Have you ever wondered what happens to the food and other perishable goods that go down in a shipwreck?
While most of those items succumb to the changes in pressure as they sink into the depths of the ocean, a surprising number of perishable items were retrieved in their original conditions from the SS Republic after 140 years underwater. This is an extremely rare occurrence, and visitors to the Shipwrecked Treasure Museum will be able to see a collection of these preserved goods that has never before been displayed to the public. The display is refrigerated to maintain the preserved states of the wares, and includes everything from food items to ink, perfume, and elixirs.
The SS Republic was carrying a variety of food to New Orleans when it went down in a hurricane. When the shipwreck site was discovered, bottled goods were found that give us an idea of what everyday people were eating just after the Civil War. These food items include champagne, beer, blueberries, gooseberries, peaches, rhubarb, pepper sauce, and mustard. Other bottled items retrieved from the wreck and displayed in the cold storage exhibit include shampoo, perfume, ink, and stomach elixir.