| Denbigh Project team
members recently began using computer modeling techniques to assemble a detailed,
three-dimensional recreation of the blockade runner. Visibility at the wreck site is very
poor, rarely exceeding two feet, so photographing the wreck is impossible. Digital
modeling allows investigators better to understand how the different parts of the ship
worked together, how machinery might have been arranged, to orient divers to the site, and
so on. Although digital modeling is time-consuming, it allows changes to be made quickly
as new information becomes available. It looks cool, too. The images above and below show Denbigh's midships
section, including her boiler, engines, feathering wheels and hull framing. They reflect
project investigators' best understanding of the ship based on historical and
archaeological evidence gathered through the 2000 field season. Like any other
archaeological interpretation, this model is subject to change as more data becomes
available.
|
