DATELINE: 5th July 2002

FRENCH DIVERS RECOVER BELL OF HISTORIC WARSHIP ALABAMA
Divers have successfully recovered the bell of the confederate warship CSS Alabama, sunk off Cherbourg in 1864 during the American Civil War.
The wreck lies at 60m and was originally found by French Navy divers. The site has been the subject of study by French diving organisation European Subaquatic Research Centre working in cooperation with US marine archaeologists and the US Navy.
Diver Bertrand Sciboz and his team discovered the bell on 28 June. The artefact is in remarkable condition after lying buried on the seabed for nearly 150 years.

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