Community Archaeology: New Partnerships and Projects between Federal, Academic and Non-Profit Organizations

DOCUMENT Citation Only Kara D Fox.

This year, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary introduced a new partnership initiative called the ANCHOR program (representing Appreciating the Nation’s Cultural Heritage and Ocean Resources). ANCHOR was developed with the intent of promoting responsible and sustainable diving on North Carolina’s underwater cultural heritage sites. This program, originally established as the "Blue Star" program by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is meant to form active partnerships with dive operators,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Gregory Roach. Frederick Engle. Aaron Hamilton. Tom Edwards. Joseph C Hoyt. Doug Van Kirk.

Between May 22 – 29, 2015, the Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group collaborated with NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to survey the wreck of the Dixie Arrow, an American tanker sunk in 1942 by the German submarine U-71.   Over this 7-day period, 13 divers mapped the nearly 500-foot-long contiguous wreck.  This paper will outline the methodology undertaken by the group, the challenges encountered in conducting the survey, and the key archaeological findings from the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Aaron Hamilton. William R. Chadwell.

In the three-plus years of its existence, the Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group has been engaged in a mutually-beneficial partnership with NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.  The Group, which is a part of the Institute of Maritime History, a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit corporation, is made up nearly exclusively of avocational archaeologists and historians all of whom are sport, or recreational, scuba divers.  Yet since its founding in late 2012, it has conducted or...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Daniel B. Rees.

This project presents perspectives on community engagement and investment in maritime heritage. Focusing on public programs in archaeology, this research speaks to the importance of immersive and interactive learning towards public education on the relevance of maritime history, including the processes and issues associated with excavation, identification, and conservation. The content of this review comes in reflection of Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) courses and surveys completed on the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Roger Warden.

Roughly a mile-and-a-half from Diamond Shoals Light Tower off North Carolina's Outer Banks lie the broken remains of an unidentified ship resting on the sand at a depth of 150 feet.  For two years, members of the Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group have researched this vessel, both in the archives and in the water.  Is it, as theorized, the wreck of the Panamanian tanker Olympic, possibly sunk in early 1942 by U-66 during the opening phase of Operation Drumbeat, the German...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Joseph C Hoyt. Nathan Richards.

In 2012, NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, East Carolina University, and the UNC-Coastal Studies Institute began a collaborative effort to offer NAS training to community members throughout North Carolina and Virginia.  Since then the initiative further opened to additional partners from state agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and dive shops and an expanded offering of courses spanning from introductory courses to Part 3 modules (and standalone projects) are now offered.   This...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Kelsey Noack Myers. Alvin Windy Boy. Sr..

In the quarter of a century since the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was enacted, attempts to involve descendant Native communities in research on and interpretation of archaeological resources have been met with limited success. Blurred lines delineating ancestral lands and migration routes across modern state boundaries, historical political alliances, and dynamic cultural identities often cause confusion and a defeatist attitude in approaching and working with...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Stephen D. Nagiewicz.

The Robert J Walker a paddlewheel steamshipin the service US Coast Survey, and predecessor to NOAA Office of Coast Survey, before it was lost  after a collision at sea in 1860. The wreck, identified in 2013 by NOAA was placed on the US National Parks Service, National Register of Historic Places. To document and protect the site, NOAA requested that a consortium of groups undertake the archaeological site work as a cooperative operation between governmental, non-governmental and academic...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lillian Azevedo.

In July 2013, community members in Sandy Point village on St. Kitts in the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles, began collaborating with Brimstone Hill World Heritage Site to build a Heritage Trail along a 7.5-mile coastal route.  An assessment of the project’s progress two years later reveals critical challenges and innovative solutions- between Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a non-profit company and individual community stakeholders of that island.

DOCUMENT Citation Only William S Sassorossi.

Maritime Archaeologists from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary teamed up with divers from the Roanoke Island Outfitters and Adventures Dive Shop of Manteo, NC, to complete a survey of one of the most popular shipwreck sites in North Carolina. Following an underwater archaeology training course with avocational divers supported by the dive shop, a full site recording of Carl Gerhard, a freighter wrecked in 1929 off of Kill Devil Hills, NC, was undertaken. Interest ballooned beyond just those...