The Repatriation of Artifacts to Storm, an 18th Century Shipwreck

Author(s): Molly L Trivelpiece

Year: 2018

Summary

In today’s archaeological environment full excavation is almost impossible due to a lack of funding. In order to gain a broad picture of a wreck, the archaeologists at the St Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum collect a wide sample of field specimens, not knowing what artifacts may lay inside the concretions. It isn’t until after the concretions have been x-rayed that conservators can determine which concretions may contain the most useful diagnostic information and start the conservation process. Ethically speaking, the conservation facilities at the museum do not have the resources to conserve every artifact in the correct manner, so they are working with the state of Florida to devise which artifacts are eligible to be returned to their original place on the ocean floor. Repatriating these artifacts can provide resources for future archaeologists as well as lessen the strain on state and private resources.

Cite this Record

The Repatriation of Artifacts to Storm, an 18th Century Shipwreck. Molly L Trivelpiece. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441736)

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Keywords

Temporal Keywords
1782

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): 877