WWI Concrete Shipwrecks in Texas
Author(s): Dorothy Rowland
Year: 2018
Summary
During World War I, raw material supply shortages in the United States caused many manufacturing innovations to be made, including the use of concrete for the hulls of merchant ships. Concrete ships were manufactured by both the US government and private companies, but few were ready in time to contribute to the war effort. These ships were unique in their design, sailing capabilities, and working lifespan. There are four recorded archeological examples of concrete oil tankers in Texas, wrecked in the vicinity of Matagorda and Galveston Bays. Two of the ships are known to be the SS Selma and Darlington, and though not confirmed, research suggests that the other two SS Dismore and Durham as the remaining wrecks. Little archaeological research has been completed on these ships, and so this paper explores both the historical backgrounds of these ships and their future archaeological potential.
Cite this Record
WWI Concrete Shipwrecks in Texas. Dorothy Rowland. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441599)
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Keywords
General
Concrete Ships
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Texas
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WWI
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Modern
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 416