The ironclad's last breath
Archaeologists and other crew members use pressure hoses to separate potentially significant artifacts from river muck during the recovery of the Civil War ironclad, CSS Georgia. Crews needed to remove the relic in order to allow the deepening of the Savannah harbor. In addition to smaller objects recovered through this high-pressure screening, crews also also recovered large casemates made of railroad rails used to armor the warship. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) will deepen America's fourth busiest container port (second busiest on the East Coast) from its current 42-foot depth to 47 feet deep. This will allow newer, larger container vessels to call on the port with fewer tidal restrictions and with heavier loads. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell.)