COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. — Not long ago, an amazing piece of Native American history was discovered submerged at the bottom of a North Carolina lake. It returned to the surface on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology and the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe worked together to retrieve a 930-year-old canoe from Lake Waccamaw.
A statement from the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission said it was found on the lakebed and underneath a private dock.
According to Wilmington, North Carolina CBS affiliate WWAY, the canoe was discovered two years ago by two boys swimming in the lake. Tribe and state authorities were contacted and its location was marked until it could be safely removed, the station said.
The report said that the canoe was touched and prayed over by descendants of those who lived there long ago before it was placed in a protective container.
"Congratulations to the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe and Lake Waccamaw community on a successful retrieval!" the Heritage Commission's statement said.
