Mendota Lake was an ancient canoe docking station

"The first canoe, found on the lakebed under 24 feet of water, was 1,200 years old. The next summer archaeologists found the remains of a 3,000-year-old canoe. Both of them were recovered from the water and in 2024 began treatment with Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to stabilize the wood. When the PEG treatment is finished next year, the canoes will need to be transported to Texas A&M where they will be freeze-dried to complete the stabilization process."

"Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen in partnership with Ho-Chunk Nation Historic Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Larry Plucinski and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Sissel Schroeder have been working together for five years to map the locations of dugout canoes in Lake Mendota, not to recover them from the water, but to study them in place."

"In addition to locating another 14 canoes, the team has taken samples from each of the ancient vessels with the goal of identifying the type of wood used and their ages. Analysis conducted by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory has found that half of the 16 canoes were made either of red or white oak. Radiocarbon dating found that the oldest canoe mas made around 5,200 years ago, older than the Great Pyramid of Giza, making it the third oldest in North America."

Sixteen ancient dugout canoes have been identified on the bed of Lake Mendota, including one recovered in 2021 and others mapped in place. Recovered canoes include vessels dated to 1,200 and 3,000 years; radiocarbon dating shows the oldest canoe dates to about 5,200 years ago. Half of the canoes tested were made of red or white oak according to USDA Forest Products Laboratory analysis. Recovered wood is undergoing Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) stabilization and will be freeze-dried at Texas A&M. A federal grant will support safe transport. Multinational tribal and academic partners mapped and sampled the vessels to study materials and chronology.

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