The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is launching a new research project to re-examine a 17th-century shipwreck discovered during a 1916 subway dig in Lower Manhattan. The wreck, long believed to be the Dutch ship *Tyger*—one of the earliest European vessels to anchor in New York Harbor—was excavated by subway foreman James A. Kelly and later donated to MCNY in the 1940s. In partnership with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), the museum will apply advanced scientific techniques, including dendrochronology and wood species analysis, to the ship's timbers to confirm their origins and better understand the vessel's history.
This research matters because the *Tyger* represents a rare archaeological link to early Dutch exploration and the founding of New York as a crossroads of cultures and commerce. Confirming the ship's identity would solidify a key piece of the city's 17th-century history, connecting modern New York to its colonial past. The project also demonstrates how new scientific methods can resolve longstanding historical questions, offering fresh insights into early transatlantic trade and shipbuilding.