The article started by giving some background of the events at Yorktown, Virginia. In September, 1781, at least 50 British ships had been sunk in the York River near the city, some by cannon fire, others intentionally sunk by the British to make the waters impassable to French ships. The ship this article dealt with was one of those intentionally sunk.
The archaeologists working to excavate this ship faced several problems. The strong, unpredictable tidal currents would stir up silt, causing near-zero visibility. And the numerous jellyfish would sting the excavators. To solve these problems, they built a coffer dam, or steel enclosure, around the ship. Normal coffer dams are emptied of water, but this one was left filed to preserved the ship from decay.
Several artifacts were recovered from the ship. Parts of a mahogany table, brass hooks, and an arm from a fashionable chair were found in the the captain's cabin. Logs, beams, and planks found in the hold indicated that this ship was used to fashion materials for use in the British land fortifications. A hat ribbon, buttons, bottles, a glass tumbler, and other items were also found on the ship.
A number of barrels were also found on the ship ranging from 3 small barrels holding almost 10,000 musketballs, to a pair of barrels about 5 feet in diameter, nicknamed "Cornwallis's hot tubs" by the excavating archaeologists.
This 75ft, 170 ton ship was sunk by a neatly chiseled hole in the hull, indicating that there was an experienced carpenter on board. After the water started pouring in, the crew abandoned the ship, leaving it sink to the bottom, the masts still protruding above the water.
I found this article interesting because it gave me insight on what lengths the British went to to try to put down the revolt in their colonies on North America.