Bones in the Sand: The Archaeology and Management of Beached Shipwrecks

DOCUMENT Citation Only Calvin H Mires.

In 2015, SEAMAHP and the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources (MBUAR) partnered with Salem State University, National Park Service (NPS), the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) and the PAST Foundation to offer a field school that examined the life and death of Ada K. Damon – a 19th century schooner that has been landmark on the shoreline for over 100 years. This pilot program successfully raised enough awareness and interest that Salem State University requested a second...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Susan Langley.

The remains of nearly 100 WWl-era wooden steamships fill the waters of a half-mile wide embayment on the Potomac River and downstream singly and in clusters.  The maritime cultural landscape exhibits many other elements related to the original placement of the vessels in the bay, shipbreaking efforts during the Depression, and renewed scrapping endeavors during WWII.  In 2014, the State of Maryland created the Mallows Bay-Widewater Historical and Archaeological National Register District that...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Victor T Mastone. Leland Crawford.

From June to September 2014, the remains of a previous unknown shipwreck emerged from the sands of Coffins Beach. Named for the Coffin family and not a funerary item, it is a north facing barrier beach, Gloucester, Massachusetts.  Initial field investigation revealed a much older vessel.  Detailed documentary research identified up to 80 shipwrecks occurring in the vicinity since 1635; two thirds occurring prior to 1860, chiefly described as shallops, sloops, and early schooners.  The extant...

DOCUMENT Citation Only B. Lynn Harris.

Shipwrecks on  African beaches serve as archaeological field training sites, history classrooms for school children, tourist hiking, horse riding or driving trails, as fashion show props and as outdoor studios for film productions. Public uses of beach shipwrecks, often more accessible than underwater sites, has potential to enhance appreciation and management of global maritime heritage. This paper presents case studies in South Africa, Namibia and the Transkei. Examples include Kakapo (1900)...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Nathaniel R King.

S.S. Thomas T. Tucker, a U.S. Liberty Ship operated by the Merchants and Miners Company on behalf of the US Maritime Commission, was part of the 42-ship convoy carrying material to the British African Front during World War II. The ship was reported lost in action carrying an assortment of British lend-lease and wartime purchase cargo. This disarticulated beach shipwreck site provides an ideal educational opportunity for students to conduct basic pre-disturbance archaeological recording,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Austin L Burkhard.

Scattered near the coastline of Assateague Island, along the Maryland/Virginia border, hundreds of ships met their demise through harsh weather conditions and treacherous shoals. Similar environmental factors have allowed archaeologists to document and collect data on these sites through the establishment of a Historic Wreck Tagging Program. The author, working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, developed and implemented a system to track the degradation and movement of shipwreck timbers as...