    The battle that changed European history, told through the lens of a young man’s remains

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Dominique Bosquet)
  • Letter From Cambodia March/April 2013

    The Battle Over Preah Vihear

    A territorial dispute involving a 1,100-year-old Khmer temple on the Thai-Cambodian border turns violent

    Read Article
    (Masuru Goto)
  • Artifacts March/April 2013

    Pottery Cooking Balls

    Scientific analyses and experimental archaeology determine that mysterious, 1,000-year-old balls of clay found at Yucatán site were used in cooking

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project)