The Mobile River as a Maritime Cultural Landscape
Author(s): Deborah Marx; James P. Delgado; Joseph J Grinnan; Kyle Lent; Alexander J. DeCaro
Year: 2019
Summary
This is an abstract from the "Archaeologies of Enslavement" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Fieldwork conducted in 2018 concluded that Alabama’s Twelvemile Island Wreck (1BA694) was not that of the slave ship Clotilda; however, archaeologists did uncover evidence that the wreck site is just one component of a historic ship graveyard integral to the broader maritime cultural landscape of the Mobile River. Archival research suggests that the 4.0‐mile (6.4‐kilometer) stretch of river surveyed during this project is rich in historic maritime commerce, including, but not limited to, lumber, agriculture, ship construction, and fishing. Previous archaeological surveys have identified three shipwrecks within the project area, while the 2018 investigation documented four previously unknown shipwrecks and evidence for up to 24 wrecks in the vicinity. Focusing on this stretch of the Mobile River near Twelve Mile Island, this paper explores its function as a historic ship graveyard and places recent survey results within the larger context of Alabama’s maritime history.
Cite this Record
The Mobile River as a Maritime Cultural Landscape. Deborah Marx, James P. Delgado, Joseph J Grinnan, Kyle Lent, Alexander J. DeCaro. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, St. Charles, MO. 2019 ( tDAR id: 449105)
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Keywords
General
Archaeology
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Mobile
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Shipwreck
Geographic Keywords
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
19th-20th Century
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): 306