蜜芽传媒

Researchers working on the wreck of a sunken slave ship in the US believe that they may be able to identify the DNA of the people once on board the vessel.

The ship, called the Clotilda, was used to secretly import slaves from Benin to Alabama in 1860 - around half a century after the slave trade was outlawed. Its owner tried to hide the evidence by burning and sinking the ship once the slaves were taken ashore.

In November, the ship was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

James Delgado is an archaeologist who works for the Alabama Historical Commission:

"1860 wasn't that long ago, and so we have descendants of those people who were sold as captives... and their stories were passed on to their descendants who have powerful tales to tell of their ordeal... That connection to history is a reminder that the story of these vessels, in addition to the science and forensics, is a people's story."

(Photo: A sonar image showing the remains of the mostly intact Clotilda. Credit: Alabama Historical Commission.)

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