A new method of rapidly surveying submerged archaeological sites.

Summary

Since 2007, the Underwater Archaeology Program at Northwestern Collage (USA) has been surveying submerged cultural resources both in America and Europe by utilizing sector scanning sonar equipment developed by Kongsberg-Mesotech (Vancouver, Canada). The results of these surveys have been stunning. This paper will explore the catalog of archaeological sites surveyed, methodology of deployment and how this new equipment can contribute to the development of rapid, highly detailed underwater archaeological survey. Applying this acoustic technology to this wide range of site types has demonstrated both its flexibility and cost effectiveness. Post processing of data will be examined as well some of the new directions that this tool can take future research. A strong argument will be made that this technology should be employed at the start of any underwater archaeological project and may be useful to a wide range of scientists in related fields of underwater research and exploration.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• A New Machine (Part 1): Scientific and Technological Applications in Underwater Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 375