Deep-Submergence Archaeology: The Final Frontier (2014) (original) (raw)
Related papers
6 Shipwreck archaeology in the past 10 years
Archaeological Reports, 2023
This paper reviews the trends, topics, and research directions in shipwreck archaeology over the past decade. As archaeology increasingly embraces advances in technological methods that can aid our research, the so-called 'digital turn', it behoves maritime archaeologists, and archaeologists more broadly, to consider how collaborative utilization of specialized fields including biomolecular archaeology, geophysics, and contemporary philosophy have spurred on a rapid modernization of our field in recent times. Archaeological research, both terrestrial and underwater, has long been a collaborative discipline. However, we argue here that difficulties in working underwater have encouraged maritime and underwater archaeologists to embrace technological developments at a rapid pace. An explicit theoretical framework and the incorporation of contemporary philosophy in the field of underwater archaeology was, until recently, largely lacking in the discipline's discourse. The incorporation and advancement of adjacent disciplines within the field of underwater archaeology mark the most relevant changes within the shifting tides of shipwreck research.
Shipwreck archaeology in the past 10 years
Archaeological Reports, 2023
This paper reviews the trends, topics, and research directions in shipwreck archaeology over the past decade. As archaeology increasingly embraces advances in technological methods that can aid our research, the so-called 'digital turn', it behoves maritime archaeologists, and archaeologists more broadly, to consider how collaborative utilization of specialized fields including biomolecular archaeology, geophysics, and contemporary philosophy have spurred on a rapid modernization of our field in recent times. Archaeological research, both terrestrial and underwater, has long been a collaborative discipline. However, we argue here that difficulties in working underwater have encouraged maritime and underwater archaeologists to embrace technological developments at a rapid pace. An explicit theoretical framework and the incorporation of contemporary philosophy in the field of underwater archaeology was, until recently, largely lacking in the discipline's discourse. The incorporation and advancement of adjacent disciplines within the field of underwater archaeology mark the most relevant changes within the shifting tides of shipwreck research.
2011_The Development of Maritime Archaeology
A. Catsambis, B. Ford, And D. Hamilton, eds.,The Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology, 2011
THE importance of maritime cultures to the history of humankind is clear. Only by watercraft have some areas of our planet, from Australia to the smaller islands of the Earth's seas and oceans, been discovered, explored, settled, exploited, supplied, and defended. The myriad uses of watercraft include fishing and whaling, the transport of goods and people, warfare, exploration, and recreation. Watercraft require crews, usually drawn from the people living near the coasts. Additionally, watercraft require "homes;' from simple sloping shores on which they may be beached to large and complex ports and harbors, the latter requiring specialized workers both for construction and later for utilization. These workers, in turn, as well as sailors, porters, merchants, and their families, require an infrastructure of support that includes at least temporary or permanent living quarters, suppliers of food and other essentials, land transport, maintenance installations including shipyards and chandleries, and financial, storage, and entertainment facilities.
Precision survey and archaeological methodology in deep water
ENALIA: The Journal of the Hellenic Institute of …, 2002
New technologies allow archaeologists to explore the human past in the depths of the ocean, far beyond the 50 meter depth boundary set by SCUBA diving. Using robots and advanced sensors originally developed for other applications, social scientists now are following the path of marine scientists, adapting deep submergence technologies for their own research. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) allow archaeologists to survey the sea floor to depths of 6000 m. This brings 98% of the world's ocean floor within reach, and increases dramatically the number of underwater sites available for archaeological study. Several projects in the past five years in the Mediterranean and Black Seas have proven the scientific merit of archaeology in deep water and trained an international cadre of archaeologists in the new technology. Experience shows it is imperative that work in deep water be collaborative. Projects are particularly fruitful when they bring together as a team technologists familiar with the systems, archaeologists trained in the methods of deep water work, and archaeologists specializing in the period, cultures, and geographical regions pertinent to the shipwrecks. A key lesson is that while technology plays a significant part in this work, it must be combined with the research designs, methodology, and insights of archaeologists to form deep water archaeology into a rigorous scientific practice. Toward this goal, underwater vehicles, precision navigation, and remote sensors designed specifically for archaeology will allow archaeologists to make fundamental discoveries about ancient cultures.
2011_The Development of Maritime Archaeology_OHMA
Alexis Catsambis, Ben Ford, and Donny L Hamilton, eds., Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology, 2012
THE importance of maritime cultures to the history of humankind is clear. Only by watercraft have some areas of our planet, from Australia to the smaller islands of the Earth's seas and oceans, been discovered, explored, settled, exploited, supplied, and defended. The myriad uses of watercraft include fishing and whaling, the transport of goods and people, warfare, exploration, and recreation. Watercraft require crews, usually drawn from the people living near the coasts. Additionally, watercraft require "homes;' from simple sloping shores on which they may be beached to large and complex ports and harbors, the latter requiring specialized workers both for construction and later for utilization. These workers, in turn, as well as sailors, porters, merchants, and their families, require an infrastructure of support that includes at least temporary or permanent living quarters, suppliers of food and other essentials, land transport, maintenance installations including shipyards and chandleries, and financial, storage, and entertainment facilities.
2010
The goals of this article are twofold. First, we detail the operations and discuss the results of the 2005 Chios an-cient shipwreck survey. This survey was conducted by an international team of engineers, archaeologists, and natural scientists off the Greek island of Chios in the northeastern Aegean Sea using an autonomous under-water vehicle (AUV) built specifically for high-resolution site inspection and characterization. Second, using the survey operations as context, we identify the specific challenges of adapting AUV technology for deep water archaeology and describe how our team addressed these challenges during the Chios expedition. After identifying the state of the art in robotic tools for deep water archaeology, we discuss opportunities in which new developments and research (e.g., AUV platforms, underwater imaging, remote sensing, and navigation techniques) will improve the rapid assessment of deep water archaeological sites. It is our hope that by report-
SHIPWRECKS AND UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY: LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Rajatarangini Recent Researches in Archaeology and History, 2024
Underwater archaeology studies the past through submerged remains, such as shipwrecks, but also includes analysis of changes in sea-levels resulting from seismic activity or global warming and climate change. In India, underwater archaeology has yet to develop as an independent field of study despite UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, which has been signed by sixty-one countries. There has been a phenomenal increase in the numbers of shipwreck sites that have been discovered elsewhere in the world, but especially across the Bay of Bengal with many countries of Southeast Asia investing in establishing centres for the development of underwater archaeology. While only two sites were documented prior to 1974 in Southeast Asian waters, more than a hundred have been reported since then, with an average number of four or five sites being discovered every year. How does this compare with shipwreck finds in Indian waters? Unfortunately, the answer to this question presents a dismal picture of neglect and apathy of an important area of study. The oldest shipwreck in the Indian Ocean region dates to first century BCE – first century CE and lies off the fishing village of Godavaya on the south coast of Sri Lanka. The ship was transporting a cargo of raw materials from India, including what appear to be ingots of iron and others of glass, as well as finished stone querns (hand-operated mills) and ceramic bowls, when it sank some time before the first century CE. A second example is the Kadakkarapally boat found in a coconut grove in Kerala with no associated finds, which was radiocarbon dated to the eleventh and twelfth century CE and represents a cargo-carrying sailing craft best suited for the backwaters and large rivers of Kerala. This paper addresses the primary issue: how do finds of shipwreck sites impact not only an understanding of maritime history, but more importantly have a bearing on the present?
The many facets of maritime archaeology
Delivering the Deep. Maritime Archaeology for the 21st century: selected papers from IKUWA 7, 2024
In this chapter we contextualize the genesis of the book and offer an overview of how maritime archaeology has evolved over the decades.