Treasure — old ship — found in bayou

A sunken ship that wrecked nearly 140 years ago was unearthed last year during a site excavation by New Iberia architect Paul Allain.

The vessel was buried below 4 feet of mud under the bed of Bayou Teche.

Maria Tio with the Louisiana Division of Archaeology said that since the ship’s discovery in late 2005, only a preliminary report had been completed by the private archaeology company hired to research the findings. “Coastal Environments Inc., the company that conducted the archaeological investigation, believes that the ship was a sidewheel steamboat named the Teche,” Tio said.