Site Formation Of The Sea Scout Wreck, Mallows Bay, MD

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The “Sea Scout Wreck” is a shipwreck of unknown type and origin, located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary known as the Burning Basin. To understand more about the wreck, a site formation study was conducted from 2019 to 2022. This study used a combination of historical sources and archaeological evidence to produce a series of 3D models, using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and photogrammetry, to map key stages of the vessel’s use-life. These models were used to theorize the site formation processes and verified that the wreck was a United States Army Air Force Aircraft Rescue Boat, purpose built in World War II to support long-range aircraft missions. While the origin of the vessel is still unknown, the study found that it had undergone several modifications in the decades between World War II and when it was abandoned in Mallows Bay.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow