A Fine Wreck in Shallow Water: The Excavation and in situ Conservation of the Soldier Key Wreck

Summary

Looters, archaeologists, and weather events have done irreparable damage to the Soldier Key wreck (BISC-22, 8Da416) site since the 1970s. Despite previous archaeological investigations, little information and few artifacts from those excavations exist. In the summer of 2012, a team assembled in Biscayne National Park to uncover, map, and photograph the site, as well as collect any remaining diagnostic artifacts. Despite the paucity of cultural material remaining, diagnostic features of the extant artifacts and the construction features of the vessel provide information about the wreck. We now have an idea of the vessel’s last port, its destination, its cargo, a rough estimate of size, and a general time frame during which the vessel was built and sailed. More importantly, the team recovered the site in the original ballast and surrounding sand to recreate an anaerobic environment to help its preservation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Conservation for Underwater Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-41,04