Speculation, and Some New Clues, About an Unearthed Ship.

Two days after construction workers discovered the keel of a centuries-old wooden ship at the site of the new World Trade Center, New Yorkers continued to speculate about what might have caused the mysterious vessel to come to rest amid layers of landfill. Hundreds of readers weighed in about the ship on the City Room blog. Some fretted that it might have ferried human cargo. Others were convinced that it was a whaling ship. The whaling enthusiasts were confident asserted that a metal arc found on the keel, not far from some loose bricks, might have once belonged to a fire-powered fixture that helped sailors process blubber. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]