In a historic moment for the state of Wisconsin, a team of divers and archaeologists recently extracted a 1200-year-old dugout canoe from Madison’s Lake Mendota.
The canoe was carefully extracted from lake sediment 27 feet underwater. The artifact was then pulled to a beach in the city’s Spring Harbor neighborhood and greeted by ecstatic residents and historians.
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Tamara Thomsen, the maritime archeologist and master scuba instructor for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, spotted the canoe underwater back in June. “I’ve never seen this underwater (before) and I don’t think I’ll ever get to again in my career,” she said in an interview with USA Today.
The canoe discovery marks a monumental moment for Wisconsin, as it is the oldest fully intact dugout canoe in the state.
