Anaxum Project*
Filipe Castro & Massimo Capulli
(Texas A&M University & University of Udine)
Stella River, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Italy
The Anaxum Project aims at investigating the ancient waterway system surrounding the Roman city of Aquileia. This was the most important commercial hub of the northern Adriatic area before its utter destruction by Attila (A.D. 452) and the Lombards (A.D. 590), which caused its inhabitants to flee to the nearby lagoon and found Venice. Read more.
Bermuda Sloop Survey*
Gordon Watts
Inundated areas once occupied by Bermuda Island and Sloop Marsh will be surveyed in an effort to identify the Bermuda sloop, that was possibly lost in that vicinity. This was one of the most popular vessels in the western Atlantic in the 18th century.
Brazilian Stranded Shipwrecks*
Rodrigo de Oliveira Torres
(Texas A&M University)
The Rio Grande do Sul coast comprises a 640-km shoreline of a nearly uninterrupted, poorly populated, sand beach, dotted with stranded shipwrecks from various periods of southwestern Atlantic seafaring. This project aims at the study of formation processes in highly dynamic shipwreck sites in southern Brazil.
City Point Shipwreck Survey, Virginia (USA)
Joshua Daniel (Tidewater Atlantic Research, Inc.)
This survey aims to locate all exposed shipwrecks in the tidal flats east of City Point on the James River where 35 wrecks have been identified. According to Kevin Foster, here, “vessels have been disposed of since the Civil War era”, though older wrecks may also be present. Read more.
Denbigh Phase IV, Texas (USA)
J. Barto Arnold (INA)
The 2010-11 activities will concentrate on research, analysis, and reporting on the excavation and documentation of Denbigh, a Civil War blockade-runner lost at Galveston, Texas in 1865. Following five summers of fieldwork, we now proceed with and concentrate on publication. Project Details
Finisterre Project*
Miguel San Claudio, José Luis Casabán, Filipe Castro
(Texas A&M University)
Finisterre is a small village in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula, where a large number of shipwrecks, spanning many centuries of its rich history, lay untouched. One of the most important cluster of shipwrecks dates to 1596, when a large naval fleet (Padilla’s Fleet) was caught in a storm and several ships sunk.
Frigate Ertuğrul (Japan)
Tufan Turanlı and Berta Lledó (INA)
In 2011 the research and conservation of the artifacts from this 1890 Ottoman shipwreck will continue in “The Ertugrul Center.” The archaeological team will also participate in the preparation of a new museum that will house these remains. Project Details
The Immortal Fausto: the Life, Works, and Ships of the Venetian Humanist Vettor Fausto (1490-1546)(Italy)
Lilia Campana (Texas A&M University)
An ongoing assessment and study of rare Venetian manuscripts dating from 1500 to 1620 will continue to add to our knowledge of Renaissance shipbuilding in this center of Mediterranean trade and culture. This season continues with detailed study on Vettor Fausto’s technical innovations in Venetian naval architecture. Project Details
Gnalić Project*
Filipe Castro and Irena Radić
(Texas A&M University; University of Zadar)
The Gnalić shipwreck site is the remains of a late 16th century merchantman, perhaps the Venetian round ship Gagiana, lost in the area in 1583. As a time capsule with a coherent and largely preserved artifact collection it is a tremendously important site for the study of the history of the Eastern Mediterranean in the late 16th century.
Nevis Shipwrecks: Project Solebay
Chris Cartellone (Texas A&M University)
Using remote sensing technologies, the west coast of Nevis will be surveyed to discover underwater archaeological sites and to document HMS Solebay, a 28-gun British frigate lost in battle against the French in 1782. Read more.
The Novy Svet Wreck: An Analysis
of the Presence of Hull Timbers in the Bay of Novy Svet (Ukraine) *
John Albertson (Texas A&M University)
Since 1999, the Centre for Underwater Archaeology (CUA) of the Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev has been working on the wreck of a 13th-century Italian vessel in the Bay of Novy Svet. For the 2011 season, the eastern end of the Bay will be assessed to determine the viability of doing a sub-bottom profile, and to verify the necessity of using a magnetometer to determine the presence of other vessels and possibly hull timbers. The assessment will use coring and sediment and visual analysis. This will be a collaborative effort between INA, CUA and Texas A&M University. Project Details.
Patacho of Pedro Diaz*
George Schwarz
The discovery and subsequent analysis of the patacho of Pedro Diaz, an example of a little-known but ubiquitous Iberian Age of Exploration work vessel would answer many questions regarding Iberian ship construction and operation during this period.
Pirates of Port Royal*
Chad M. Gulseth (Texas A&M University)
After Captain Bartholomew Roberts was killed and his crew captured by the British Royal Navy, a hurricane struck Port Royal in August 1722 and two of Roberts’ pirate vessels were sunk. Ranger was discovered in 1967 by Robert Marx and the flagship Royal Fortune has yet to be found. During this 2012 project, the remains of Ranger will be surveyed & documented and attempts will be made to located and identify the pirate flagship Royal Fortune.
Venetian Galley*
Mauro Bondioli & Filipe Castro
The aim of this project is the reconstruction of a 15th-century Venetian galley, based on historical documents, both technical and iconographical. Materials to be produced include technical drawings, a wooden model at a 1:10 scale and a book documenting the research process and the construction of the model.
Excavation of Galleon Warwick
Piotr Bojakowski and Katie Custer-Bojakowski
The excavation of this race-built galleon will continue in 2011. Warwick is not only a prime example of late 16th-century warships, but also of the early 17th-century magazine ships that played a fundamental role in supplying English settlements in North America. Warwick wrecked while at anchorage in Castle Harbour, Bermuda during a hurricane in 1619. Read More.
War of 1812 Shipwrecks Project, Lake Ontario (USA)
Ben Ford (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
The identification and location of the wrecks of three American warships: Mohawk, an unnamed 75-ft gunboat and Lady of the Lake will significantly increase the database of American War of 1812 vessels on the Great Lakes in time for the bicentennial of the war. Read more about this project in the Summer 2010 issue of The INA Quarterly (p. 14).
Yenikapı: Documenting the Seventh-
and Ninth-Century Shipwrecks Excavated from the Theodosian Harbor at Yenikapı (Turkey)
Rebecca Ingram and Michael Jones
(Texas A&M University)
The excavation of ancient Constantinople’s Theodosian Harbor in the Yenikapı neighborhood of Istanbul has yielded more than 35 Byzantine-era shipwrecks. Through careful documentation of two of the site’s ships, dating to the 7th and 9th centuries AD, the investigators hope to understand how the vessels were designed, built, and used by Byzantine shipwrights and seafarers during a period which saw major changes in maritime trade and technology. Read more about the documentation of these shipwrecks in the Summer 2010 Issue of the INA Quarterly (p. 21).
Yukon River Steamboat Survey (Canada)
John Pollack, Project Director (INA)
Robyn Woodward, Project Archaeologist (INA)
Given the number of the stern wheel steamboats found by this project since 2005, detailed assessment work could continue for years.
The immediate plan for 2012 involves a 3-week, late fall project to:
· Locate and catalogue Glendora and Mona, burned March 27, 1902 1902 while frozen-in at Steamboat Slough opposite Dawson City.
· Conduct a detailed assessment of the complex stern of the Victorian at West Dawson.
· Conduct a detailed assessment of the Columbian upstream of Carcross, water and debris conditions permitting.
· Make final edits of the Yukon chapter for the upcoming Springer publication on The Archaeology of Ship Abandonment.
· Prepare and submit a refereed journal article on the engineering and evolution of Yukon stern wheel steamboat fleet. Project Details