Ancient, moss-covered canoe found in Alaska forest

[IndianChris]

From the StarPhoenix (Canada) - July 16...An unfinished Indian canoe, apparently abandoned 500 years ago, has been discovered in a remote section of an Alaska rain forest, according to officials. The canoe, carved from cedar, was discovered under a thick layer of moss and is surrounded by trees that are several hundred years old, Sealaska Corp., the Alaska Native corporation that owns the land, said in a statement. The artifact was first spotted last winter by a surveyor checking potential timberharvest sites, but the discovery was kept confidential until now, the company said. Its exact site - near the Haida and Tlingit village of Kasaan on Alaska's Prince of Wales Island - was also being kept confidential, Sealaska said.

How cool is that!
If I find out anything more...will post here.

 

[IndianChris]

Hello...how's this!

 

[Chip]

way cool. when will it be on craigslist ?

love stuff like that. a guy on "antiques road show" had this folded piece of bark from a flee market in seatle that turned out to be a "priceless" shaman/inuit/native (whichever) ceremonial headpiece that really needed to be in the proper museum.

never stop looking.

 

[IndianChris]

Yeah...love stuff like that too.
Here's the same article but with a couple of pictures.
There's a great, short book out there called "Qayaq" by David W. Zimmerly (which I think someone here on VFTT recommended to me). I should give it another read but the author also goes into some detail, from what I remember, about how rare it is to find such artifacts like that canoe. The old kayaks are even harder to find because the skins deteriorate quickly in the wet environments of Alaska.

I guess since the bark was removed from that canoe...it helped prevent it from rotting. Awesome.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

It looks like my old Coleman...