NEW YORK (AP) – Researchers say a ship unearthed at the site of New York’s
World Trade Center predates American independence.

Columbia University scientists say they’ve determined wood used in the ship’s
frame came from a Philadelphia-area forest in 1773 – three years before the
signing of the Declaration of Independence and start of the Revolutionary War.

Researchers say they’ve tentatively identified the ship as a Philadelphia-built
sloop, a ship designed by the Dutch to carry passengers and cargo over
shallow, rocky water.