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A volunteer trash-cleanup dive in Pewaukee Lake, Wisconsin, led diver Mark Schachtner to an unexpected find: a dugout canoe made from white oak. Radiocarbon testing gives it a 70% chance of dating to 992–1049 C.E.—a range in the Late Woodland period, not a confirmed year. The canoe remains underwater, where Wisconsin Historical Society archaeologists and Indigenous historic-preservation partners favor leaving it.
How did the diver find the canoe?
On May 6, 2026, Mark Schachtner, a Beaver Dam diver and member of the Four Seasons Dive Club, was taking part in a volunteer trash-cleanup dive in Pewaukee Lake. He noticed a long object protruding from the lakebed, recognized it as a possible canoe, and contacted Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen. The discovery was not the result of a planned archaeological expedition.
Five days later, Schachtner and Thomsen returned to document the vessel with measurements, photographs and video, and to take a small wood sample for identification and dating. Smithsonian Magazine reported the discovery and measurements on October 6, 2026 (Smithsonian Magazine).
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Radiocarbon testing gives the canoe a 70% probability of having been made between 992 and 1049 C.E. That is a probability range, not a precise construction date. Wisconsin Public Radio reported the dating result and identified the period as Late Woodland (Wisconsin Public Radio).
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The canoe’s age places it in a period associated in Wisconsin with effigy mound building. WPR also describes settlements and trade linked to Cahokian people, including at Aztalan. Those regional details provide historical context; they do not identify who made or used this particular canoe.
What is the canoe made of, and what condition is it in?
The wood sample identified the canoe as white oak. It measures 17.3 feet long and about 1.8 feet wide at its thickest point. Its walls are 2.5 inches thick, and its bottom is 4.8 inches thick, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society figures reported by Smithsonian Magazine.
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The canoe lies about 15 feet below the lake’s surface and is partly filled with sediment. Reporting describes it as intact and in good condition. WPR noted char marks on the bottom and scraping that may have been made by stone tools or shells; those observations do not establish the exact tools used or the canoe’s history.
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What might the canoe have been used for?
Thomsen told WPR that sediment inside the vessel is consistent with intentional caching. A canoe could have been sunk and allowed to fill with sediment, then dug out later and dried enough to use again. This is an interpretation of a possible practice, not proof of what happened to the Pewaukee Lake canoe.
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Ho-Chunk Nation president Jon Greendeer said canoes of this kind may have served fishing and material-carrying needs as well as transportation. The available evidence does not establish which purpose this canoe served.
Why will the canoe stay underwater?
The Wisconsin Historical Society is consulting Larry Plucinski, tribal historic preservation officer for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Bill Quackenbush, retired tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation. Indigenous nations involved in the consultation favor leaving the canoe where it is.
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Keeping it submerged also supports its preservation. Waterlogged wood can deteriorate when removed and exposed to air, and recovered wet wood requires intensive conservation. The Society does not plan to recover this canoe, WPR reported.
Where was it found, and can divers remove it?
The exact location is being withheld. The canoe is in Pewaukee Lake, but no more precise site information is public. Divers may not remove artifacts, and the site is protected under Wisconsin law. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says submerged archaeological resources are protected from unauthorized disturbance (Wisconsin DNR: Submerged resources).
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That means the discovery is not an invitation to search for or handle the canoe. Its location is intentionally undisclosed, and unauthorized disturbance or removal is prohibited.
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