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| Underwater Archaeology (Image Source: National Marine Sanctuaries) |
Archaeological investigations typically conjure up images of large scale site excavations in jungles or deserts, but archaeology is a much more dynamic field than just excavating a site. Archaeology involves several stages, and there a variety of different types of archaeological investigation. A previous blog post discussed zooarchaeological investigations and today’s blog post will address maritime archaeology.
Maritime archaeology is the study of prehistoric and historic archaeological cultural groups as to how they interacted with marine environments (e.g. oceans, lakes, and rivers). Maritime archaeology involves archaeological, marine, historic, anthropological, geological, forensic, oceanic, and naval architectural investigative techniques. These are used to study a variety of artifacts, including but not limited to ships, crews, cargoes, ports, shoreline villages, etc. Maritime archaeology is also known as nautical or underwater archaeology, but these are too narrow in their investigative scope for what is required for maritime archaeology.
Maritime archaeology is a newer subfield of archaeology. It began informally in the early 1900s by the accidental discovery of a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea by sponge divers. The sites artifacts were salvaged but not systematically excavated. The field of maritime archaeology did not become a formally defined subfield until the 1960s when George F. Bass conducted the first scientific excavations at the Cape Gelidonya Wreck.
As maritime archaeology involves investigations of archaeological sites in and/or near water the process of successfully excavating a site is quite tedious. These sites are considered time capsules due to the amazing preservation of the artifacts, particularly organic artifacts, that would typically degrade or not preserve at land sites. Unfortunately, these artifacts typically only remain preserved in water logged environments, so conservation is key and incredibly important in this field. Conservation is more complicated in maritime archaeology due to the required transition from water or land environments required for maritime artifacts. This hard work is beneficial given the information that is gained from these investigations, particularly concerning humans and their interactions with marine environments.
References Cited
Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology. No Date.
“What is Maritime Archaeology?” http://www.aima-underwater.org.au/what-is-maritime-archaeology/
Bass, G.F. 2016. “The Development of Techniques.” Institute of Nautical Archaeology. http://nauticalarch.org/learning-center/guide-to-underwater-archaeology/
Maritime Archaeology Trust. No Date. “What is Maritime Archaeology?” Maritime Archaeology Trust. http://www.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/whatismaritimearchaeology
National Ocean Service.
2013. “Maritime Archaeology.” National
Marine Sanctuaries. http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/arch.html
