The American Lighthouse and Shipwreck Site Formation

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.

Lighthouses have been a key federal responsibility on the American shoreline since 1789. Their assistance to sailors and beach-goers has been well documented. While there is newer technology with lifesaving services during wreck events, many lighthouses still continue to stand as functional historic landmarks today. As a key component of the maritime cultural landscape, lighthouses may provide archaeologists help in determining the location of wrecking events in and near coastal harbors. This paper presents geospatial data, a probability model, and a lighthouse classification system to explore the spatial relationships between the American lighthouse and any nearby shipwreck site formations. The examination of spatial relationships between these navigational aids and the coastline can assist archaeologists in identifying potential shipwreck sites and to better understand the formation processes of these maritime cultural landscapes.

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