Last known slave ship to the US should stay underwater to preserve 'crime scene', experts say

Clotilda is the last known ship to bring enslaved people to the United States from Africa

Andrea Cavallier
12 hours ago

The last known slave ship to travel to the United States is too “broken” to be pulled from the murky waters of the Alabama Gulf Coast and should stay underwater to preserve the “crime scene,” a task force of experts announced following a yearslong investigation.

“There is no other site in the world that presents such physical evidence as the Clotilda,” James Delgado, a lead marine archeologist, said about the investigation. He said the priority is preserving that physical evidence.

“The Clotilda is the scene of the crime, so everything we did was in that crime scene investigation manner.”

The Clotilda, which was the last ship known to transport enslaved Africans to the US, had been broken in half while underwater by a large vessel and severely eroded by bacteria, the Alabama Historical Commission said Thursday.

More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/slave-ship-clotilda-underwater-b2595223.html