Photogrammetric Survey of a Sixteenth-Century Spanish Shipwreck Near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Summary

This paper presents results of a diver-based photogrammetric survey and preliminary interpretation of a 16th-century shipwreck near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The applied photogrammetric methodology highlights the potential of this emerging technology to rapidly assess submerged cultural resources despite constraints limiting survey time, as during this study nearly all visible components of the site were recorded on a single dive. Although the sample of recovered artifacts is incomplete due to commercial division and dispersal, objects retained by the government of the Dominican Republic suggest the ship was inbound for a New World colonial port in the mid-16th century. While the site was severely disturbed by commercial salvage degrading its potential to yield information about the early colonial period, the Punta Cana shipwreck remains a historically significant cultural resource with several in situ wrought iron artillery and anchors, and possibly intact deposits that together warrant special protection and further investigation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 279