Teams to X-ray object from Hunley Wednesday, March 7, 2001
     Teams continued to pull 3 1/2-gallon bucketfuls of silt out of the Confederate submarine Hunley, finding large quantities of marine shells and the ends of iron rivets workers had earlier drilled out to open up the sub's hull plates.
     Tuesday was spent removing more silt from two open panels at the crew compartment's center and rear sections. Archaeologists are hoping to bring the silt down evenly inside the sub as they hunt for artifacts.
     Project manager Bob Neyland also said that a "blob," possibly made of iron but covered with marine concretion, was found. Its function could not be determined. "We won't know until it's X-rayed," he said.
    
     Seashells, coal found inside Hunley Tuesday, March 6, 2001

     Archaeologists have removed about four bucketfuls of silt from the Confederate submarine Hunley's crew compartment and report finding a large number of seashells as well as several pieces of coal and boiler slag and at least one piece of driftwood.
     The items were found Sunday, apparently after they either were washed into the Hunley or made their way in sometime after the sub's February 1864 sinking, four miles off Charleston.
     Excavation work was put on hold Monday for safety training and to move in 16 autopsy tables donated by the state of Alabama.
     The tables will be used to transport any human remains found inside the sub to the morgue set up at the Warren Lasch Conservation Lab in North Charleston. Project manager Bob Neyland said the excavation will resume today after more X-rays are taken.