PMJ.com: Underwater tales tell the history of sunken vessels
Anyone familiar with Santa Rosa County knows it's an area steeped in rich, colorful history. But that knowledge may not extend beneath the surface of the beautiful Blackwater River. In an effort to educate the local community on the extensive and intriguing maritime history of Milton and Bagdad, the Blackwater Pyrates will host Dr. Della Scott-Ireton of the University of West Florida Archaeology Network. She will speak at at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24 at the Bagdad Community Center, 6860 Pooley St., Bagdad. The lecture is open to the public at no cost. The format will be approximately one hour with a slide presentation and a question-and-answer period afterwards. Scott-Ireton has a doctorate specializing in maritime archaeology, public interpretation of maritime cultural resources and the training of students in archaeological methods and practices.
"This type of venue gives our community a deeper understanding of how our universities, our county and our cities work together to build on our past and propel us into the future," Blackwater Pyrate Captain Danny Keiek said. "When the Pyrates first started, Dr. Scott was gracious enough to deliver a similar lecture. When you are on the river as much as the Pyrates, you can feel the history. Even more unique is the fact that most of the wrecks are in shallow water, so you can 'see' the history."
According to former Pyrate Captain Tom Scott, UWF students dive these wrecks and discover new ones each year. Many of the wrecks are lumber transport barges, each with its own personality and window into the past. Recently, students have discovered two additional vessels in the Milton area and thesis work has begun with the help of grants and donations.
"The dark waters of the Blackwater River are home to over 18 sunken vessels whose history is linked to these towns and the surrounding communities," Scott said. "The two vessels that have the most notoriety are probably the Bethune schooner and the Tampa. The Bethune was a mid-19th century light draft coasting schooner. She carried small cargo along the Gulf Coast and into the larger river basins. It's believed the schooner, listed on the national register of historic places, carried lumber and bricks. Where larger ships held up to 500,000 feet of lumber, a schooner only transported around 100,000 feet. It was common for schooners to serve Bagdad and Milton because of their ability to navigate the river. The Tampa was primarily a passenger vessel that ferried lumber mill workers and staples."
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
'Return of the Mummies' at Penn museum
Philadelphia Business Journal: 'Return of the Mummies' at Penn museumThe mummies that China had temporarily withheld from the "Secrets of the Silk Road" exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology are now with the exhibit and will be on display through March 15, the Delaware County Daily Times reports, dubbing the development "The Return of the Mummies." Chinese officials attributed the controversy to "miscommunication." Despite the accord, the exhibit is still being ended much earlier than the originally scheduled June closing.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Skull in Underwater Cave May Be Earliest Trace of First Americans
National Geographic: Skull in Underwater Cave May Be Earliest Trace of First Americans
By Fabio Esteban Amador
Explorers have discovered what might be the oldest evidence of humans in the Americas.
Alex Alvarez, Franco Attolini, and Alberto (Beto) Nava are members of PET (Projecto Espeleológico de Tulum), an organization that specializes in the exploration and survey of underwater caves on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Alex, Franco and Beto have surveyed tens of thousands of feet of mazelike cave passages in the state of Quintana Roo. The team's relatively recent explorations of a large pit named Hoyo Negro (Black Hole, in Spanish), deep within a flooded cave, resulted in their breathtaking and once-in-a-lifetime discovery of the remains of an Ice Age mastodon and a human skull at the very bottom of the black abyss.
Beto recalls the amazing day of the discovery of Hoyo Negro.
"We started the exploration while following the main tunnel and progressed relatively fast by using scooters to cover more terrain.
"After about 1,500 feet [450 meters] we began to see the light of another entrance, so we headed towards it and surfaced.
"After taking a moment to chat and laugh about what a great dive we were having, we dropped down to continue the work.
"After about 400 feet [120 meters] the tunnel narrowed to form a circular shape, almost like a huge cement pipe. I made one tie-off and, while waiting for Franco to complete his surveying effort, I took a good look at the strangely shaped tunnel.
"All I could see was the whiteness of the cave walls along the sides, and beyond that it was all black. I thought to myself that this is either the largest tunnel I have seen or there is something unusual at the end of it.
"After Franco caught up, we continued for another 200 feet [60 meters] and eventually reached the end of the tube-shaped tunnel. To our surprise the floor disappeared and all we could see was blackness in all directions. It felt like we had reached a big drop-off or the edge of a canyon wall.
"We tried to slow down our heart rates as we were not really sure of what to do next."
The Aktun-Hu cave system, where Hoyo Negro is located, is completely filled with water and is fully decorated with speleothems.
Where is Hoyo Negro?
Hoyo Negro was reached by the PET team after the divers travelled more than 4,000 feet [1,200 meters] through underwater passages using underwater propulsion vehicles, or scooters, which enabled them to cover long distances in the flooded cave system.
Once they reached the pit, they began to survey and document its dimensions. The pit is approximately 200 feet [60 meters] deep and 120 feet [36 meters] in diameter and is located inside the Aktun-Hu cave system in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Submerged cave systems in Quintana Roo have been systematically surveyed and mapped by teams of highly specialized divers. The PET team is affiliated with Global Underwater Explorers, as is the Mexico Cave Exploration Project.
"The immense size of Hoyo Negro is difficult to comprehend. Once you enter the pit you cannot see the floor below, and all that can be seen in front of you is a black void -- an inviting entrance to the abyss, " recalls Franco.
The team of explorers touched bottom at 197 feet [57 meters], where they made their incredible discovery.
How Did the Tunnels Form?
The Yucatan Peninsula's geology is almost entirely limestone -- a karstic shelf that is easily dissolved by rainwater, forming caves and sinkholes.
Approximately 12,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, Earth experienced great climatic changes. The melting of the ice caps caused a dramatic rise in global sea levels, which flooded low lying coastal landscapes and cave systems. Many of the subterranean spaces that once provided people and animals with water and shelter became inundated and lost until the advent of cave diving.
Ironically, the Yucatan Peninsula does not have any major rivers or lakes; however, there are many underground rivers and water-filled caves or sinkholes known as cenotes (a Spanish word derived from the Maya dzonot).
What Was Found at the Bottom of the Black Hole?
While the team of explorers conducted various dives for the purpose of mapping and surveying of this newly discovered pit, they noticed some peculiar bones sitting on the bottom. They first came across several megafauna remains and what was clearly a mastodon bone, while subsequent dives proved even more exciting when they spotted a human skull resting upside down with other nearby remains at about 140 feet [43 meters] depth.
"I was searching for more of the mastodon remains, when I saw what looked like a human skull. I had thought we already had a great discovery after finding the remains of several Pleistocene animals...but finding a human skull was totally amazing for us. All of our efforts... walking through the jungle, carrying all the gear, securing the helium required to do such a deep dive, laying thousands of feet of exploration line... paid off at that moment. This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration," Alex said.
"This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration."
Soon after the discovery, the team contacted Guillermo de Anda, an archaeologist from the University of Yucatan in Merida (UADY) who has also been documenting Pleistocene megafauna sites and who helped in the identification of the Hoyo Negro discovery.
"The findings of Hoyo Negro are a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. The skull looks pre-Maya, which could make it one of the oldest set of human remains in the area. Gaining an understanding of how this human and these animals entered the site will reveal an immense amount of knowledge from that time. Therefore, protecting and learning the secrets of Hoyo Negro should be one of the main priorities for the archaeologists in the region," Guillermo told News Watch in an interview.
The PET team formally announced the discovery at Hoyo Negro to Pilar Luna Erreguerena, Director of Underwater Archaeology for Mexico's National Institute for Archaeology and History (INAH). Pilar is the founder of underwater archaeology in Latin America and has been instrumental in protecting Mexico's submerged cultural heritage.
"This discovery is extremely important and confirms the cultural diversity and richness that can be found in the Yucatan Peninsula," said Pilar Luna. "INAH's division of underwater archaeology is preparing a multidisciplinary project together with discoverers of the site. This team work will allow us to scientifically recover the data and the evidence in its own context, so that experts may really get to know the true value of this discovery and turn it into a deeper knowledge or understanding of the prehistoric era in this part of Mexico."
At present, the entrance to the site is limited to INAH's research team since they are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the site.
Studies in the Tulum area, similar to those currently being planned for Hoyo Negro, were accomplished for the very first time by Pilar Luna's collaborators, namely Arturo González, Carmen Rojas, Octavio Del Río, Eugenio Aceves, and Jerónimo Avilés, with the support of Adriana Velázquez, Director of Centro INAH Quintana Roo.
What is the Significance of the Discovery of Hoyo Negro?
The human found with the megafauna remains in Hoyo Negro could represent the oldest evidence of humans yet discovered in the Americas.
Archaeological and genetic data have long supported a northeast Asia origin for the populations that first settled North and South America. The so-called "First Americans" or Paleoindian peoples likely entered into these new lands sometime between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Although a number of early archaeological sites have been excavated, only few sets of Paleoindian remains have been found. A detailed analysis of the human skeletal remains from Hoyo Negro can help us to better understand who these First Americans were and when they arrived here, which is one of the greatest mysteries in American archaeology.
Radiometric dating of the human bones from Hoyo Negro will have to wait for now, but its location within the cave, and its position relative to the mastodon remains, are suggestive of its antiquity.
Waitt Institute archaeologist and New World cave expert, Dominique Rissolo, offers a compelling argument for the importance of this site and similar discoveries. "The cenotes of Quintana Roo, Mexico, have emerged as one of the most promising frontiers for Paleoindian studies in the Americas.
"Recent discoveries of human remains deep within the region's flooded caverns, as well the bones of mastodons and other extinct species of Pleistocene megafauna, offer an extraordinarily rare glimpse into a period that witnessed the peopling of the New World.
"During the Late Pleistocene, these caves were dry. The first people to occupy what is now the Caribbean coast of Mexico wandered into these caves, where some ultimately met their demise.
"As the last glacial maximum came to end, the melting of the polar ice caps and continental ice sheets raised sea levels worldwide. The caves of the Yucatan Peninsula filled with water and the First Americans were hidden for millennia -- only to be discovered by underwater cave explorers
"It is within these dark reaches that cave explorers are discovering and documenting the oldest human skeletons yet found in the Western Hemisphere," Rissolo said.
Future Research at Hoyo Negro
In the summer of 2010, Pilar Luna organized a Nautical Archaeology Society training course for the Hoyo Negro team. The course, which was funded by National Geographic Magazine thanks to Chris Sloan, a magazine editor, covered the essentials of underwater archaeological site recording.
In collaboration with INAH, the team hopes to continue their exploration of Hoyo Negro and to thoroughly document the findings at the site.
Perhaps this is a turning point in scientific exploration in the region, where successful research will depend upon the knowledge and experience of a multidisciplinary team that includes underwater archaeologists, geologists, and paleontologists working side by side with highly skilled divers.
The National Geographic/Waitt Grants Program has funded similar research in the past by supporting GUE diver, Sam Meacham, in his cave exploration and water conservation work in Quintana Roo.
National Geographic has been active in featuring similar discoveries made by cave divers on the Yucatan peninsula. In 2008 National Geographic Daily News published the discovery of the Eve of Naharon, a female skeleton dated to 13,600 years old, which was also found in an underwater cave in Quintana Roo. (Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave? )
More recently in 2010, National Geographic Daily News published an article on the Young Man of Chan Hol, a possible ritual burial from 10,000 years ago. (Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas)
In addition to the latest extraordinary expedition and amazing discovery, Robbie Schmittner connected the Aktun-Hu cave system (where Hoyo Negro is located) to the Sac Actun cave system. Together they may now represent the longest underwater cave system in the world.
Future investigations in Hoyo Negro will no doubt reveal new clues about the peopling of the New World.
By Fabio Esteban Amador
Explorers have discovered what might be the oldest evidence of humans in the Americas.
Alex Alvarez, Franco Attolini, and Alberto (Beto) Nava are members of PET (Projecto Espeleológico de Tulum), an organization that specializes in the exploration and survey of underwater caves on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Alex, Franco and Beto have surveyed tens of thousands of feet of mazelike cave passages in the state of Quintana Roo. The team's relatively recent explorations of a large pit named Hoyo Negro (Black Hole, in Spanish), deep within a flooded cave, resulted in their breathtaking and once-in-a-lifetime discovery of the remains of an Ice Age mastodon and a human skull at the very bottom of the black abyss.
Beto recalls the amazing day of the discovery of Hoyo Negro.
"We started the exploration while following the main tunnel and progressed relatively fast by using scooters to cover more terrain.
"After about 1,500 feet [450 meters] we began to see the light of another entrance, so we headed towards it and surfaced.
"After taking a moment to chat and laugh about what a great dive we were having, we dropped down to continue the work.
"After about 400 feet [120 meters] the tunnel narrowed to form a circular shape, almost like a huge cement pipe. I made one tie-off and, while waiting for Franco to complete his surveying effort, I took a good look at the strangely shaped tunnel.
"All I could see was the whiteness of the cave walls along the sides, and beyond that it was all black. I thought to myself that this is either the largest tunnel I have seen or there is something unusual at the end of it.
"After Franco caught up, we continued for another 200 feet [60 meters] and eventually reached the end of the tube-shaped tunnel. To our surprise the floor disappeared and all we could see was blackness in all directions. It felt like we had reached a big drop-off or the edge of a canyon wall.
"We tried to slow down our heart rates as we were not really sure of what to do next."
The Aktun-Hu cave system, where Hoyo Negro is located, is completely filled with water and is fully decorated with speleothems.
Where is Hoyo Negro?
Hoyo Negro was reached by the PET team after the divers travelled more than 4,000 feet [1,200 meters] through underwater passages using underwater propulsion vehicles, or scooters, which enabled them to cover long distances in the flooded cave system.
Once they reached the pit, they began to survey and document its dimensions. The pit is approximately 200 feet [60 meters] deep and 120 feet [36 meters] in diameter and is located inside the Aktun-Hu cave system in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Submerged cave systems in Quintana Roo have been systematically surveyed and mapped by teams of highly specialized divers. The PET team is affiliated with Global Underwater Explorers, as is the Mexico Cave Exploration Project.
"The immense size of Hoyo Negro is difficult to comprehend. Once you enter the pit you cannot see the floor below, and all that can be seen in front of you is a black void -- an inviting entrance to the abyss, " recalls Franco.
The team of explorers touched bottom at 197 feet [57 meters], where they made their incredible discovery.
How Did the Tunnels Form?
The Yucatan Peninsula's geology is almost entirely limestone -- a karstic shelf that is easily dissolved by rainwater, forming caves and sinkholes.
Approximately 12,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, Earth experienced great climatic changes. The melting of the ice caps caused a dramatic rise in global sea levels, which flooded low lying coastal landscapes and cave systems. Many of the subterranean spaces that once provided people and animals with water and shelter became inundated and lost until the advent of cave diving.
Ironically, the Yucatan Peninsula does not have any major rivers or lakes; however, there are many underground rivers and water-filled caves or sinkholes known as cenotes (a Spanish word derived from the Maya dzonot).
What Was Found at the Bottom of the Black Hole?
While the team of explorers conducted various dives for the purpose of mapping and surveying of this newly discovered pit, they noticed some peculiar bones sitting on the bottom. They first came across several megafauna remains and what was clearly a mastodon bone, while subsequent dives proved even more exciting when they spotted a human skull resting upside down with other nearby remains at about 140 feet [43 meters] depth.
"I was searching for more of the mastodon remains, when I saw what looked like a human skull. I had thought we already had a great discovery after finding the remains of several Pleistocene animals...but finding a human skull was totally amazing for us. All of our efforts... walking through the jungle, carrying all the gear, securing the helium required to do such a deep dive, laying thousands of feet of exploration line... paid off at that moment. This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration," Alex said.
"This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration."
Soon after the discovery, the team contacted Guillermo de Anda, an archaeologist from the University of Yucatan in Merida (UADY) who has also been documenting Pleistocene megafauna sites and who helped in the identification of the Hoyo Negro discovery.
"The findings of Hoyo Negro are a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. The skull looks pre-Maya, which could make it one of the oldest set of human remains in the area. Gaining an understanding of how this human and these animals entered the site will reveal an immense amount of knowledge from that time. Therefore, protecting and learning the secrets of Hoyo Negro should be one of the main priorities for the archaeologists in the region," Guillermo told News Watch in an interview.
The PET team formally announced the discovery at Hoyo Negro to Pilar Luna Erreguerena, Director of Underwater Archaeology for Mexico's National Institute for Archaeology and History (INAH). Pilar is the founder of underwater archaeology in Latin America and has been instrumental in protecting Mexico's submerged cultural heritage.
"This discovery is extremely important and confirms the cultural diversity and richness that can be found in the Yucatan Peninsula," said Pilar Luna. "INAH's division of underwater archaeology is preparing a multidisciplinary project together with discoverers of the site. This team work will allow us to scientifically recover the data and the evidence in its own context, so that experts may really get to know the true value of this discovery and turn it into a deeper knowledge or understanding of the prehistoric era in this part of Mexico."
At present, the entrance to the site is limited to INAH's research team since they are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the site.
Studies in the Tulum area, similar to those currently being planned for Hoyo Negro, were accomplished for the very first time by Pilar Luna's collaborators, namely Arturo González, Carmen Rojas, Octavio Del Río, Eugenio Aceves, and Jerónimo Avilés, with the support of Adriana Velázquez, Director of Centro INAH Quintana Roo.
What is the Significance of the Discovery of Hoyo Negro?
The human found with the megafauna remains in Hoyo Negro could represent the oldest evidence of humans yet discovered in the Americas.
Archaeological and genetic data have long supported a northeast Asia origin for the populations that first settled North and South America. The so-called "First Americans" or Paleoindian peoples likely entered into these new lands sometime between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Although a number of early archaeological sites have been excavated, only few sets of Paleoindian remains have been found. A detailed analysis of the human skeletal remains from Hoyo Negro can help us to better understand who these First Americans were and when they arrived here, which is one of the greatest mysteries in American archaeology.
Radiometric dating of the human bones from Hoyo Negro will have to wait for now, but its location within the cave, and its position relative to the mastodon remains, are suggestive of its antiquity.
Waitt Institute archaeologist and New World cave expert, Dominique Rissolo, offers a compelling argument for the importance of this site and similar discoveries. "The cenotes of Quintana Roo, Mexico, have emerged as one of the most promising frontiers for Paleoindian studies in the Americas.
"Recent discoveries of human remains deep within the region's flooded caverns, as well the bones of mastodons and other extinct species of Pleistocene megafauna, offer an extraordinarily rare glimpse into a period that witnessed the peopling of the New World.
"During the Late Pleistocene, these caves were dry. The first people to occupy what is now the Caribbean coast of Mexico wandered into these caves, where some ultimately met their demise.
"As the last glacial maximum came to end, the melting of the polar ice caps and continental ice sheets raised sea levels worldwide. The caves of the Yucatan Peninsula filled with water and the First Americans were hidden for millennia -- only to be discovered by underwater cave explorers
"It is within these dark reaches that cave explorers are discovering and documenting the oldest human skeletons yet found in the Western Hemisphere," Rissolo said.
Future Research at Hoyo Negro
In the summer of 2010, Pilar Luna organized a Nautical Archaeology Society training course for the Hoyo Negro team. The course, which was funded by National Geographic Magazine thanks to Chris Sloan, a magazine editor, covered the essentials of underwater archaeological site recording.
In collaboration with INAH, the team hopes to continue their exploration of Hoyo Negro and to thoroughly document the findings at the site.
Perhaps this is a turning point in scientific exploration in the region, where successful research will depend upon the knowledge and experience of a multidisciplinary team that includes underwater archaeologists, geologists, and paleontologists working side by side with highly skilled divers.
The National Geographic/Waitt Grants Program has funded similar research in the past by supporting GUE diver, Sam Meacham, in his cave exploration and water conservation work in Quintana Roo.
National Geographic has been active in featuring similar discoveries made by cave divers on the Yucatan peninsula. In 2008 National Geographic Daily News published the discovery of the Eve of Naharon, a female skeleton dated to 13,600 years old, which was also found in an underwater cave in Quintana Roo. (Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave? )
More recently in 2010, National Geographic Daily News published an article on the Young Man of Chan Hol, a possible ritual burial from 10,000 years ago. (Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas)
In addition to the latest extraordinary expedition and amazing discovery, Robbie Schmittner connected the Aktun-Hu cave system (where Hoyo Negro is located) to the Sac Actun cave system. Together they may now represent the longest underwater cave system in the world.
Future investigations in Hoyo Negro will no doubt reveal new clues about the peopling of the New World.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Rust in peace: Stunning shipwrecks captured on camera around the world
Rust in peace: Stunning shipwrecks captured on camera around the world
VISIT THE LINK TO SEE SOME FANTASTIC PHOTOS!
An intrepid British photographer has travelled the world snapping pictures of the bizarre things lying on the sea bed.
Diving enthusiast Alex Mustard, 36, has made many strange discoveries while exploring beneath the water's surface.
His pictures, taken while investigating the insides of eerie shipwrecks, include barnacle-covered motorbikes once meant for British troops in World War Two.
Rusty British trucks also lie forgotten in their watery graves along with rifles that have never been used, and one extraordinary photo even shows the shell of the iconic VW Beetle car.
Alex, from Southampton, Hampshire, said: 'Wrecks attract divers because of the incongruity of seeing something from above the waves beneath them.
'The VW Beetle was purposely sunk for divers and it's particularly bizarre - it's the last thing you would expect to sea underwater.
'I find it fascinating seeing something familiar in an alien place - underwater.
'I couldn't say how many wrecks I've seen but each is interesting in its own way. Each is unique, the features differ on every wreck and the atmosphere varies too.'
One particularly fascinating wreck for Alex is the HMS Thislegorm - a British cargo ship that was carrying military supplies when it was sunk by a German bomber in the Red Sea in 1941.
Alex said: 'This wreck is still packed with trucks, bikes and rifles.
'War wrecks are always the most sombre, I find they are not only museums but also memorials.
'And I always have mixed feeling of excitement and sadness when exploring them. It is an intense experience on so many levels.'
Alex has explored wrecks both old and new. His most recent, the USS Kittiwake, a US military ship built in 1945, was purposely sunk off the Cayman Islands this year for divers to explore.
And, in some pictures, the vessel doesn't even appear to be underwater.
Alex said: 'Being purposely sunk for divers gives a wreck a totally different atmosphere to one tinged with tragedy.
'Despite only being down for a few days, marine life was already moving in from the nearby reefs.
'Right now the Kittiwake looks brand new and in some photos it is not even clear she is underwater but soon she'll be broken by the sea and covered in marine life. It will be fascinating to see her evolve.
'One of the greatest things about wrecks is the sinking, whether accidental or on purpose, because this is only the start of their journey.'
VISIT THE LINK TO SEE SOME FANTASTIC PHOTOS!
An intrepid British photographer has travelled the world snapping pictures of the bizarre things lying on the sea bed.
Diving enthusiast Alex Mustard, 36, has made many strange discoveries while exploring beneath the water's surface.
His pictures, taken while investigating the insides of eerie shipwrecks, include barnacle-covered motorbikes once meant for British troops in World War Two.
Rusty British trucks also lie forgotten in their watery graves along with rifles that have never been used, and one extraordinary photo even shows the shell of the iconic VW Beetle car.
Alex, from Southampton, Hampshire, said: 'Wrecks attract divers because of the incongruity of seeing something from above the waves beneath them.
'The VW Beetle was purposely sunk for divers and it's particularly bizarre - it's the last thing you would expect to sea underwater.
'I find it fascinating seeing something familiar in an alien place - underwater.
'I couldn't say how many wrecks I've seen but each is interesting in its own way. Each is unique, the features differ on every wreck and the atmosphere varies too.'
One particularly fascinating wreck for Alex is the HMS Thislegorm - a British cargo ship that was carrying military supplies when it was sunk by a German bomber in the Red Sea in 1941.
Alex said: 'This wreck is still packed with trucks, bikes and rifles.
'War wrecks are always the most sombre, I find they are not only museums but also memorials.
'And I always have mixed feeling of excitement and sadness when exploring them. It is an intense experience on so many levels.'
Alex has explored wrecks both old and new. His most recent, the USS Kittiwake, a US military ship built in 1945, was purposely sunk off the Cayman Islands this year for divers to explore.
And, in some pictures, the vessel doesn't even appear to be underwater.
Alex said: 'Being purposely sunk for divers gives a wreck a totally different atmosphere to one tinged with tragedy.
'Despite only being down for a few days, marine life was already moving in from the nearby reefs.
'Right now the Kittiwake looks brand new and in some photos it is not even clear she is underwater but soon she'll be broken by the sea and covered in marine life. It will be fascinating to see her evolve.
'One of the greatest things about wrecks is the sinking, whether accidental or on purpose, because this is only the start of their journey.'
Could underwater nuclear stations be headed for the English channel
Guardian Environmental Network: Could underwater nuclear stations be headed for the English channel?
Ecologist: Plans for undersea nuclear reactors around the coast of France could see a boom in uptake of the technology – but serious questions about costs and waste remain unanswered
Since the oil shocks of the 1970's the French government has invested heavily in nuclear power. At that time, most of the electricity in France came from oil fired power stations, and the oil was imported mostly from the Middle East. With no oil or gas fields of its own and coal fields almost exhausted, it began a large-scale nuclear energy programme.
There are now 58 nuclear reactors in France, which provide nearly 80 per cent of the country's electricity supply. Now, in a bid to bring dependable energy to remote coastal communities, the French government has decided to give the green light to a different kind of nuclear power programme - smaller nuclear reactors to be based on the ocean floor.
In January, France's naval construction firm DCNS agreed on a joint two-year study of a concept for submerged nuclear power plants together with French company Areva, Electricité de France and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Promoters say these could provide energy for millions of people in coastal locations worldwide.
The concept for the nuclear submarine, known as FlexBlue, involves a cylindrical vessel about 100 meters long and 15 meters in diameter that would encase a complete nuclear power plant with an electrical capacity of between 50 MW and 250 MW. By comparison Sizewell B power station in Suffolk has an output of almost 1200MW.
Flexblue would comprise a small nuclear reactor, a steam turbine-alternator set, an electrical plant and associated electrical equipment. Submarine power cables would carry electricity from the Flexblue plant to the coast.
With costs significantly cheaper than traditional onshore reactors - estimated at several hundred million Euros compared to about 5 billion Euros for a full-sized reactor - French engineers believe it could lead to a boom in the uptake of nuclear power.
The French are not the only ones interested in offshore nuclear power. The Russians have already developed the design for a floating nuclear power plant which uses two 70-MW reactors derived from those used in Russian submarines and icebreakers and launched a prototype last year.
The French's flexblue plants would be designed to be moored on a stable seafloor at a depth of 60 to 100 metres a few kilometres off shore. A system of ballast tanks would be used to raise or lower the plant during installation and for major maintenance, refuelling or dismantling.
The reactors would be adapted for continuous power generation. Flexblue would use power plants of a standard design requiring very limited site-specific tailoring. This makes these plants fundamentally different from land-based nuclear power plants, which must be tailored in terms of civil engineering to accommodate local site constraints.
Flexblue nuclear plants would be stationary subsea installations with no independent means of propulsion. They would be transported by purpose-built vessels similar to those currently used to install offshore platforms. These same vessels would carry Flexblue plants to approved shipyards for refuelling, major maintenance and eventual dismantling.
DCNS aims to design Flexblue plants so that they can be remotely controlled from a shore-based facility. Each plant would, however, include an onboard control room giving operators local control over critical operations, including startup and some maintenance phases. The plant would also be directly accessible at all times by mini-submersibles. Maintenance would be based on proven procedures similar to those used by DCNS for many years to maintain, update and extend the life of naval vessels.
The cost of the reactors is estimated to be in the region of several hundred million Euros, compared to about 5 billion Euros for a full-sized reactor. DCNS Chairman and CEO Patrick Boissier said, 'preliminary studies show that we should be compatible with the cost of renewable energies, and better than solar power.'
Long-term storage plans for highly radioactive waste are still to be decided but DCNS confirmed all dismantling and decommissioning would be done onshore.The company claims that Flexblue plants would be designed from the outset to prevent any contact between nuclear materials and the marine environment. Underwater submersion would also provide a natural means of cooling the reactor, they say, as well as enhancing security, and the only substance released into the environment would be the seawater used for cooling.
Cores would be protected by three barriers: fuel cladding, reactor vessel and hull. The designers argue that immersion in sea water would ensure an infinite natural means of passive cooling and permit inherent safety and security. In addition, each plant would also be protected against potential intruders. The French argue that a submerged power plant would be less vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis, or floods, and would be far less vulnerable to terrorist attack.
Sceptics are concerned that warmer water released from the reactors could be dangerous for local ecosystem. And, should there be a nuclear accident 'the sea will be destroyed,' according to the President of Anti-nuclear organisation Crilan, based in Cherbourg. 'The fierce warming-up of the water will cause a massive thermal shock that will destroy sea life.'
However, supporters of Flexblue have attempted to downplay concerns suggesting the undersea reactors would be based entirely on proven technologies, simply combined in a new way. They say with two-thirds of the world's population currently living within 80 kilometres of the sea the new technology could make nuclear power more attractive to countries. For more remote locations, the nuclear reactors could allow for a fast and efficient way to add electrical supply to the region without needing any surface-based infrastructure, including the kind of supply systems needed for coal or oil-powered stations.
Ecologist: Plans for undersea nuclear reactors around the coast of France could see a boom in uptake of the technology – but serious questions about costs and waste remain unanswered
Since the oil shocks of the 1970's the French government has invested heavily in nuclear power. At that time, most of the electricity in France came from oil fired power stations, and the oil was imported mostly from the Middle East. With no oil or gas fields of its own and coal fields almost exhausted, it began a large-scale nuclear energy programme.
There are now 58 nuclear reactors in France, which provide nearly 80 per cent of the country's electricity supply. Now, in a bid to bring dependable energy to remote coastal communities, the French government has decided to give the green light to a different kind of nuclear power programme - smaller nuclear reactors to be based on the ocean floor.
In January, France's naval construction firm DCNS agreed on a joint two-year study of a concept for submerged nuclear power plants together with French company Areva, Electricité de France and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Promoters say these could provide energy for millions of people in coastal locations worldwide.
The concept for the nuclear submarine, known as FlexBlue, involves a cylindrical vessel about 100 meters long and 15 meters in diameter that would encase a complete nuclear power plant with an electrical capacity of between 50 MW and 250 MW. By comparison Sizewell B power station in Suffolk has an output of almost 1200MW.
Flexblue would comprise a small nuclear reactor, a steam turbine-alternator set, an electrical plant and associated electrical equipment. Submarine power cables would carry electricity from the Flexblue plant to the coast.
With costs significantly cheaper than traditional onshore reactors - estimated at several hundred million Euros compared to about 5 billion Euros for a full-sized reactor - French engineers believe it could lead to a boom in the uptake of nuclear power.
The French are not the only ones interested in offshore nuclear power. The Russians have already developed the design for a floating nuclear power plant which uses two 70-MW reactors derived from those used in Russian submarines and icebreakers and launched a prototype last year.
The French's flexblue plants would be designed to be moored on a stable seafloor at a depth of 60 to 100 metres a few kilometres off shore. A system of ballast tanks would be used to raise or lower the plant during installation and for major maintenance, refuelling or dismantling.
The reactors would be adapted for continuous power generation. Flexblue would use power plants of a standard design requiring very limited site-specific tailoring. This makes these plants fundamentally different from land-based nuclear power plants, which must be tailored in terms of civil engineering to accommodate local site constraints.
Flexblue nuclear plants would be stationary subsea installations with no independent means of propulsion. They would be transported by purpose-built vessels similar to those currently used to install offshore platforms. These same vessels would carry Flexblue plants to approved shipyards for refuelling, major maintenance and eventual dismantling.
DCNS aims to design Flexblue plants so that they can be remotely controlled from a shore-based facility. Each plant would, however, include an onboard control room giving operators local control over critical operations, including startup and some maintenance phases. The plant would also be directly accessible at all times by mini-submersibles. Maintenance would be based on proven procedures similar to those used by DCNS for many years to maintain, update and extend the life of naval vessels.
The cost of the reactors is estimated to be in the region of several hundred million Euros, compared to about 5 billion Euros for a full-sized reactor. DCNS Chairman and CEO Patrick Boissier said, 'preliminary studies show that we should be compatible with the cost of renewable energies, and better than solar power.'
Long-term storage plans for highly radioactive waste are still to be decided but DCNS confirmed all dismantling and decommissioning would be done onshore.The company claims that Flexblue plants would be designed from the outset to prevent any contact between nuclear materials and the marine environment. Underwater submersion would also provide a natural means of cooling the reactor, they say, as well as enhancing security, and the only substance released into the environment would be the seawater used for cooling.
Cores would be protected by three barriers: fuel cladding, reactor vessel and hull. The designers argue that immersion in sea water would ensure an infinite natural means of passive cooling and permit inherent safety and security. In addition, each plant would also be protected against potential intruders. The French argue that a submerged power plant would be less vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis, or floods, and would be far less vulnerable to terrorist attack.
Sceptics are concerned that warmer water released from the reactors could be dangerous for local ecosystem. And, should there be a nuclear accident 'the sea will be destroyed,' according to the President of Anti-nuclear organisation Crilan, based in Cherbourg. 'The fierce warming-up of the water will cause a massive thermal shock that will destroy sea life.'
However, supporters of Flexblue have attempted to downplay concerns suggesting the undersea reactors would be based entirely on proven technologies, simply combined in a new way. They say with two-thirds of the world's population currently living within 80 kilometres of the sea the new technology could make nuclear power more attractive to countries. For more remote locations, the nuclear reactors could allow for a fast and efficient way to add electrical supply to the region without needing any surface-based infrastructure, including the kind of supply systems needed for coal or oil-powered stations.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo - In the Eye of the Storm
About.com: The Egyptian Museum in Cairo - In the Eye of the Storm
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is one of Egypt's major tourist attractions. It houses many of the treasures found in the tombs and pyramids built by the Queens and Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The Egyptian Museum is where you find mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewellery and of course King Tutankhamen's treasures. King Tut's goodies include his socks, underwear and the boy-king's death-mask made of solid gold, described as the most beautiful object ever made.
The Egyptian Museum is located right on Tahrir square, where much of the action has taken place in the past few weeks. The BBC reports that looting took place on 28 January, and several items went missing including a statue of King Tut. There was damage done to many more items and display cases. The Museum's director and some of his staff decided to sleep in the museum to avoid further looting while the protests were ongoing.
The Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass announced yesterday that some items had been recovered and they expect to find more. Nine suspected looters have been detained in custody, National Geographic has a nice blog post about how they were caught. The Museum remains closed for now and is guarded by the army. The army is also guarding the Pyramids that lie just outside of Cairo's center, but as yet, there are no tourists around to protect.
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is one of Egypt's major tourist attractions. It houses many of the treasures found in the tombs and pyramids built by the Queens and Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The Egyptian Museum is where you find mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewellery and of course King Tutankhamen's treasures. King Tut's goodies include his socks, underwear and the boy-king's death-mask made of solid gold, described as the most beautiful object ever made.
The Egyptian Museum is located right on Tahrir square, where much of the action has taken place in the past few weeks. The BBC reports that looting took place on 28 January, and several items went missing including a statue of King Tut. There was damage done to many more items and display cases. The Museum's director and some of his staff decided to sleep in the museum to avoid further looting while the protests were ongoing.
The Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass announced yesterday that some items had been recovered and they expect to find more. Nine suspected looters have been detained in custody, National Geographic has a nice blog post about how they were caught. The Museum remains closed for now and is guarded by the army. The army is also guarding the Pyramids that lie just outside of Cairo's center, but as yet, there are no tourists around to protect.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunken ship of skipper who inspired 'Moby-Dick' found
CNN US: Sunken ship of skipper who inspired 'Moby-Dick' found
CNN) -- In an instance of truth being stranger than fiction, American author Herman Melville turned to a horrifying ordeal as inspiration for his 19th-century classic "Moby-Dick."
In 1820, the Nantucket, Massachusetts, whaling vessel Essex was rammed and sunk in the South Pacific by a sperm whale.
George Pollard Jr. and his surviving crew resorted to cannibalism in order to survive while they drifted in the open ocean for more than a month.
The sea truly must have been Pollard's mistress, for he took command of another whaler. The captain and Two Brothers were off Hawaii on Feb. 11, 1823, when the ship hit a shallow reef. The terrified crew, clinging to small boats, was rescued the next day by a fellow whaler.
Some 188 years later, maritime heritage archaeologists, working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found the Two Brothers shipwreck nearly 600 miles northwest of Honolulu, the agency said in a statement Friday.
"This rare archaeological discovery is the first discovery of a wrecked whaling ship from Nantucket, Mass., the birthplace of America's whaling industry," the agency said.
Whaling ships, part of America's expansion into the Pacific Ocean, explored portions of the Indian Ocean and the polar regions.
Expeditions from 2008 to 2010 yielded a large anchor of the Two Brothers, cast-iron pots for melting whale blubber, bricks, whaling lances, harpoon tips, glass, ceramics and remains of the ship's rigging, NOAA said. Research and accounts from crew members helped verify the find.
The shipwreck lies off French Frigate Shoals in the blue waters of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.
Melville completed "Moby-Dick" in 1851, drawing on an Essex crew member's account of the remarkable event.
The twice-cursed Pollard retired from whaling, became a watchman and lived to be almost 80. Melville met him in Nantucket shortly after completing "Moby-Dick."
While the Essex story is linked to the novel, Pollard must not have been the inspiration for its mercurial Captain Ahab.
"To the islanders he was a nobody," Melville said of Pollard, according to the Nantucket Historical Association. "To me, the most impressive man, tho' wholly unassuming, even humble -- that I ever encountered."
CNN) -- In an instance of truth being stranger than fiction, American author Herman Melville turned to a horrifying ordeal as inspiration for his 19th-century classic "Moby-Dick."
In 1820, the Nantucket, Massachusetts, whaling vessel Essex was rammed and sunk in the South Pacific by a sperm whale.
George Pollard Jr. and his surviving crew resorted to cannibalism in order to survive while they drifted in the open ocean for more than a month.
The sea truly must have been Pollard's mistress, for he took command of another whaler. The captain and Two Brothers were off Hawaii on Feb. 11, 1823, when the ship hit a shallow reef. The terrified crew, clinging to small boats, was rescued the next day by a fellow whaler.
Some 188 years later, maritime heritage archaeologists, working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found the Two Brothers shipwreck nearly 600 miles northwest of Honolulu, the agency said in a statement Friday.
"This rare archaeological discovery is the first discovery of a wrecked whaling ship from Nantucket, Mass., the birthplace of America's whaling industry," the agency said.
Whaling ships, part of America's expansion into the Pacific Ocean, explored portions of the Indian Ocean and the polar regions.
Expeditions from 2008 to 2010 yielded a large anchor of the Two Brothers, cast-iron pots for melting whale blubber, bricks, whaling lances, harpoon tips, glass, ceramics and remains of the ship's rigging, NOAA said. Research and accounts from crew members helped verify the find.
The shipwreck lies off French Frigate Shoals in the blue waters of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.
Melville completed "Moby-Dick" in 1851, drawing on an Essex crew member's account of the remarkable event.
The twice-cursed Pollard retired from whaling, became a watchman and lived to be almost 80. Melville met him in Nantucket shortly after completing "Moby-Dick."
While the Essex story is linked to the novel, Pollard must not have been the inspiration for its mercurial Captain Ahab.
"To the islanders he was a nobody," Melville said of Pollard, according to the Nantucket Historical Association. "To me, the most impressive man, tho' wholly unassuming, even humble -- that I ever encountered."
Sunken coins emerge into global tug of war
NZHerald.co.nz: Sunken coins emerge into global tug of war
For 200 years, the silver coins settled silently into the Atlantic seabed, 1000m beneath the waves.
They gathered in clumps like rocks across a vast swathe of ocean floor near southern Portugal, crusting over with sediment and weighing 17 tonnes.
The coins were certainly of no use to the 250 sailors who carried them from Peru on what was probably the Spanish frigate Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which sank in 1804, torn apart by British cannon fire.
But now, transported from their watery-yet-lucrative grave to litigious landlubbers, those 600,000 idle coins, reportedly worth up to US$500 million ($657 million), are working overtime.
They have sparked a high-stakes legal battle in the United States between Spain, which claims ownership of the bounty, and Odyssey Marine Exploration, the American shipwreck-hunting company that detected it with high-tech robots, extricated it from the seabed and flew it in bucketloads to Florida in 2007.
And they have dredged up murky questions about ownership and preservation of the three million shipwrecks that Unesco believes still rest on the world's ocean floors.
Most recently those crusty coins, believed to be the largest collection from a single deep-water site, have caused diplomatic embarrassment too, thanks to US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks.
They revealed the latest, and highly unlikely, weapon in the transatlantic skirmish over the sunken treasure: an Impressionist painting by Camille Pissarro, entitled Rue Saint-Honore, Apres Midi, Effet de Pluie.
This painting, valued at US$20 million, hangs in Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, ostensibly sharing nothing in common with naval strife or shipwrecks except perhaps the rain water which splashes on Pissarro's grey Parisian street.
But the painting was once owned by a German Jew who was forced to sell it cheaply to Nazi officials in exchange for an exit visa in 1939. The owner's descendants in California have waged their own legal bout with the Spanish state since 2005. The museum refuses to relinquish it, arguing that it was bought honestly long after the Nazis stole it.
Enter WikiLeaks. According to the cables, the US Government offered to help Spain in its legal fight for the sunken treasure in return for Spanish assistance in recovering the Pissarro.
In the cables, the American ambassador suggested that the two countries "avail themselves of whatever margin for manoeuvre they had, consistent with their legal obligations, to resolve both matters in a way that favoured the bilateral relationship".
It is not known if such a swap was offered. But the possibility quickly became cannon fodder for the undersea archaeology company, which is using the alleged collusion between the two governments to bolster its case before a US appeals court.
"The possibility that someone in the US Government came up with this perfidious offer to sacrifice Odyssey, its thousands of shareholders, and the many jobs created by the company in exchange for the return of one painting to one individual is hard to believe," Odyssey's chief executive, Greg Stemm, said when the cables were published in December.
Odyssey does not believe there is enough evidence to establish that the treasure came from Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which was attacked by British ships, drawing Spain into the Napoleonic Wars. It simply refers to the wreck by a code-name, Black Swan. But even if the Black Swan is the Mercedes, the company believes it still has a right to the treasure.
Mercedes, Odyssey argues, was carrying out a commercial mission, and the bulk of the silver coins belonged to merchants, not the Spanish state. Under US law, foreign states have the right to claim only military wrecks, the company claims.
Spain's legal counsel, James Goold, of the Washington firm Covington & Burling, rejects that claim - "it's like claiming the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbour was a merchant ship" - and accuses the company of thwarting UN conventions on protecting undersea heritage.
"They didn't seek authorisation or report the ship," Goold told the Independent. "Instead they grabbed as many coins as possible and concocted a cover story that they didn't know what ship it was."
According to Goold, Odyssey's own videos, presented as evidence, demonstrate that the ship is the Spanish frigate. "There were Spanish navy cannons, swords, small arms, the rudder, everything just like you see at the Naval Museum in Madrid, but Odyssey didn't recover it," Goold said.
"They just took the coins and claimed it was a mystery ship with no intact hull found. But it wasn't intact because it blew up."
The Spanish Government, meanwhile, has treated the company like modern-day pirates. Spanish police blocked Odyssey's ship when it left port at Gibraltar, searched the cargo and jailed the captain overnight.
Stemm of Odyssey said he was surprised by the hostile treatment. "We had a good relationship with the Spanish Government," he said. "We actually invited the Ministry of Culture to send archaeologists along with the project."
The sunken treasure caper has sparked debate in Spain about how to keep thousands of other colonial-era shipwrecks from private hands. A national environmentalist group, Ecologists in Action, petitioned Spain's Culture Ministry to recover all the sunken treasures, place the best artefacts in museums and auction the rest - with proceeds going to Latin America's indigenous peoples.
But it is hard for struggling governments like Spain's to afford the technology to compete with a company like Odyssey, which trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange and which has, says Stemm, invested US$150 million in developing its technology.
With unmanned robots reaching record depths throughout the world, archaeologists are increasingly concerned how best to preserve underwater heritage. Unesco says more than 160 large shipwrecks have been commercially exploited since the 1980s.
In 2001, Unesco drafted a convention to protect wreck sites. It recommends preservation of objects in their original locations and bans trade or speculation in artefacts.
Odyssey takes pains to distance itself from "treasure hunters" who, as Stemm puts it, "tear apart shipwrecks in search of treasure without any regard to the archaeological and historical importance of the site".
The company points to HMS Victory as an example of its illuminating power. After an agreement with the British Government, the company searched for the 18th century predecessor to Lord Nelson's flagship, considered the largest and most sophisticated of its day. In 2008, Odyssey's crew found the wreck in the English Channel, about 100km from where it was thought to have gone down with 900 souls, 110 bronze cannons and £400,000. "It solved a long-standing naval mystery," Stemm said. Stay tuned: the silver has yet to turn up.
For 200 years, the silver coins settled silently into the Atlantic seabed, 1000m beneath the waves.
They gathered in clumps like rocks across a vast swathe of ocean floor near southern Portugal, crusting over with sediment and weighing 17 tonnes.
The coins were certainly of no use to the 250 sailors who carried them from Peru on what was probably the Spanish frigate Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which sank in 1804, torn apart by British cannon fire.
But now, transported from their watery-yet-lucrative grave to litigious landlubbers, those 600,000 idle coins, reportedly worth up to US$500 million ($657 million), are working overtime.
They have sparked a high-stakes legal battle in the United States between Spain, which claims ownership of the bounty, and Odyssey Marine Exploration, the American shipwreck-hunting company that detected it with high-tech robots, extricated it from the seabed and flew it in bucketloads to Florida in 2007.
And they have dredged up murky questions about ownership and preservation of the three million shipwrecks that Unesco believes still rest on the world's ocean floors.
Most recently those crusty coins, believed to be the largest collection from a single deep-water site, have caused diplomatic embarrassment too, thanks to US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks.
They revealed the latest, and highly unlikely, weapon in the transatlantic skirmish over the sunken treasure: an Impressionist painting by Camille Pissarro, entitled Rue Saint-Honore, Apres Midi, Effet de Pluie.
This painting, valued at US$20 million, hangs in Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, ostensibly sharing nothing in common with naval strife or shipwrecks except perhaps the rain water which splashes on Pissarro's grey Parisian street.
But the painting was once owned by a German Jew who was forced to sell it cheaply to Nazi officials in exchange for an exit visa in 1939. The owner's descendants in California have waged their own legal bout with the Spanish state since 2005. The museum refuses to relinquish it, arguing that it was bought honestly long after the Nazis stole it.
Enter WikiLeaks. According to the cables, the US Government offered to help Spain in its legal fight for the sunken treasure in return for Spanish assistance in recovering the Pissarro.
In the cables, the American ambassador suggested that the two countries "avail themselves of whatever margin for manoeuvre they had, consistent with their legal obligations, to resolve both matters in a way that favoured the bilateral relationship".
It is not known if such a swap was offered. But the possibility quickly became cannon fodder for the undersea archaeology company, which is using the alleged collusion between the two governments to bolster its case before a US appeals court.
"The possibility that someone in the US Government came up with this perfidious offer to sacrifice Odyssey, its thousands of shareholders, and the many jobs created by the company in exchange for the return of one painting to one individual is hard to believe," Odyssey's chief executive, Greg Stemm, said when the cables were published in December.
Odyssey does not believe there is enough evidence to establish that the treasure came from Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which was attacked by British ships, drawing Spain into the Napoleonic Wars. It simply refers to the wreck by a code-name, Black Swan. But even if the Black Swan is the Mercedes, the company believes it still has a right to the treasure.
Mercedes, Odyssey argues, was carrying out a commercial mission, and the bulk of the silver coins belonged to merchants, not the Spanish state. Under US law, foreign states have the right to claim only military wrecks, the company claims.
Spain's legal counsel, James Goold, of the Washington firm Covington & Burling, rejects that claim - "it's like claiming the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbour was a merchant ship" - and accuses the company of thwarting UN conventions on protecting undersea heritage.
"They didn't seek authorisation or report the ship," Goold told the Independent. "Instead they grabbed as many coins as possible and concocted a cover story that they didn't know what ship it was."
According to Goold, Odyssey's own videos, presented as evidence, demonstrate that the ship is the Spanish frigate. "There were Spanish navy cannons, swords, small arms, the rudder, everything just like you see at the Naval Museum in Madrid, but Odyssey didn't recover it," Goold said.
"They just took the coins and claimed it was a mystery ship with no intact hull found. But it wasn't intact because it blew up."
The Spanish Government, meanwhile, has treated the company like modern-day pirates. Spanish police blocked Odyssey's ship when it left port at Gibraltar, searched the cargo and jailed the captain overnight.
Stemm of Odyssey said he was surprised by the hostile treatment. "We had a good relationship with the Spanish Government," he said. "We actually invited the Ministry of Culture to send archaeologists along with the project."
The sunken treasure caper has sparked debate in Spain about how to keep thousands of other colonial-era shipwrecks from private hands. A national environmentalist group, Ecologists in Action, petitioned Spain's Culture Ministry to recover all the sunken treasures, place the best artefacts in museums and auction the rest - with proceeds going to Latin America's indigenous peoples.
But it is hard for struggling governments like Spain's to afford the technology to compete with a company like Odyssey, which trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange and which has, says Stemm, invested US$150 million in developing its technology.
With unmanned robots reaching record depths throughout the world, archaeologists are increasingly concerned how best to preserve underwater heritage. Unesco says more than 160 large shipwrecks have been commercially exploited since the 1980s.
In 2001, Unesco drafted a convention to protect wreck sites. It recommends preservation of objects in their original locations and bans trade or speculation in artefacts.
Odyssey takes pains to distance itself from "treasure hunters" who, as Stemm puts it, "tear apart shipwrecks in search of treasure without any regard to the archaeological and historical importance of the site".
The company points to HMS Victory as an example of its illuminating power. After an agreement with the British Government, the company searched for the 18th century predecessor to Lord Nelson's flagship, considered the largest and most sophisticated of its day. In 2008, Odyssey's crew found the wreck in the English Channel, about 100km from where it was thought to have gone down with 900 souls, 110 bronze cannons and £400,000. "It solved a long-standing naval mystery," Stemm said. Stay tuned: the silver has yet to turn up.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Egypt's Cleopatra exhibit makes U.S. debut Feb. 18 in Cincinnati
Auctoin Central News: Egypt's Cleopatra exhibit makes U.S. debut Feb. 18 in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — The world of Cleopatra VII, which has been lost to the sea and sand for nearly 2,000 years, will surface at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal on Feb. 18, 2011 when “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” opens its doors.
Cincinnati was selected as the second stop in the world for the exhibition, which will remain on view through Sept. 5. The exhibition features nearly 150 artifacts from Cleopatra’s time and takes visitors inside the present-day search for the elusive queen, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria.
The exhibition is organized by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). It features statuary, jewelry, daily items, coins and religious tokens that archaeologists have uncovered from the time surrounding Cleopatra’s rule, all of which are visiting the United States for the first time. An original papyrus document from Cleopatra’s time containing an inscription that scientists believe was written in Cleopatra’s own hand will also be on display.
After Egypt succumbed to Roman forces and Cleopatra famously took her own life following the suicide of her lover Mark Antony, the Romans attempted to wipe her legacy from the pages of history. Cleopatra thus has remained one of history’s greatest enigmas, and her final resting place is one of Egypt’s great unsolved mysteries. The artifacts in this exhibition are woven into the story of her rule and life in ancient Egypt during her dynasty (Ptolemaic period). The story of her life and time unfolds in a dramatic setting with high-definition multimedia and original soundscapes. Each guest receives an audio tour with admission that provides a rich background to the featured artifacts.
Visitors to the exhibition follow the modern-day parallel stories of two ongoing expeditions being led in Egypt by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s pre-eminent archaeologist and secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Franck Goddio, French underwater archaeologist and director of IEASM. Goddio’s search has resulted in one of the most ambitious underwater expeditions ever undertaken, which has uncovered Cleopatra’s royal palace and the two ancient cities of Canopus and Heracleion, which until 10 years ago had been lost beneath the sea after a series of earthquakes and tidal waves nearly 2,000 years ago.
On land, Hawass and a team of archaeologists are searching for the tomb of the ill-fated lovers Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Never-before-seen artifacts referencing Cleopatra, excavated by Hawass’ team at the temple of Taposiris Magna, about 30 miles west of Alexandria, are featured.
“Queen Cleopatra has captured the hearts of people all over the world. Remembered as a beautiful, charismatic and powerful woman, many things about her life are still shrouded in mystery. In 2005, we began to search for the tomb where she was buried with her lover, Mark Antony, which we believe was in an ancient temple near Alexandria,” said Hawass. “So far, we have found coins, statues and even shafts that are leading us closer to what would be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. This exhibition, which includes objects found in our current excavations, will give the American people the chance to learn about our search for Cleopatra, and will share with them the magic of this fascinating queen.”
The exhibition also showcases artifacts from Goddio’s continuing underwater search off the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, begun in 1992. Goddio’s remarkable finds bring visitors inside his search for the lost world of Cleopatra, including remnants from the grand palace where she ruled. Visitors also see underwater footage and photos of Goddio’s team retrieving artifacts from the ocean and bringing them to the surface for the first time in centuries.
Cleopatra, the last great pharaoh before Egypt succumbed to Roman opposition, lived from 69-30 B.C., with a rule that was marked with political intrigue and challenges to her throne. She captivated two of the most powerful men of her day, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as she attempted to restore Egypt to its former superpower status.
The nearly 150 artifacts in the exhibition – from the smallest gold pieces and coins to colossal statues – provide a window into Cleopatra’s story as well as the daily lives of her contemporaries, both powerful and humble. The artifacts weigh in at about 30 tons in total, including two colossal 16-foot granite statues of a Ptolemaic king and queen from the 4th – 3rd centuries B.C., pulled from the sea by Goddio’s team.
Visit the web page for absolutely cool photos of the treasures - underwater. A sight you will not see when you visit the musuem.
CINCINNATI — The world of Cleopatra VII, which has been lost to the sea and sand for nearly 2,000 years, will surface at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal on Feb. 18, 2011 when “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” opens its doors.
Cincinnati was selected as the second stop in the world for the exhibition, which will remain on view through Sept. 5. The exhibition features nearly 150 artifacts from Cleopatra’s time and takes visitors inside the present-day search for the elusive queen, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria.
The exhibition is organized by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). It features statuary, jewelry, daily items, coins and religious tokens that archaeologists have uncovered from the time surrounding Cleopatra’s rule, all of which are visiting the United States for the first time. An original papyrus document from Cleopatra’s time containing an inscription that scientists believe was written in Cleopatra’s own hand will also be on display.
After Egypt succumbed to Roman forces and Cleopatra famously took her own life following the suicide of her lover Mark Antony, the Romans attempted to wipe her legacy from the pages of history. Cleopatra thus has remained one of history’s greatest enigmas, and her final resting place is one of Egypt’s great unsolved mysteries. The artifacts in this exhibition are woven into the story of her rule and life in ancient Egypt during her dynasty (Ptolemaic period). The story of her life and time unfolds in a dramatic setting with high-definition multimedia and original soundscapes. Each guest receives an audio tour with admission that provides a rich background to the featured artifacts.
Visitors to the exhibition follow the modern-day parallel stories of two ongoing expeditions being led in Egypt by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s pre-eminent archaeologist and secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Franck Goddio, French underwater archaeologist and director of IEASM. Goddio’s search has resulted in one of the most ambitious underwater expeditions ever undertaken, which has uncovered Cleopatra’s royal palace and the two ancient cities of Canopus and Heracleion, which until 10 years ago had been lost beneath the sea after a series of earthquakes and tidal waves nearly 2,000 years ago.
On land, Hawass and a team of archaeologists are searching for the tomb of the ill-fated lovers Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Never-before-seen artifacts referencing Cleopatra, excavated by Hawass’ team at the temple of Taposiris Magna, about 30 miles west of Alexandria, are featured.
“Queen Cleopatra has captured the hearts of people all over the world. Remembered as a beautiful, charismatic and powerful woman, many things about her life are still shrouded in mystery. In 2005, we began to search for the tomb where she was buried with her lover, Mark Antony, which we believe was in an ancient temple near Alexandria,” said Hawass. “So far, we have found coins, statues and even shafts that are leading us closer to what would be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. This exhibition, which includes objects found in our current excavations, will give the American people the chance to learn about our search for Cleopatra, and will share with them the magic of this fascinating queen.”
The exhibition also showcases artifacts from Goddio’s continuing underwater search off the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, begun in 1992. Goddio’s remarkable finds bring visitors inside his search for the lost world of Cleopatra, including remnants from the grand palace where she ruled. Visitors also see underwater footage and photos of Goddio’s team retrieving artifacts from the ocean and bringing them to the surface for the first time in centuries.
Cleopatra, the last great pharaoh before Egypt succumbed to Roman opposition, lived from 69-30 B.C., with a rule that was marked with political intrigue and challenges to her throne. She captivated two of the most powerful men of her day, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as she attempted to restore Egypt to its former superpower status.
The nearly 150 artifacts in the exhibition – from the smallest gold pieces and coins to colossal statues – provide a window into Cleopatra’s story as well as the daily lives of her contemporaries, both powerful and humble. The artifacts weigh in at about 30 tons in total, including two colossal 16-foot granite statues of a Ptolemaic king and queen from the 4th – 3rd centuries B.C., pulled from the sea by Goddio’s team.
Visit the web page for absolutely cool photos of the treasures - underwater. A sight you will not see when you visit the musuem.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Treasure hunters eye underwater cultural heritage in Mexico
Treasure hunters eye underwater cultural heritage in Mexico
Hundreds of sunken boats and thousands of other items lying hidden in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and cave pools, which make up part of Mexico's cultural heritage each year, are the much-desired booty of marine treasure hunters.
According to Pilar Luna, a pioneer of marine archaeology in Mexico, there are up to 250 sunken boats registered in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. But it is estimated that there are thousands of vessels, both large and small, that sank off the country's coasts.
In addition, some 30 areas of items have been tallied in cenotes and sunken caves, where ancient civilizations like the Maya deposited bodies, personal objects, and food in conducting their spiritual rituals.
The treasures of Mexico are exposed to looting by adventurers who erase the traces of the country's forebears, said Pilar Luna, an expert with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), who has devoted over 30 years of work to the investigation and preservation of underwater cultural heritage.
The boats that sank in Mexico belonged to the series of fleets that, starting in the 16th century, were used by the colonisers to transport people and merchandise from the New World to Spain.
These vessels were mainly loaded with cargos of gold, silver, and precious stones that the colonies sent to Madrid as a tribute to offset the expenses of the Spanish monarchy.
"The interests have not changed. It continues to be the precious metals that are pursued by treasure hunters at any cost and by those who forget that, beyond their economic value, it is history and culture," Luna said. Since 1970s, INAH has declined over 30 requests to do salvage work on sunken vessels that have been found in Mexican waters.
One of those requests came from Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., which became famous in 2007 after salvaging $500 million in gold and silver coins from the wreck of a Spanish ship that sank in an 1804 battle off the coast of Portugal, though US courts must still decide whether the treasure rightfully belongs to the firm or to the Spanish government.
In Mexico, Odyssey intended to explore the Nuestra Señora del Juncal, a galleon that sank in 1631 in the Bay of Campeche while en route to Spain as part of a fleet comprising 18 other vessels.
The Juncal is one of the vessels most sought after by underwater salvage firms because it is the first in the country for which it is known for certain that there is a cargo of treasure within the wreck.
According to the magazine Arqueologia Mexicana, that fleet set sail from the Port of San Juan de Ulua, in Veracruz, bearing a cargo of silver, silk, leather, precious woods and chocolate.
Fortunately, Luna said, it is getting more and more difficult for "marine adventurers" to be successful thanks to treaties such as the 2001 U.N. Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
The lack of economic resources and the unawareness of tourists who destroy and steal part of the artifacts are another threat to the conservation of Mexico's submerged cultural wealth, Luna said.
Hundreds of sunken boats and thousands of other items lying hidden in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and cave pools, which make up part of Mexico's cultural heritage each year, are the much-desired booty of marine treasure hunters.
According to Pilar Luna, a pioneer of marine archaeology in Mexico, there are up to 250 sunken boats registered in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. But it is estimated that there are thousands of vessels, both large and small, that sank off the country's coasts.
In addition, some 30 areas of items have been tallied in cenotes and sunken caves, where ancient civilizations like the Maya deposited bodies, personal objects, and food in conducting their spiritual rituals.
The treasures of Mexico are exposed to looting by adventurers who erase the traces of the country's forebears, said Pilar Luna, an expert with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), who has devoted over 30 years of work to the investigation and preservation of underwater cultural heritage.
The boats that sank in Mexico belonged to the series of fleets that, starting in the 16th century, were used by the colonisers to transport people and merchandise from the New World to Spain.
These vessels were mainly loaded with cargos of gold, silver, and precious stones that the colonies sent to Madrid as a tribute to offset the expenses of the Spanish monarchy.
"The interests have not changed. It continues to be the precious metals that are pursued by treasure hunters at any cost and by those who forget that, beyond their economic value, it is history and culture," Luna said. Since 1970s, INAH has declined over 30 requests to do salvage work on sunken vessels that have been found in Mexican waters.
One of those requests came from Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., which became famous in 2007 after salvaging $500 million in gold and silver coins from the wreck of a Spanish ship that sank in an 1804 battle off the coast of Portugal, though US courts must still decide whether the treasure rightfully belongs to the firm or to the Spanish government.
In Mexico, Odyssey intended to explore the Nuestra Señora del Juncal, a galleon that sank in 1631 in the Bay of Campeche while en route to Spain as part of a fleet comprising 18 other vessels.
The Juncal is one of the vessels most sought after by underwater salvage firms because it is the first in the country for which it is known for certain that there is a cargo of treasure within the wreck.
According to the magazine Arqueologia Mexicana, that fleet set sail from the Port of San Juan de Ulua, in Veracruz, bearing a cargo of silver, silk, leather, precious woods and chocolate.
Fortunately, Luna said, it is getting more and more difficult for "marine adventurers" to be successful thanks to treaties such as the 2001 U.N. Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
The lack of economic resources and the unawareness of tourists who destroy and steal part of the artifacts are another threat to the conservation of Mexico's submerged cultural wealth, Luna said.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
NOAA, Partners, Launch New Website Highlighting African-American Maritime Heritage
NOAA: NOAA, Partners, Launch New Website Highlighting African-American Maritime Heritage
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with Murrain Associates, Inc., and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), today launched Voyage to Discovery, a new website and education initiative highlighting untold stories of African-Americans and the sea.
Aimed at everyone from students to adults, the Voyage to Discovery website offers feature stories, interviews, and videos about African-American seafaring achievements since the period of pre-Civil War to today. Information about marine careers will also be available.
The website is part of a broader NOAA initiative to build public awareness about the legacy of African-American maritime heritage and engage a broad spectrum of Americans in the stewardship of the country’s coastal and ocean resources through education, archaeology, science and underwater exploration.
Daniel J. Basta, director, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said the Voyage to Discovery education initiative honors African-Americans’ deep connection to the sea and highlights the continuing, historic role of the ocean in the security, stability and prosperity of the nation.
“Our economy and way of life are inextricably linked to the health and productivity of the global ocean,” Basta said. “Through this initiative, African-American youth can learn about their maritime heritage and the various educational and career opportunities that exist in the 21st century global economy.”
Michael H. Cottman, a NABS member and author of The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie, said he hopes Voyage to Discovery will inspire young adults to identify with their maritime roots and consider careers in marine science and oceanography.
“Minorities are the fastest growing population in the country, but are vastly underrepresented in science and technology fields,” Cottman said. “In order for the U.S. to maintain its competitive edge, the future workforce will need to draw on the minds and talents of all its citizens.”
As far back as the American Revolution, blacks have been involved in virtually every aspect of maritime work. Despite an uncertain and sometimes dangerous racial climate, blacks worked as skippers and captains as well as whalers, lobstermen and fishermen. They also managed lighthouses, steered paddleboats and warships, along with owning sea industry businesses. The Underground Railroad used ships to spirit slaves to freedom, and black mariners helped shaped the identity of free black communities.
Among the people profiled on the website:
Captain Absalom Boston, a free black born in 1785 who led an all-black crew aboard the whaling schooner Industry and amassed substantial real estate holdings.
Robert Smalls, a slave who became a Civil War hero in the Union Navy and served as a congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction.
Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields, the first African-American and first woman to become director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officers Corps, the nation’s seventh uniformed service.
Bill Murrain, founder of Murrain Associates, said the ocean and marine environment provides a wealth of services that are vital to communities nationwide.
“The rich, untold history that is chronicled throughout this project is a reminder that all of us have a responsibility to keep our ocean and waterways healthy so future generations will continue to reap the benefits,” he said.
The National Association of Black Scuba Divers was established in 1991 to foster camaraderie among black divers and to address the unique problems and concerns of the African-American community. The organization has more than 2,000 members across the country and internationally. Membership is open to anyone regardless of race, color, gender, physical challenges or diving agency affiliation.
Murrain Associates Inc. is a management consulting firm with a focus on strategic planning, project evaluation, community development, health services planning, assessment and management. Murrain Associates consists of three members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers who have shared experiences in marine biology, marine archaeology, slave ship exploration, history, law, journalism and marketing. The founder of Murrain Associates is Bill Murrain, a lawyer based in Atlanta, Ga.
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries manages a system of 14 marine protected areas covering more than 150,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters. The Maritime Heritage program promotes appreciation and protection of the country’s maritime heritage resources including historic shipwrecks and prehistoric archaeological sites, archival documents, oral histories, and traditional seafaring and ecological knowledge of indigenous cultures.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us online and on Facebook.
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with Murrain Associates, Inc., and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), today launched Voyage to Discovery, a new website and education initiative highlighting untold stories of African-Americans and the sea.
Aimed at everyone from students to adults, the Voyage to Discovery website offers feature stories, interviews, and videos about African-American seafaring achievements since the period of pre-Civil War to today. Information about marine careers will also be available.
The website is part of a broader NOAA initiative to build public awareness about the legacy of African-American maritime heritage and engage a broad spectrum of Americans in the stewardship of the country’s coastal and ocean resources through education, archaeology, science and underwater exploration.
Daniel J. Basta, director, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said the Voyage to Discovery education initiative honors African-Americans’ deep connection to the sea and highlights the continuing, historic role of the ocean in the security, stability and prosperity of the nation.
“Our economy and way of life are inextricably linked to the health and productivity of the global ocean,” Basta said. “Through this initiative, African-American youth can learn about their maritime heritage and the various educational and career opportunities that exist in the 21st century global economy.”
Michael H. Cottman, a NABS member and author of The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie, said he hopes Voyage to Discovery will inspire young adults to identify with their maritime roots and consider careers in marine science and oceanography.
“Minorities are the fastest growing population in the country, but are vastly underrepresented in science and technology fields,” Cottman said. “In order for the U.S. to maintain its competitive edge, the future workforce will need to draw on the minds and talents of all its citizens.”
As far back as the American Revolution, blacks have been involved in virtually every aspect of maritime work. Despite an uncertain and sometimes dangerous racial climate, blacks worked as skippers and captains as well as whalers, lobstermen and fishermen. They also managed lighthouses, steered paddleboats and warships, along with owning sea industry businesses. The Underground Railroad used ships to spirit slaves to freedom, and black mariners helped shaped the identity of free black communities.
Among the people profiled on the website:
Captain Absalom Boston, a free black born in 1785 who led an all-black crew aboard the whaling schooner Industry and amassed substantial real estate holdings.
Robert Smalls, a slave who became a Civil War hero in the Union Navy and served as a congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction.
Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields, the first African-American and first woman to become director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officers Corps, the nation’s seventh uniformed service.
Bill Murrain, founder of Murrain Associates, said the ocean and marine environment provides a wealth of services that are vital to communities nationwide.
“The rich, untold history that is chronicled throughout this project is a reminder that all of us have a responsibility to keep our ocean and waterways healthy so future generations will continue to reap the benefits,” he said.
The National Association of Black Scuba Divers was established in 1991 to foster camaraderie among black divers and to address the unique problems and concerns of the African-American community. The organization has more than 2,000 members across the country and internationally. Membership is open to anyone regardless of race, color, gender, physical challenges or diving agency affiliation.
Murrain Associates Inc. is a management consulting firm with a focus on strategic planning, project evaluation, community development, health services planning, assessment and management. Murrain Associates consists of three members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers who have shared experiences in marine biology, marine archaeology, slave ship exploration, history, law, journalism and marketing. The founder of Murrain Associates is Bill Murrain, a lawyer based in Atlanta, Ga.
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries manages a system of 14 marine protected areas covering more than 150,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters. The Maritime Heritage program promotes appreciation and protection of the country’s maritime heritage resources including historic shipwrecks and prehistoric archaeological sites, archival documents, oral histories, and traditional seafaring and ecological knowledge of indigenous cultures.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us online and on Facebook.
Experts race the clock to preserve N.C. shipwreck
Pilot Online: Experts race the clock to preserve N.C. shipwreck
HATTERAS
After enduring some 400 years buried beneath the Corolla surf, the oldest shipwreck yet found in North Carolina sits on concrete drying and cracking in the Outer Banks elements.
Experts are scrambling to figure out how best to save it: Submerge it in regular baths, soak it for years in a substance also used in antifreeze, coat it in sugar water, saturate it with an expensive silicone oil or freeze-dry it. Or maybe some combination.
“I’m not going to get a second chance on this,” said Joe Schwarzer, director of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and the state’s maritime museums. “I’ve got to do it right the first time. If we fail, I’d like to know it was an informed failure.”
Advice is coming from several sources, including scientists working on remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge that Blackbeard commanded and the Civil War-era warship Monitor.
Experts at East Carolina University are investigating the wreck in Corolla to determine what ship it was and how best to preserve it.
Eric Nordgren, a conservator with the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, plans to learn more about protecting ancient waterlogged wood while on a trip to England.
“It takes a lot of time and resources to preserve a shipwreck,” Nordgren said, adding that funding is limited.
It may be that the 12-ton remains of the shipwreck might be better off outside, sitting on a concrete apron just outside the museum’s back door, Schwarzer said.
Schwarzer said he is using one short, thick beam to see which is better: indoor or outdoor storage. So far, the beam inside a climate-controlled room also shows signs of deterioration, he said.
In November and December 2009, storms uncovered most of the wreck on the beach not far from the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
For years, beach combers Ray Midgett and Roger Harris had been using a metal detector around parts of the wreck sticking up from the sand. They found old coins from the early 1600s and other artifacts.
But once the wreck was exposed, the surf pounded it and carried it down the beach and back, breaking off parts.
Alarmed, Midgett began writing letters asking for help. With backing from state Sen. Marc Basnight, members of the Wildlife Resources Commission and volunteers used heavy equipment to drag the wreck to a lot near the lighthouse. In July, the wreck was moved to Hatteras.
“It’s very difficult, which is why we seldom recommend removing these things from the beach,” said Nathan Henry, lead conservator with the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch.
Henry recommended getting the entire 17-foot by 37-foot remains indoors.
But he acknowledged, “You could debate this all day.”
For instance, a shipwreck on display in the Town of Nags Head has been in the elements for more than 30 years without extensive deterioration. But in a humid climate, insects and mildew can take a toll, Henry said.
A long-term soaking in polyethylene glycol, known as PEG, may be the best technique available to preserve shipwreck lumber, Henry said.
Parts of the Queen Anne’s Revenge soak in large vats of PEG solution. Ideally, pieces brought out of the water are quickly submerged before they dry out. The technique would not be as effective with the Corolla shipwreck because it has already dried and cracked, he said.
PEG, a chemical used in a wide variety of products, including antifreeze and medicine, replaces the water in the soaked wood. It comes in a variety of forms from liquid to powder. Typically, the solution used for shipwrecks has the consistency of warm syrup, Nordgren said.
A shipwreck known as the Vasa in Sweden was sprayed with polyethelene glycol for many years. Later, curators discovered the presence of sulfuric acid within the wood that could cause deterioration. Experts are not certain how much PEG had to do with the formation of the acid, Nordgren said.
Ancient canoes saved from Lake Phelps in Washington County were soaked in a sugar water solution and have held up so far. There are some concerns, however, that in the wrong environment, sugar water could attract bacteria or insects, Nordgren said.
Some parts of old ships have been freeze-dried, but they should be treated first with PEG, Henry said. The trick is finding a freeze-drying machine large enough to handle the Corolla wreck, Nordgren said.
Silicone oil is one of the latest techniques developed for preserving wrecks, but treatments are typically used for small parts due to the cost. The silicone oil treatment, however, is irreversible, Nordgren said, and conservators would rather not use a treatment that is irreversible, since something better may come out later.
“If it doesn’t work, you’re out of luck,” he said.
Some wreck remains are bathed in fresh water to remove salt, Nordgren said. In that technique, the bath water should be changed regularly or the salt can crystallize and cause the wood to crumble.
Experts, with the aid of computer models, calculated that the ship found in Corolla was 110 feet long by 20 to 30 feet wide. It was broad and slower-moving and most likely used for hauling merchandise, Schwarzer said. Its 12-inch by 12-inch beams were made from European white oak, he said.
The wreck dates from the early to mid-1600s, making it the oldest among the hundreds of shipwrecks found on the North Carolina coast.
“If this ship were carrying a full load of cargo, it would have been a devastating loss to whoever was funding the ship,” Schwarzer said.
And now, Schwarzer and others are trying to make sure it isn’t lost again.
HATTERAS
After enduring some 400 years buried beneath the Corolla surf, the oldest shipwreck yet found in North Carolina sits on concrete drying and cracking in the Outer Banks elements.
Experts are scrambling to figure out how best to save it: Submerge it in regular baths, soak it for years in a substance also used in antifreeze, coat it in sugar water, saturate it with an expensive silicone oil or freeze-dry it. Or maybe some combination.
“I’m not going to get a second chance on this,” said Joe Schwarzer, director of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and the state’s maritime museums. “I’ve got to do it right the first time. If we fail, I’d like to know it was an informed failure.”
Advice is coming from several sources, including scientists working on remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge that Blackbeard commanded and the Civil War-era warship Monitor.
Experts at East Carolina University are investigating the wreck in Corolla to determine what ship it was and how best to preserve it.
Eric Nordgren, a conservator with the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, plans to learn more about protecting ancient waterlogged wood while on a trip to England.
“It takes a lot of time and resources to preserve a shipwreck,” Nordgren said, adding that funding is limited.
It may be that the 12-ton remains of the shipwreck might be better off outside, sitting on a concrete apron just outside the museum’s back door, Schwarzer said.
Schwarzer said he is using one short, thick beam to see which is better: indoor or outdoor storage. So far, the beam inside a climate-controlled room also shows signs of deterioration, he said.
In November and December 2009, storms uncovered most of the wreck on the beach not far from the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
For years, beach combers Ray Midgett and Roger Harris had been using a metal detector around parts of the wreck sticking up from the sand. They found old coins from the early 1600s and other artifacts.
But once the wreck was exposed, the surf pounded it and carried it down the beach and back, breaking off parts.
Alarmed, Midgett began writing letters asking for help. With backing from state Sen. Marc Basnight, members of the Wildlife Resources Commission and volunteers used heavy equipment to drag the wreck to a lot near the lighthouse. In July, the wreck was moved to Hatteras.
“It’s very difficult, which is why we seldom recommend removing these things from the beach,” said Nathan Henry, lead conservator with the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch.
Henry recommended getting the entire 17-foot by 37-foot remains indoors.
But he acknowledged, “You could debate this all day.”
For instance, a shipwreck on display in the Town of Nags Head has been in the elements for more than 30 years without extensive deterioration. But in a humid climate, insects and mildew can take a toll, Henry said.
A long-term soaking in polyethylene glycol, known as PEG, may be the best technique available to preserve shipwreck lumber, Henry said.
Parts of the Queen Anne’s Revenge soak in large vats of PEG solution. Ideally, pieces brought out of the water are quickly submerged before they dry out. The technique would not be as effective with the Corolla shipwreck because it has already dried and cracked, he said.
PEG, a chemical used in a wide variety of products, including antifreeze and medicine, replaces the water in the soaked wood. It comes in a variety of forms from liquid to powder. Typically, the solution used for shipwrecks has the consistency of warm syrup, Nordgren said.
A shipwreck known as the Vasa in Sweden was sprayed with polyethelene glycol for many years. Later, curators discovered the presence of sulfuric acid within the wood that could cause deterioration. Experts are not certain how much PEG had to do with the formation of the acid, Nordgren said.
Ancient canoes saved from Lake Phelps in Washington County were soaked in a sugar water solution and have held up so far. There are some concerns, however, that in the wrong environment, sugar water could attract bacteria or insects, Nordgren said.
Some parts of old ships have been freeze-dried, but they should be treated first with PEG, Henry said. The trick is finding a freeze-drying machine large enough to handle the Corolla wreck, Nordgren said.
Silicone oil is one of the latest techniques developed for preserving wrecks, but treatments are typically used for small parts due to the cost. The silicone oil treatment, however, is irreversible, Nordgren said, and conservators would rather not use a treatment that is irreversible, since something better may come out later.
“If it doesn’t work, you’re out of luck,” he said.
Some wreck remains are bathed in fresh water to remove salt, Nordgren said. In that technique, the bath water should be changed regularly or the salt can crystallize and cause the wood to crumble.
Experts, with the aid of computer models, calculated that the ship found in Corolla was 110 feet long by 20 to 30 feet wide. It was broad and slower-moving and most likely used for hauling merchandise, Schwarzer said. Its 12-inch by 12-inch beams were made from European white oak, he said.
The wreck dates from the early to mid-1600s, making it the oldest among the hundreds of shipwrecks found on the North Carolina coast.
“If this ship were carrying a full load of cargo, it would have been a devastating loss to whoever was funding the ship,” Schwarzer said.
And now, Schwarzer and others are trying to make sure it isn’t lost again.
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