Archaeologists examine timbers found at site of World Trade Centre bombings

The ship found at the World Trade Centre site was probably among debris used in 18th century landfill. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/APWorkers excavating the World Trade Centre site have unearthed the 10-metre hull of a ship believed to have been buried in the 18th century.

The vessel was probably used along with other debris to fill in land to extend lower Manhattan into the Hudson river, archaeologists have said.

It was hoped the artefact could be retrieved by the end of today, said archaeologist Molly McDonald. A boat specialist was going to the Ground Zero site to examine the find.

McDonald said she wanted to at least salvage some timbers; it was unclear if any large portions could be lifted intact.

“We’re mostly clearing it by hand because it’s fragile,” she said. Construction equipment may be used later in the process.

McDonald and Michael Pappalardo, an archaeologist, were at the site of the 11 September 2001 attacks when the hull was discovered on Tuesday morning.

“We noticed curved timbers that a back hoe brought up,” McDonald said. “We quickly found the rib of a vessel and continued to clear it away and expose the hull.

“We’re going to send timber samples to a laboratory to do dendrochronology to help us get a sense of when the boat was constructed.” Dendrochronology is the science that uses tree rings to determine dates and chronological order.

A 45kg (100lb) anchor was found a few yards from the hull on Wednesday but the experts are not sure if it belongs to the ship. The anchor was about a metre across, McDonald said.

The archaeologists are racing to record and analyse the vessel before exposure to air makes the delicate wood deteriorate.

“I kept thinking of how closely it came to being destroyed,” Pappalardo said.