A century-old shipwreck was revealed in Louisiana. Then the thieving began.

Charles McGimsey, Louisiana’s state archaeologist, felt unsurprised but disappointed when someone stole a piece of a shipwreck that recently emerged from the Mississippi River. The real shock came the next day, when McGimsey said he ran into the thief, who was walking away with another piece of the ship.

McGimsey was on his way to the shipwreck of the Brookhill Ferry for a news interview about its discovery when, he said, he saw an unidentified man walking away from the ferry, toward his pickup truck, with a piece of the artifact.

As water levels in the Mississippi River plummeted this year, the Brookhill Ferry, which sank during a storm in September 1915, emerged by the banks of the river in Baton Rouge. The ferry, which was built around 1896 and used to transport people between Baton Rouge and Port Allen, had surfaced once before, in 1992. Then, the shipwreck was muddy and not really visible, McGimsey said.

This time at least 80 percent of the Brookhill is visible, and the ship is clean because of the current, according to the state archaeologist. And it can easily be reached from downtown Baton Rouge.

“And it is such a tremendous educational opportunity to see and touch history,” McGimsey said.

These were all reasons that convinced Louisiana’s archaeology department to open the ship to the public.

McGimsey said there was a brief discussion with his colleagues about putting up a chain-link fence around the wreck, but the idea was dropped. “We wanted everyone to enjoy this local history, photograph it, touch it, walk on it” he said.

As droughts are occurring around the world, lower water levels are offering glimpses of historical artifacts: in Central Texas, dinosaur tracks were discovered on a dried-up riverbed; along the Serbia-Romania border, warships have emerged from the port; and in Chongqing, China, previously submerged Buddhist statues can now be seen.

In Baton Rouge, they didn’t consider that out of the thousands of people who came to enjoy the ship, some could steal parts of it. So far, four pieces of the ship have been stolen.

McGimsey recognized the man because he had been sent photographs of him the night before, piling pieces of the shipwreck into his vehicle. He stopped and tried to reason with him.

McGimsey said he explained to the would-be thief and vandal that the shipwreck belongs to the state of Louisiana, but the man argued that nobody owns the river or anything found in it, McGimsey said. “We had a really strong difference of opinion.”

“He wasn’t happy about it, but eventually he left behind the piece,” said McGimsey.

According to a local paper, the man has since been contacted by Louisiana’s assistant attorney general, and he has agreed to return the two pieces he previously took. They include two hull planks, one is at least 10 feet long, and the other is 30 feet long. The archaeology department is still figuring out the best way to transport the stolen pieces back to the rest of the Brookhill.

The department of archaeology has decided that if the returns can be made amicably, they do not want to press charges, said McGimsey.

Two stolen pieces remain at large, and there are no clues about who stole them, said McGimsey. They include an 18-inch framing timber and a 5-inch sieve made of lead, according to a local paper.

McGimsey is not sure why people would steal from the shipwreck but he believes it could either be out of the wonder and curiosity of history, or financial gain.

“Maybe if we go on eBay we will find a seller with one-inch pieces of a 100-year-old boat,” said McGimsey. “But I can’t imagine why anyone would buy that!”

The archaeology department will keep the shipwreck open to the public until the water level rises again and takes the ferry with it.

The department has had to put up signs to remind people to not take pieces from the ferry, and so far they seem to be working, said McGimsey.