Lead and Tallow: Using Navigational Charts to Assess Historic Bathymetry

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Nuts and Bolts of Ships: The J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory and the future of the archaeology of Shipbuilding" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

One of the factors determining the historic success or failure of centers of maritime commerce is the ease of navigation into and out of the associated harbours. However, due to tidal action, weather events, or human intervention, bathymetric data in estuaries and harbours can change drastically over time. Navigational charts can give some indication of historic bathymetric data and give indications of how and where ships would need to sail into and out of port with various loadouts of cargoes.

This presentation discusses the use of sounding data from a 1749 map of Willoughby Bay, Antigua to create a bathymetric surface and assess historic navigational problems for the commerce center of Bridgetown, Antigua. Additionally, some of the limitations of using navigational charts in this manner is discussed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• The Nuts and Bolts of Ships: The J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory and the future of the archaeology of Shipbuilding

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 886