SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Sunken Alaskan Sternwheeler is an Underwater Time Capsule

from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)

Underwater archaeologists said Monday they have found a virtual time capsule of life during Canada's Klondike Gold Rush: a sunken Yukon River sternwheeler so well-preserved that researchers can document the last minutes of the five-man crew as well as their life aboard the primitive cargo-hauler.

The door of the steam boiler on the A. J. Goddard was open, and slightly charred wood found inside suggested the crew were trying to build up a head of steam, perhaps to break loose from an ice jam.

An axe remained on the deck after one crew member hefted it to chop the rope used to tow a barge, a sign of their frantic attempts to escape the ice floe.