Report 1 - Conservation of ceramic firepot

Report 2 - Composite wood and iron artifacts - pole arms and partisans

Report 3 - Silicone oil and organic conservation

Report 4 - Conserving the human skeleton found aboard La Belle

Report 5 - Conservation of closed wood containers: a chest from La Belle

Report 6 - Conservation of the Fairfield Union field cannon

Report 7 - Conserving the hull of La Belle

Report 8 - A carpenter's tool from Port Royal, Jamaica

Report 9 - Modeling La Belle.

Report 10 - Site 8SJ3478, possibly the Industry: a British 18th-century shipwreck

Report 11 - Pass Cavallo project (Page currently down)

Report 12 - A chest from the Brother Jonathan shipwreck.

Report 13 - Reconstructing historic mine cars

Report 14 - Conserving a dugout canoe

Report 15 - The Conservation of the 18-Pounder Carronades from USS Shark

Conservation Research Laboratory Reports

Conserving the hull of the Belle

La Salle Shipwreck Project
Texas Historical Commission

Throughout each year, the Conservation Research Laboratory conserves material from a number of different archaeological projects. The purpose of these CRL reports is to showcase the conservation procedures used to treat some of the more interesting archaeological material. The reconstruction of the Belle's hull is presented in this report.  The Belle, one of the ships of French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur (Lord) de La Salle, was lost in Matagorda Bay, Texas in 1686.  It was excavated by the Texas Historical Commission.

View the completed reconstruction of La Belle here.

Ship Hull Conservation

The excavation of the Belle by the Texas Historical Commission in 1996/97 was one of the most innovative and spectacular archaeological excavations of the decade. The THC took an underwater site and made it a land (more or less) excavation by constructing a cofferdam around the ship and pumping out the water. The finds on this fully loaded barque longue (frigate) belonging to the famous French explorer La Salle were nothing less than amazing. There is a massive array and quanity of material.

The single largest artifact is the remains of the ship herself.  It is estimated that approximately one-third of the ship survived. The remains of the ship were dissassembled in the field, and some 764 components (keel, keelson, frames, ceiling planking, mast step, pump box, outer planking, etc.) were sent to the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University for conservation. Because of the importance of this shipwreck, we are making equally innovating approaches in the conservation of the hull.

The complete conservation of the hull is being documented on this web site. It is proceeding in several stages:

    • STAGE 1:  Proper storage and cleaning of the wood in preparation for reassembly
    • STAGE 2:  Construction of the concrete vat by C.F. Jordan Construction of College Station, Texas
    • STAGE 3:  Construction of the lifting frame by Dynacon of Bryan, Texas
    • STAGE 4:  Vat construction completed.  The vat was viewed by all interested parties at an Open House on November 12, 1999. Reassembly of the hull completed in October 2001. 
    • STAGE 5:  The conservation of the hull begins. This is where we are now!
    • STAGE 6:  When the conservation of the hull is completed, it will be removed for final preparation for exhibition.
    • STAGE 7: The preserved hull will be partially disassembled and shipped to a museum where it will be displayed.

Photo Gallery Index

Stage 1 - Planning

Stage 2 - Vat Construction

Stage 3 - Lifting the Frame Construction

Stage 4 - Reassembling the Hull of La Belle

Stage 5 - Conserving the Hull of La Belle.

Conservation underway.

Citation Information:

Donny L. Hamilton
1998, Conservation of the Hull of the Belle, Conservation Research Laboratory Research Report #7, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/Report7/hull.htm, Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University; La Salle Shipwreck Project, Texas
Historical Commission, Austin, Texas.

E-mail: dlhamilton@tamu.edu
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