Cloth, buttons found on Hunley

Friday, May 18, 2001

     Archaeologists excavating the Hunley have found cloth under the submarine's front conning tower, but it's too early to say whether it is part of Lt. George Dixon's uniform.
     Scientists are about 90 percent finished with the initial excavation of the submarine and are now digging toward the forward bulkhead. Somewhere along the way, they expect to find Dixon's remains.
     The textiles sample was found along with two non-military buttons high in the sediment underneath the Confederate sub's front hatch.
     This is a critical phase of the Hunley investigation. Archaeologists hope to find clues to why the submarine sank.