A deck chair lies amid the rubble in front of Grand Coquina Condominiums, where chunks of sand … [+]
It could be part of an old pier, what’s left of a lost ship or the remnants of spectator stands from the earliest days of NASCAR racing on the sands of Daytona Beach.
Something unusual and unexplained has emerged just south Frank Rendon Park along the Atlantic in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.
The 80-foot-long object became visible after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole caused a significant amount of erosion, revealing the remains of some sort of structure made from wood and metal.
The two storms raked portions of the state, dropping plenty of rain on the Volusia County and also bringing storm surge to beachfront communities. All that water and wave action likely dragged plenty of beach sand out to sea and deeper waters, revealing some odd ornaments from a forgotten past.
Earlier in its history, this beach community hosted some of the first race car events in the country, right one the beach. As earlier as 1905, auto enthusiasts would gather to putter on the sand.
Later on, organized NASCAR events leading to the iconic Daytona 500 were also held in the area.
But it doesn’t appear that recent tropical storms have re-surfaced artifacts from automotive antiquity.
Local officials have called on state archaeologists to investigate the objects and this week they were on the scene with shovels in hand to dig a little deeper to try and ascertain the provenance of the old infrastructure.
WKMG-TV news in Orlando reported Tuesday that the archaeologists believed after getting a closer look they may actually be excavating the remains of a 19th century ship wreck.
So far the archaeologists have not reported finding any buried treasure.
