HATTERAS – Eric Nordgren, senior conservator with the USS Monitor project at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., will give a free public presentation on “Conservation of the USS Monitor” at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Wednesday, June 17, at 7 p.m.
On Dec.31, 1862, the famed Union ironclad USS Monitor fell victim to the stormy seas of the Graveyard of the Atlantic and sank in 240 feet of water off Cape Hatteras, N.C. Due to the efforts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and many collaborators, the wreck site was established as America’s first National Marine Sanctuary.
In honor of the Monitor’s final resting place, a number of artifacts from the Monitor will be placed on display at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, where visitors will be able to see first-hand evidence of the historic ironclad vessel.
Nordgren will discuss the recovery and conservation of Monitor artifacts such as the anchor, port side Worthington pump and engine room lantern, which are slated for future display at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Nordgren studied archaeological conservation at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, England. Since graduating from UCL, Nordgren has worked as a conservator for a wide variety of museums and archaeological projects in the United States and overseas including the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Alexandria, Egypt, the Queen Anne’s Revenge project in North Carolina, and the conservation of the Enigma Machine from the U-85 at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. He has been with the Monitor project since 2006 and is primarily involved in treatment of complex mechanical components from the wreck.
For more information, call the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at (252) 986-2995.
The museum, located next to the Ferry’s Dock in Hatteras, presents the maritime heritage and history of the shipwrecks of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It is a part of the Division of State History Museums in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources , the state agency established to serve North Carolina’s citizens in an outreach to broaden minds and spirits, preserve history and culture, and to recognize and promote our cultural resources as an essential element of North Carolina’s economic and social well-being.