Reassembling the ancient ship

The planks that were distorted have since been reshaped. Each piece of planking was submerged for a night in PEG, a chemical compound used to conserve wooden artifacts, at 60°C to render it flexible. It was then eased into its original shape and held in place using battens and clamps. This jigsaw puzzle was made easier by the original labeling (stainless steel needles and Dymo tape), which survived the years of the conservation process and all of the handling to which the parts were subjected.

The team installed an overhead gantry to put the remaining pieces in place. This allowed the assembly team to work inside the hull while being suspended from above.