Maritime Archaeology Project Updates from Around the World

DOCUMENT Citation Only Piotr Bojakowski.

For the past four years, archaeologists have been carefully excavating the remains of the English galleon-type ship Warwick on the bottom of Castle Harbour, Bermuda. Although the shipwreck was partially salvaged in the past, the amount of cultural, botanical, and geological data still present within the intact section of the hull proved significant. Collectively, these artifacts allow for better insight not only into the shipbuilding techniques and rigging, but also into ballasting and...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Darren Kipping. Joseph Grinnan. Rachel Horlings. Gregory Cook.

In the spring of 2013, an international team of archaeologists led by Syracuse University archaeologist Rachel Horlings arrived in Ghana, West Africa to investigate the maritime heritage of the Elmina and Cape Coast regions. This was the most recent effort at conducting archaeological research as part of the Central Region Project, which has resulted in the discovery of several significant archaeological sites, both on land and underwater. The water off Elmina and Cape Coast Castles were...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Stefano De Luca. Anna Lena.

The Magdala Project excavations, directed by the writers in the city of Magdala/Taricheae (which was the main urban site along the W shore of the Lake of Galilee prior the foundation of Tiberias as capital of the Region), have identified a sequence of phases of a well planned city, strictly interconnected with the development, use and abandonment of its harbour. In this sense the harbour represents an excellent archive of information about the city life. Since the archaeological remains of the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Gregory Cook.

Syracuse University’s Central Region Project in Ghana began in the late 1990s as an effort to expand Dr. Christopher DeCorse’s research at Elmina Castle and elsewhere by studying the broader trade networks in the region. One of the central goals of examining areas ‘beyond the castle’ was to include sites in the coastal hinterland as well as offshore. This has been successful, with multiple seasons of fieldwork leading to the discovery of new sites and greater understanding of the dynamic trade...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Leonardo Abelli. Pier Giorgio Spanu. Sebastiano Tusa. Massimiliano Secci.

In 1997 the Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali ed Ambientali di Trapani, with the assistance of Università degli Studi di Bologna archaeologically surveyed the Island of Pantelleria (Sicily), in order to understand Punic and Roman settlements distribution. Part of the island was colonized only since the 3rd century BC, when Pantelleria became strategic for controlling the Sicilian channel. In 2011 and 2013, systematic surveys and excavations were produced in Cala Tramontana and Cala Levante by...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Luh Putu Ayu Savitri Chi Kusuma. Ira Dillenia.

The Indonesian Archipelago consists of thousands islands with long coastline. Historically, Indonesia was an important route of shipping and trade and had significant position in the world war, so variety of maritime archaeological resources can be found in coastal areas throughout Indonesia. Maritime archaeological resources hold potentials in scientific, educational, economic and social terms. However, many maritime archaeological resources in Indonesia are still not yet understood in term of...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Tara Van Niekerk.

The Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, once a haven for the late 19th and early 20th century whaling and sealing industries, now holds countless remains of a shipwreck survivor camp and hidden stories of a terrestrial maritime landscape formed out of tragedy and the need to survive. The study of the early 20th Century Solglimt shipwreck survivor camp on Marion Island has produced the perfect opportunity to fill gaps within the discipline of Maritime Archaeology where too often emphasis is placed on...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Kroum Batchvarov.

In 2012 the Rockley Bay Research Project (RBRP), a joint expedition of the University of Connecticut and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, began a long-term, large-scale underwater investigation of a 17th-century naval battle site in Scarborough Harbor, Tobago. In 2013 the RBRP expedition concentrated on the TRB-1 and TRB-2 wrecks. Based on earlier estimates of the position of the Dutch line, the preliminary reports of the late Mr. Wes Hall, the NAS report of a previous expedition to the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Mark Staniforth. Cass Philippou.

Shipbuilding in a colonial context draws on traditions from a variety of places including the parent culture. Colonial shipbuilding adapts and evolves over time to meet the local environmental conditions, the availability of endemic and other timbers and to suit the requirements of local and regional mercantile commerce. Establishing the identity and biography of colonial shipbuilders is key to understanding the processes which underpin shipbuilding development. This paper considers shipbuilding...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Katie Bojakowski.

While visiting Bermuda in 1619, the earl of Warwick’s race-built galleon Warwick wrecked during a hurricane in Castle Harbour Bermuda. The ship carried the new governor of Bermuda, settlers, their possession, tools, and provisions for England’s earliest colonies across the Atlantic. Notwithstanding the official designation of the vessel as Virginia Company’s ‘magazine’ ship, the Warwick was not an ordinary freighter. It was a finely crafted vessel and a powerful fighting machine. Over the course...