Archaeology of shipwrecks
Encyclopedia
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
specialised in the study and exploration of shipwrecks. Its techniques combine those of archaeology with those of diving
Underwater diving
Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
.
It is necessary to understand the processes by which a wreck site is formed to take into account the distortions in the archaeological material caused by the filtering and scrambling of material remains that occurs during and after the wrecking process.
When a ship is wrecked, it suffers many changes of state until the remains eventually reach equilibrium
Steady state
A system in a steady state has numerous properties that are unchanging in time. This implies that for any property p of the system, the partial derivative with respect to time is zero:...
with their environment. Initially, the wrecking process changes it from the human organised form of a working vessel to an unstable state of structure and artefacts underwater. Natural forces act upon it during the wrecking process and continue to act until equilibrium is reached. Heavy items sink rapidly, lighter items may drift before sinking, while buoyant items may float away completely. This causes a filtering and scrambling of the material remains. The sudden arrival of a structure on the seabed
Seabed
The seabed is the bottom of the ocean.- Ocean structure :Most of the oceans have a common structure, created by common physical phenomena, mainly from tectonic movement, and sediment from various sources...
will change the currents
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
, often resulting in new scour and deposition patterns in the seabed. Once underwater, chemical processes and the action of biological organisms will contribute to the disintegration. At any point in these processes, humans may have intervened, for example by salvaging
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
items of value.
Prior to being wrecked, the ship would have operated as an organised machine, and its crew, equipment, passengers and cargo need to be considered as a system. The material remains should provide clues to the functions of seaworthiness
Seakeeping
Seakeeping ability is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea states....
, navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
and propulsion
Marine propulsion
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a ship or boat across water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting a motor or engine turning a propeller, or less frequently, in jet...
as well as to ship-board life.
Finally the ship as a means of transport can be considered as an element in a geographically dispersed social, political and economic system. Warships impose political will by force; cargo vessels exist in a system of commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
; while passenger carrying vessels give clues to social classes and structure. Social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
may also exist within the ship, for example, segregation between officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and seamen.
Muckelroy's model
A systematic model for the characterisation and interpretation of the archaeology of shipwrecks was first proposed by Keith MuckelroyKeith Muckelroy
Keith Muckelroy was a pioneer of maritime archaeology. In 1976 he published a paper in which he proposed a theory for the formation of shipwreck sites. He later expanded this theory in a book...
in 1976 Muckelroy's system model describes the evolution of the material remains of the ship from the wrecking process, subsequent salvage operations and the disintegration and rearrangements of the remains from environmental factors. Although Muckelroy considered both natural processes and human activity in his model, subsequent research has mainly expanded the environmental factors and there has been little published on the human processes.
Considering human intervention
A paper by Martin Gibbs in 2006, expands Muckelroy's model to consider human behaviour at the time of the disaster and the long term relationship between people and shipwreckShipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s. This model utilises studies of humans involved in disasters to characterise the human activity into phases around the time of the wrecking. This model considers:
- Pre-impact threat phase, in which humans considering the risk may take avoiding action which results in there being no wreck, or may take unsuccessful action to mitigate the perceived threat, for example the wreck location may be the result of attempting to avoid some perceived greater threat. Stowage of cargo may also indicate consideration of threat.
- Pre-impact warning phase, in which humans may take drastic action to avoid catastrophe, for example, running a vessel ashore, jettisoning cargo or running out anchors.
- Impact, in which the decision is made to abandon ship or remain aboard, and, for example, attempt to refloat.
- Post impact, where survivors regroup and, for example, salvage their own goods or make repairs.
- Rescue and Post-disaster where the vessel is abandoned and in which third parties may be involved in salvage or in removing remains that present a hazard to navigation.
See also
- Maritime archaeologyMaritime archaeologyMaritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged...
- Underwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeologyUnderwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
- List of shipwrecks
- RusticleRusticleA rusticle is a formation of rust similar to an icicle or stalactite in appearance that occurs underwater when wrought iron oxidizes. They may be familiar from underwater photographs of shipwrecks....
- Wreck divingWreck divingWreck diving is a type of recreational diving where shipwrecks are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites...
- Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)
- Sea Research SocietySea Research SocietyThe Sea Research Society is a non-profit educational research organization founded in 1972. Its general purpose is to promote scientific and educational endeavors in any of the marine sciences or marine histories with the goal of obtaining knowledge for the ultimate benefit to mankind...
- Nautical Archaeology SocietyNautical Archaeology SocietyThe Nautical Archaeology Society is a charity registered in England and Wales and in Scotland and is a company limited by guarantee.The charitable aims and object of the company are to further research in Nautical Archaeology and publish the results of such research and to advance education and...
Famous shipwrecks
- UluburunUluburun shipwreckThe Uluburun Shipwreck is a Late Bronze Age shipwreck dated to the late 14th century BCE, discovered off Uluburun situated about 6 miles southeast of Kaş, in south-western Turkey...
Late Bronze Age shipwreck, 14th century BC - Cape GelidonyaCape GelidonyaCape Gelidonya near Finike, Turkey is the site of a late Bronze Age wreck . In view of the cargo's nature and composition the excavators have proposed a possible levantine provenance. The remains of the ship sat at a depth of about 27 m, on irregular rocky bottom. It was located in 1954, and the...
Late Bronze Age shipwreck, c. 1200 BC - AntikytheraAntikythera wreckThe Antikythera wreck is a shipwreck from the 1st or 2nd century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island Antikythera in the early 1900s...
c 80-50 BC, includes the astronomical computer, the Antikythera mechanismAntikythera mechanismThe Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900–1901 from the Antikythera wreck. Its significance and complexity were not understood until decades later. Its time of construction is now estimated between 150 and 100... - Mary RoseMary RoseThe Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...
, 1545 - Vasa, 1628 discovered by Anders Franzén
- VOC ship BataviaBatavia (ship)Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company . It was built in Amsterdam in 1628, and armed with 24 cast iron cannons and a number of bronze guns. Batavia was shipwrecked on her maiden voyage, and was made famous by the subsequent mutiny and massacre that took place among the survivors...
, 1629 - French explorer La Salle's ship La BelleLa Belle (ship)La Belle was one of Robert de La Salle's four ships when he explored the Gulf of Mexico with the ill-fated mission of starting a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1685. La Belle was wrecked in present-day Matagorda Bay the following year, dooming La Salle's Texas colony to...
, 1686 - VOC ship AmsterdamVOC ship AmsterdamThe Amsterdam was an 18th-century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company. The ship started its maiden voyage from Texel to Batavia on 8 January 1749, but was wrecked in a storm on the English Channel on 26 January 1749. The shipwreck was discovered in 1969 in the bay of Bulverhythe, United...
, 1749 - HMS Pandora 1791
- Medusa 1816
- Georgiana 1863, most powerful Confederate cruiser, was lost with million dollar cargo on maiden voyage, Charleston, SC, wreck discovered by Dr. E. Lee Spence in 1966.
- HunleyH. L. Hunley (submarine)H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
1864, first submarine in history to sink a ship, Charleston, SC, wreck 1st reported as discovered by Dr. E. Lee Spence in 1970. Wreck (at Spence at location Spence filed with National Park Service) was independently verified to be Hunley by 1994/95 NUMA/SCIAA expedition directed by Dr. Mark M. NewellMark M. NewellMark M. Newell, Ph.D. is a British/American underwater archaeologist, the director of the Georgia Archaeological Institute. He received his doctorate from St. Andrews University, Scotland. Newell began diving in Bermuda in 1963...
and funded by novelist Clive CusslerClive CusslerClive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
. - RMS Titanic, 1912 discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard
- BismarckGerman battleship BismarckBismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
, 1941 discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard - USS ArizonaUSS Arizona (BB-39)USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside...
, 1941
Famous wrecksites
- Ancient & refugee ships of the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
- German High Seas fleet of Gutter SoundGutter SoundGutter Sound is an inlet of the vast anchorage of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Gutter Sound was the site of the mass-scuttling of the interned German Imperial High Seas Fleet in 1919.-Scuttling of the fleet:...
in Scapa FlowScapa Flowright|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about... - Truk LagoonTruk LagoonTruk Lagoon, also known as Chuuk, is a sheltered body of water in the central Pacific. North of New Guinea, it is located mid-ocean at 7 degrees North latitude. The atoll consists of a protective reef, around, enclosing a natural harbour 79 by 50 kilometres , with an area of . It has a land...
- Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
- TakashimaTakashimaTakashima may refer to:PeoplePeople with the surname Takashima:*Gara Takashima, Japanese voice actor*Kazusa Takashima, Japanese manga artist*Kohey Takashima, Japanese businessman*Masahiro Takashima, Japanese actor...
island off the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese coast of KyūshūKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
in the East China SeaEast China SeaThe East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:... - Monte Cristi Pipe WreckMonte Cristi Pipe WreckMonte Cristi Pipe Wreck a submerged archaeological site located on the north coast of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic near the border of Haiti, part of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean...
off the coast of Santo DomingoSanto DomingoSanto Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
External links
- Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, St. Augustine, Florida
- Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Ulster, Coleraine
- Shipwrecks UK: information on wrecks in the seas surrounding Britain and Ireland
- The Sextant, Online community of Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History
- Sea Research Society Ethics in Underwater Archaeology and Socialism versus Capitalism in Underwater Archaeology by Dr. E. Lee Spence
- Institute of Nautical Archaeology
- Institute of Maritime History
- Nordic Underwater Archaeology
- Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Program
- A Code of Ethics for Maritime Archaeologists by Australian AIMA
- [Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976:] Richard Stillwell, ed. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976:]"Shipwrecks" Includes alphabetized list of known wreck sites from Classical Antiquity.