The 4th-century B.C. shipwreck at Mazotos,Cyprus: New techniques and methodologies in the 3D mapping of shipwreck excavations

Abstract

Well preserved ancient shipwrecks are rare in the archaeological record, but when discovered, they can provide valuable information on a wide range of research issues if analyzed and documented properly. In this paper we discuss the significance, potential, and constraints of mapping methods applied during the underwater excavation of shipwreck sites with special emphasis on stratigraphy, documentation of finds, and reconstruction of site formation processes. As a case study, we present the digital photogrammetry and computer vision software programs used in the excavation of the 4th-century b.c. shipwreck at Mazotos, Cyprus. Our goal is to develop a targeted documentation and mapping method of ongoing shipwreck excavations so that others can address complex research questions concerning this unique discipline of archaeology.     

The HMS Swift shipwreck: The development of underwater heritage protection in Argentina

Abstract

The aim of this article is to evaluate, with a critical perspective, the legal framework for heritage protection in Argentina, viewing it within an international context and focusing on the HMS Swift shipwreck – sunk in Puerto Deseado (Santa Cruz province) in 1770 – as a case study. Moreover, some initial proposals for a management plan are presented as a first step in thinking about the challenges of preserving underwater sites in Argentinian Patagonia.

Through this analysis some interesting points are outlined, including the reasons that make the Swift shipwreck a leading case in Argentina. It is the first interdisciplinary underwater archaeology project in the country comprising archaeologists who are also divers; it is supported by national authorities; and it is the first project of its kind to give underwater archaeologists experience in dealing with archaeological research and preservation in an environment of multiple conflicting interests.

The international relevance of the Swift case relies on the nature of underwater cultural heritage as an international resource. The project's history is located in an international setting, derived from ihternational trade and communication, in which many ships and their contents have been lost far from their origin or destination. At a national level the Swift is a wreck with significant historical and cultural value. It is in a unique state of preservation and its location near to the shore makes it highly accessible. Locally,HMS Swift will be relevant when Puerto Deseado's community starts to recognise it as a significant part of their own heritage and local people become involved in the preservation of the wreck.     

Preparation for teaching in a research degree: a model to prepare geographers for academic careers

This paper considers the possibility of overt political disagreement between human geographers and their students. Recent literature suggests that geographers should encourage their students to become more politically engaged through innovative teaching methods that could include frank discussion of the various positions taken by lecturers and students alike. Yet this same strategy could easily run against established pedagogical arguments about how teacher neutrality gives students the space to develop their views in whatever direction they choose. This paper investigates the practical management of this tension by drawing on qualitative interviews with a sample of current practitioners that centred on the occasions when personal politics have previously featured in their undergraduate teaching. It describes why overt political discussion is often squeezed out of these encounters, the careful ways in which these academics manage their political views during the times when such discussion occurs along with the degree to which they felt they should reveal them, and how students themselves commonly seemed to perform opinion in a relatively superficial way because doing so could be much less stressful. The conclusion that follows reflects on the broader implications of these findings for current debate and future practice in the discipline where it particularly emphasizes the importance of being sensitive to the interpersonal dynamics at hand.     

The iron anchors from the Tantura F shipwreck: typological and metallurgical analyses

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1995 in Dor (Tantura) lagoon, about 70 m offshore. It was a coaster that plied the Levant coast during the local early Islamic period. Among the finds exposed in the wreck site were two iron anchors of the T-shaped type. This type of anchor, dated to between the second half of the fourth and the thirteenth centuries AD, is found throughout the Mediterranean. The anchors were analyzed by typological and archaeometallurgical methods, including radiography, metallographic cross-sections, microhardness tests, SEM/EDS analysis and Optical Emisson Spectroscopy (OES) analysis. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous microstructure consisting of ferrite, Widmanstätten ferrite-pearlite or pearlite, which is typical of wrought iron made by bloomery. The metallographic and microhardness results revealed that decarburization had occurred, probably during the final hot-working process. The OES analysis, supported by SEM/EDS data, showed that the anchors are similar in composition. Soda-blast cleaning followed by chemical etching revealed the forge-welding lines, clarifying the manufacturing process, which is similar in the two anchors. Thus, it is likely that both anchors belonged to the same ship and, hence, were in situ. This information extends the limited knowledge of technologies and materials used, specifically for the development of metallurgy in the Eastern Mediterranean during the early Islamic period, and enlarges the database of the typology of anchors of that period.     

The Western Ledge Reef wreck: a preliminary report on investigation of the remains of a 16th-century shipwreck in Bermuda

In September 1988 archaeologists and students from the Program in Maritime History and Underwater Research at East Carolina University (PMHUR) identified the remains of an early shipwreck during a survey of the Western Ledge Reefs carried out for the Bermuda Maritime Museum (BMM). Structural material exposed at the wreck site proved to be a section of lower hull containing the keel, hull planking, frames, and a portion of the keelson that included a mast-step. In order to recover the archaeological record preserved at the site, the BMM applied for, and received, a licence from the Receiver of Wreck. As work at the site intensified, a prior claim to the wreck was discovered. Discovery of that claim ultimately led to a co-operative agreement between Brian Malpas, Donald Canton and the BMM that permitted on-site investigation to continue. During 1989 and 1990, the site was excavated by the Museum's underwater archaeological staff, the staffand students of the PMHUR and volunteers. In 1990, a comprehensive in situ map of the hull remains was completed and in accordance with the terms of an agreement between Malpas and Canton and the BMM, a team of archaeologists, students and volunteers raised the remains of the Western Ledge shipwreck in August 1991. Each recovered element of the wreck was transported to storage facilities at the museum and catalogued, cleaned, recorded and documented using techniques developed to record the Red Bay galleon. That work was completed in the autumn of 1991 and on 31st October 1991 the wreck structure was donated to the museum for study and possible display.     

Ria de Aveiro A: a shipwreck from Portugal dating to the mid-15th century; a preliminary report

The remains of a coasting vessel were found in a lagoon close to the coast. Four radiocarbon determinations provided a date in the mid-15th century and it has been the subject of several seasons of excavation of CNANS. The excavation strategy is described, as are its surviving constructional details which are analysed with reference to early sources for Portuguese naval architecture. This coaster has constructional features found in ocean-going ships of the Iberian-Atlantic tradition. Its cargo of pottery is one of the most extensive and closely dated from the Age of Discovery and includes 18 forms.     

Small core,big network: a comprehensive approach to GIS teaching practice based on digital three-dimensional campus reconstruction

Geographic information science (GIS) features a wide range of disciplines and has broad applicability. Challenges associated with rapidly developing GIS technology and the currently limited teaching and practice materials hinder universities from cultivating highly skilled GIS graduates. Based on the idea of “small core, big network,” a comprehensive and interesting approach to GIS teaching practice is introduced in which a variety of key knowledge areas and technologies are effectively incorporated into a single project. A year-long assignment based on this approach was conducted, providing the students with practical training and successfully resulting in a digital three-dimensional representation of the campus.     

慈溪潮塘江元代沉船保存状态研究

慈溪潮塘江元代沉船是慈溪地区迄今发现并经科学发掘的第一艘古代沉船,船体结构保存较为完整,现存10道隔舱壁板。通过¹⁴C测年进一步确认沉船所属时代为元代(1271年—1368年)。在沉船船体70个监测点位采集样品,从树种类型、木材化学组分、硫铁元素含量以及微生物病害种类等多个角度开展检测研究,全面调查分析沉船病害情况。结果表明,慈溪潮塘江元代沉船木材样品整体保存状态较好,由于长期处于内河道埋藏环境,木材处于饱水状态,最大含水率主要集中分布于185%～400%之间,局部区域呈现变色、变形、扭曲、开裂现象,木材化学组分呈现低综纤维素、高灰分的特点,含有少量硫铁元素,属于中度腐蚀状态,亟待开展盐分脱除与填充加固等船体保护工作。