Anthropology doctoral student studies historic cannon

The Cranbrook Institute of Science is offering the public a chance to help in the clean-up and conservation of a late-18th century cannon found in the Detroit River. The cannon was discovered in October of 2011 by the Detroit Police Dive Team during a routine training dive in the Detroit River.

After recovery, the cannon was held in wet storage in Historic Fort Wayne before being transferred to the Cranbrook Institute of Science, which volunteered to host the conservation process.

Dan Harrison, a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology, who works with the Detroit Historical Society, said he wanted to get a closer look at some of the cannon's markings to determine its disposition.

"If it was marked in a certain way we can assume that it was on a royal ship or that it was a government vessel," he said. "A different set of markings can mean it was in private service. There's a whole bunch of things that we can look for when we get the surface completely clean."