Galveston dig fails to find abandoned Navy warship
GALVESTON — Archaeologists digging in Galveston for a Texas Navy warship instead found what may be a part of a rail car or engine, the Galveston port director said Wednesday.
The archaeologists dug in an empty lot next to Galveston Harbor where 30 years ago author and adventurer Clive Cussler contended he discovered the remains of the Zavala, the only steam-powered warship in the Texas Navy.
“They found where Cussler allegedly found the boiler, they dug up steel in that area, but it’s not a boiler on a ship,” Port Director Michael Mierzwa said. “They thought it might be something on a rail car.”
The archaeologist in charge of the dig won’t say what was discovered until it’s reviewed by experts.
“We are right now analyzing the results of our work,” said Jim Hughey, regional manager for HRA Gray & Pape’s Houston office, under contract with the Port of Galveston to excavate the site. “I absolutely need to hold off until we’ve completely finished.” Zavala brings ‘mixed emotions’
The Port of Galveston, through a consultant, hired HRA & Pape to find out if the Zavala was in an area where two bollards are to be installed to tie up the 138,279-ton Navigator of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
The Texas Historical Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not allow the bollards to be installed until they were assured that construction wouldn’t damage a historic site.
The Zavala, left to rot at its anchorage by penny pinching officials of the Texas Republic, was run aground in 1842 to prevent it from sinking and the area was eventually covered with fill to allow construction.
“I have mixed emotions,” Mierzwa said about the failure to find the Zavala. “I thought if we had found it, it would be pretty exciting stuff,” he said. “It’s disappointing in some respects but I’m pretty happy in not having to deal with it.”
Mierzwa said the archeologists matched landmarks in a photograph of Cussler’s dig in 1986 to find the spot where he said he uncovered two ship’s boilers, which could have powered the Zavala’s two engines.
He disclosed the contents of an email from archeologists sent Sunday: “We wrapped up our fieldwork earlier today. No ship. We did encounter several piles from the historic wharf, but nothing close to something that would suggest the Zavala or other wrecks.”
Cussler, speaking by phone from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., remained convinced that he had found the Zavala. “They are crazy,” Cussler said. “We dug all the way down.”
Mierzwa said, “I think we found the piece that Cussler thought was a boiler, which is more likely from a railroad locomotive.”
Cussler said that he fully exposed what were undoubtedly ship boilers.
“It’s so simple,” Cussler said. “They were ship boilers. We had a good look at them.”
Accompanying Cussler during the dig was Barto Arnold, then chief of the Texas Historical Commission. Cussler said that Arnold identified the boilers and declared it a historic site. Barto could not be reached for comment. Bollards work on hold
Hughey and fellow HRA archeologist Michael Tuttle worked all last week in an empty lot next to the port digging about 20 trenches. He declined to comment about Mierzwa’s conclusions.
“If you are not very careful about what you are saying you can lead people off in the wrong direction,” he said. “We want to call in some experts to confirm what we think we are seeing.” Hughey hoped to reach a conclusion early next week.
If the Zavala had been found, Mierzwa said, the port would have had to pay for a new design and place the bollards in the water at a much higher construction cost.
He must await permission from the Historical Commission and the Corps of Engineers before work on the bollards begins. He hopes to get work under way in about a month.
Mierzwa said the ship “could possibly be out there, it just wasn’t in the area where we are interested in doing our building.”