MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY

MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY

By: Samantha

Marine archaeology is the study of the human past that highlights how the involvement of human culture connects with the water worlds comprising of oceans, seas, lakes, and river systems. Maritime Archeology focuses as well on the excavation of the remains of underwater materials, such as ships wreck. It covers the area of remaining culture on the ships, small craft, crews, and cargo. Hence, for undergoing the excavation in the underwater shore-based facilities it is compulsory to have consent on the production. The Shore-based facilities will require the drilling development, maintenance and producing operations provide as well as receiving and unloading for supplies, materials and equipment which functions on benefiting the Joint Property.

The objective of maritime archeology is to examine and to interpret the physical evidence of the past society interaction. The evidence encompasses shipwrecks, submerged cities, harbors, wharves, navigation aids, fishing cultures, and other maritime infrastructure.  Through this research anthropologists can gain more insights on maritime archeology on the seafaring technologies, trade networks, maritime economies, cultural practices, and environmental changes.

Source: Google Images, 2023

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/arch.html

KEY ASPECTS

1.  Shipwreck Exploration: Maritime archaeologists often study shipwrecks and does provide valuable insights into construction techniques, navigations methods and trade networks. From the excavation of the shipwrecks, researchers are exposed more to the historical and cultural, and technological aspects of marine societies.

Underwater Excavation :

Underwater archeology varies from land archeology. Underwater archeology uses various tools and methods which comprised of dredging and remote sensing. All the artifacts are carefully recovered and excavated from the underwater sites by storing it in a tank filled with salt water. This is to preserve the crucial and fragile artifacts from deterioration once they are exposed to the air.

Submerge landscape: Area that were once above water and now are submerge due to the geographical changes in the sea level. The landscape evidence is comprised of past settlements, former civilization and the early migration of the human past and burial ground.

Cultural Resource Management: Maritime archaeologists cooperate with the government agencies, heritage organizations and local communities. The participation is to protect and manage the underwater cultural heritage as to develop the strategies for promoting the importance of educational management about the maritime archeology and the conservation efforts on the maritime archeological cultural heritage and historical sites.

Underwater archeology is synonym to Marine archeology, as it focuses on the studies and the investigation of the documentation and the interpretation of human artifacts, submerged cultural heritage structures, and submerged landscapes. George F Bass an American archeology was one of the earliest founders of the modern underwater archeology back in the mid-2oth century. In July 1984’s, Bass conducted the excavation of an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Turkey, known as the Uluburun shipwreck. The Uluburun shipwreck was used in the late 14^th century BC, which the date has been obtained and determined by dendrochronological dating, thus the ship sank in the late 14^th century BC during the period of the late bronze age. The human culture of the Uluburun ship was filled with the Mycenaean pottery, known also as the warrior vase that was found in the Mycenaean Acropolis in the 12^th century BCE. The vase was depicted with sculpting of war and hunting scenes, which portrays the strong warriors on the chariots and battles.

TECHNIQUES AND METHODOLOGIES

1.  Survey and Mapping: Involve in using remote sensing technologies, include the side-scan sonar, multibeam sonar, magnetometry, and sub-bottom profiling for mapping and identifying potential sites. The apparatus helps to create and provide detailed maps and location of the seafloor, that can indicate the existing submerged cultural and historical heritage. 

2.  Excavation and Recovery: Once identified, divers will recover the underwater excavation using the Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), it is a maneuverable underwater machine that can be used to explore oceans depth. Then, the recovery techniques are being carefully retrieved with the other remains ensuring their preservation.

3.  Conservation and Preservation: The properly recovered artifacts needs a specialized treatment and preservation to avoid the corrosion once it being exposed to the surfaced. The conservation materials include desalination, stabilization, and documentation, to ensure the long-term preservation on the discovered materials.

4.   Interpretation and Analysis: The artifacts are being analyzed by the structures, contextual information such as the years and the period of the artifacts are being used. As it easier to be reconstruct the history and the significance of the artifacts or the sites as to understand more on the social, economic, and cultural aspects of the past maritime societies.