BerNews (Bermuda): 150 Yr Old Wine Found in Shipwreck
The storm-tossed remains of an American Civil War blockade runner have yielded long-buried secrets to an international team of archaeologists working with Bermuda’s Department of Conservation Services.
A secret stash of wine, lodged inside the bow of the wreck of the Mary Celestia, which lies immediately offshore from the Fairmont Southampton Princess, has emerged from the sand and silt which had shrouded it since the ship struck the reef and sank on September 6, 1864. Five bottles of wine, still packed inside a wooden crate, remained corked with their liquid contents intact after 147 years underwater.
The top of the crate emerged from the sand inside the bow after a series of winter storms swept over the site in January 2011.
Dr. Philippe Rouja, Bermuda’s Custodian of Historic Wrecks, secured the bow of the wreck after recovering a loose bottle of wine, also still corked, and immediately reached out to colleagues at NOAA and the Waitt Foundation in order to create an expert team with experience in marine heritage management and the excavation of shipwrecks of this period to explore and potentially rescue this unique find.
The Bermuda Government has been working with these eminent institutions since 2009 in the formation of the Sargasso Sea Alliance – an Alliance dedicated to enhancing protection of the Sargasso Sea in which the islands of Bermuda lie.
The Waitt Foundation has underwritten the displacement costs of the initiative for all foreign partners as well as sending Dr. Dominique Rissolo, an archaeologist and executive director of the Waitt Institute, along with Joe Lepore, the Waitt Institute’s chief diver and head of ship operations, to aid in the exploration and recovery of the contents of Mary Celestia’s bow.
Photo below: Archaeologist James Delgado takes notes inside the bow of the Mary Celestia while excavating a sunken cargo of wine lost when the ship sank after hitting the reef.
Archaeologist Dr. James Delgado, the director of the Maritime Heritage Program in the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries of the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, joined by two NOAA team members, Tane Casserley and Wayne Lusardi, joined the rest of the team this past week to co-direct the project with Drs. Rouja and Rissolo.
Carefully removing all of the sand and silt from inside the broken but still intact bow of the wrecked blockade runner, the team exposed the wooden crate, intact wooden paneling and shelves, and a corroded metal wash basin rusted fast to the inside of the hull. As Dr. Delgado gently removed the silt from the crate with Dr. Rouja, the tops of the bottles inside slowly emerged with their corks still in place.
“The promise of the one bottle found this past January was realized in that moment,” said Dr. Rouja. “To reveal even more of this lost cargo standing lined up in their wooden crate as if they were waiting for their owner to return is a great reminder of how archaeology adds excitement and value to our shared historical narratives.
Mary Celestia is a wreck with historical significance to the United Kingdom, where she was built, Bermuda, where she operated out of and where she wrecked, and the United States, where she ran to as a blockade runner during the U.S. Civil War.
For the NOAA team, Mary Celestia had special importance. The joint heritage represented by this wreck is a direct link to NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in North Carolina and NOAA’s work to document and better understand and share the stories of the shipwrecks near the wreck of Monitor that speak to the Civil War, World War II, and the shipping that for centuries has been linked to this section of coast, an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
The ocean is a vast repository of human history, some of it encompassed in marine protected areas and sanctuaries. Our team was pleased to join this project to help protect and interpret our joint heritage that links this protected shipwreck sites in Bermuda to Wilmington, North Carolina and our nearby sanctuary.” said Dr. Delgado.
“After undergoing laboratory analysis and preservation treatment, the wine and our other finds will tell their story to Bermudians and the rest of the world thanks to modern science.”
The excavation also yielded the remains of leather shoes, rope, a hairbrush and the wooden form for a shoe. After clearing the bow and documenting the fragile wooden structure inside this area of the ship, the team replaced the sand to preserve the wood inside the now empty compartment.
The artifacts are in the conservation laboratory at the National Museum of Bermuda where the effort will shift to further study and preservation treatment.
Derrick Burgess, Minister of Public Works said: “This project is very exciting from so many perspectives – from an archeological point of view, for our local marine heritage and for the compelling story of days long past that will no doubt be of interest to our residents and visitors alike. And for this project to take place during the anniversary of the American Civil War is gives the discovery all the more resonance.”
This discovery in the bow of the Mary Celestia has yielded a long-lost secret in a box of wine stashed away from the ship’s cargo– a cargo at the time said to be nothing more than tinned meats. It compels researchers and scientists to take another look at the historical narrative surrounding one of Bermuda’s most iconic dive sites.
Mary Celestia is a compelling reminder of how the shattered iron bones of a wreck ravaged by time and elements can still connect us to the people of events of long ago.
I wonder who left that crate in the bow,” commented Dr. Rissolo, “and why. “ That question may forever remain unanswered. But what is clear is that while Mary Celestia may have yielded one of her secrets, she retains others in the form of questions about what type of wine is inside the bottles and where it came from. Scientists will now seek to answer those questions.
This project is being filmed by LookBermuda/LookFilms as part of their upcoming film about the Mary-Celestia and Blockade Running. As well as being broadcast in Bermuda and the US the film will be made available to the island schools via the LookBermuda Educational Media Foundation
Jean-Pierre Rouja from LookBermuda says: “This is by far our largest project to date for which we assembled a team from Bermuda, the US and the UK and captured incredible underwater footage which will really showcase this wreck and diving in Bermuda.”
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Old cannons in Polish underwater find
UPI.com: Old cannons in Polish underwater find
GDANSK, Poland, June 22 (UPI) -- Polish archaeologists say they've discovered more than 40 18th-century cast-iron naval guns on the floor of the Baltic Sea off the Polish port of Ustka.
Researchers have recovered 12 of the cannon so far, with four of them undergoing conservation treatment, Poland.pl reported Wednesday.
"So far we had no such object in our collection," Iwona Pomian, head of the Undersea Research Division of the Central Maritime Museum in Gdansk, said.
"Discovered guns were manufactured in Sweden in 1772 and served as ballast of a ship," Pomian said.
A ship belonging to the Maritime Institute in Gdansk discovered the guns at a depth of 135 feet during seafloor scanning in connection with the planned building of an offshore wind farm.
The recovered guns have been sent to the Central Maritime Museum in Gdansk.
GDANSK, Poland, June 22 (UPI) -- Polish archaeologists say they've discovered more than 40 18th-century cast-iron naval guns on the floor of the Baltic Sea off the Polish port of Ustka.
Researchers have recovered 12 of the cannon so far, with four of them undergoing conservation treatment, Poland.pl reported Wednesday.
"So far we had no such object in our collection," Iwona Pomian, head of the Undersea Research Division of the Central Maritime Museum in Gdansk, said.
"Discovered guns were manufactured in Sweden in 1772 and served as ballast of a ship," Pomian said.
A ship belonging to the Maritime Institute in Gdansk discovered the guns at a depth of 135 feet during seafloor scanning in connection with the planned building of an offshore wind farm.
The recovered guns have been sent to the Central Maritime Museum in Gdansk.
Documenting local ‘Shipwrecks’
PostStar.com: Documenting local ‘Shipwrecks’
Queensbury resident Bob Benway likes the thrill of the hunt.
He may not stalk big game animals in Africa, but he has pursued the hulking frames of vessels that lurk below the surface of Lake George.
The underwater photographer and videographer, along with Saratoga Springs underwater archeologist
Joseph Zarzynski, discuss their most captivating findings in "Lake George Shipwrecks and Sunken History," published by The History Press.
"Below the surface of picturesque Lake George are cultural resources that help tell the full history of the colonial soldiers, boaters, visitors and others that have lived here. Journals, diaries and primary literature can only tell part of the story," Zarzynski said.
"When you combine the results of underwater archaeological investigation with the known archival record, you get a much better understanding of the lake's bountiful chronicles ... and I think this enriches us as a people today."
Within the book's 160 pages, readers can glean
information on some of
the discoveries made by Bateaux Below, a non-profit organization which has been preserving shipwreck sites
in the lake for over 23 years.
The compilation of articles appeared in the Lake George Mirror from 2004 through last December.
Benway and Zarzynski first began investigating shipwrecks in Lake George after taking a three-day workshop on underwater archaeology in 1987.
A group of six from the class, including the two
authors, was interested in finding out more about the underwater history of the lake and formed Bateaux Below.
They eventually uncovered the 260 year-old Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck, a 52 foot-long British vessel outfitted with seven cannons, a discovery which Benway said was "extremely significant."
"It was the only vessel of her kind ever found. She's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also a National Historic Landmark, which is only one of six shipwrecks ever listed on that rating," he said.
Benway recalled being at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake in 1988 with Zarzynski while researching old newspaper clippings on bateaux, British transport vessels.
They found an article from July 1960 in which a couple of men, one of whom was a Pan Am pilot, launched a submarine in Lake George to go down and take photos of the then newly-discovered shipwrecks.
Benway said a picture showed the 14 foot-long, 3,700-pound submarine being lowered into the lake and towed to a dock on the east side.
The next day the men discovered that the submarine disappeared and that the tow lines had been cut.
Plane flyovers for weeks after yielded nothing.
"You just don't disappear with a 14-foot-long submarine that's painted bright
yellow. There's no way someone could have removed that sub without being seen," he said.
During a reconnaissance dive in 1995, the authors
uncovered the submarine, and though they record and document all of their finds, Benway declines to give information about their locations.
"We're protective of these wrecks. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the divers will not damage it, but there's that one-tenth of a percent that will," he said.
Benway said through "Lake George Shipwrecks" he wants readers to know about the lake's maritime history, lest it be lost forever.
"They're all great stories, and if no one knows they're out there, what good are the stories?" he said.
Queensbury resident Bob Benway likes the thrill of the hunt.
He may not stalk big game animals in Africa, but he has pursued the hulking frames of vessels that lurk below the surface of Lake George.
The underwater photographer and videographer, along with Saratoga Springs underwater archeologist
Joseph Zarzynski, discuss their most captivating findings in "Lake George Shipwrecks and Sunken History," published by The History Press.
"Below the surface of picturesque Lake George are cultural resources that help tell the full history of the colonial soldiers, boaters, visitors and others that have lived here. Journals, diaries and primary literature can only tell part of the story," Zarzynski said.
"When you combine the results of underwater archaeological investigation with the known archival record, you get a much better understanding of the lake's bountiful chronicles ... and I think this enriches us as a people today."
Within the book's 160 pages, readers can glean
information on some of
the discoveries made by Bateaux Below, a non-profit organization which has been preserving shipwreck sites
in the lake for over 23 years.
The compilation of articles appeared in the Lake George Mirror from 2004 through last December.
Benway and Zarzynski first began investigating shipwrecks in Lake George after taking a three-day workshop on underwater archaeology in 1987.
A group of six from the class, including the two
authors, was interested in finding out more about the underwater history of the lake and formed Bateaux Below.
They eventually uncovered the 260 year-old Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck, a 52 foot-long British vessel outfitted with seven cannons, a discovery which Benway said was "extremely significant."
"It was the only vessel of her kind ever found. She's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also a National Historic Landmark, which is only one of six shipwrecks ever listed on that rating," he said.
Benway recalled being at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake in 1988 with Zarzynski while researching old newspaper clippings on bateaux, British transport vessels.
They found an article from July 1960 in which a couple of men, one of whom was a Pan Am pilot, launched a submarine in Lake George to go down and take photos of the then newly-discovered shipwrecks.
Benway said a picture showed the 14 foot-long, 3,700-pound submarine being lowered into the lake and towed to a dock on the east side.
The next day the men discovered that the submarine disappeared and that the tow lines had been cut.
Plane flyovers for weeks after yielded nothing.
"You just don't disappear with a 14-foot-long submarine that's painted bright
yellow. There's no way someone could have removed that sub without being seen," he said.
During a reconnaissance dive in 1995, the authors
uncovered the submarine, and though they record and document all of their finds, Benway declines to give information about their locations.
"We're protective of these wrecks. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the divers will not damage it, but there's that one-tenth of a percent that will," he said.
Benway said through "Lake George Shipwrecks" he wants readers to know about the lake's maritime history, lest it be lost forever.
"They're all great stories, and if no one knows they're out there, what good are the stories?" he said.
With some virtual help, Key West diver finds valuable coin in ship wreckage
News-Press.com: With some virtual help, Key West diver finds valuable coin in ship wreckage
Soon after the 523-foot warship Hoyt S. Vandenberg was sunk as an artificial reef off Key West, documentary filmmaker Pat Clyne hid a $2,400 silver coin from the 17th-century aboard the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha.
Anyone finding the coin could keep it, and on Saturday, almost two years later, Key West diver Randy Pekarik found it in a corridor beneath the ship’s bridge at a depth of 97 feet.
To aid in the search, Clyne posted a series of clues on his YouTube site.
“I started following the clues, but it’s a huge ship,” said Pekarik, who made more than 30 dives looking for the coin. “Even though the first clues eliminated three-quarters of the ship, that’s still a humongous amount of ship. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Soon after the 523-foot warship Hoyt S. Vandenberg was sunk as an artificial reef off Key West, documentary filmmaker Pat Clyne hid a $2,400 silver coin from the 17th-century aboard the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha.
Anyone finding the coin could keep it, and on Saturday, almost two years later, Key West diver Randy Pekarik found it in a corridor beneath the ship’s bridge at a depth of 97 feet.
To aid in the search, Clyne posted a series of clues on his YouTube site.
“I started following the clues, but it’s a huge ship,” said Pekarik, who made more than 30 dives looking for the coin. “Even though the first clues eliminated three-quarters of the ship, that’s still a humongous amount of ship. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Monday, June 27, 2011
POW/MIA team finds potential underwater crash sites off Vietnam's coast
StarsandStripes: POW/MIA team finds potential underwater crash sites off Vietnam's coast
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A U.S. team charged with bringing home the remains of fallen servicemembers found several likely underwater crash sites off the coast of Vietnam in recent weeks, thanks in part to advances in sonar technology.
On Monday, a three-man team from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, wrapped up a 27-day mission to find Vietnam War casualties in Vietnam’s territorial waters, team leader Ron Ward told Stars and Stripes via telephone from Hanoi on Tuesday.
The team found the potential sites with help from the U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office and the USNS Bowditch, a survey vessel from the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The Bowditch is equipped with a multi-beam, wide-angle sonar system, which uses sound pulses to map the ocean floor at higher resolution and accuracy than past systems.
The military believes there are about 600 crash sites off the Vietnamese coast stemming from the war, Ward said.
The team, which also worked with the Vietnam's Office for Seeking Missing Persons, found potential crash sites in waters within 12 nautical miles of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang.
“It was a successful mission in terms of detecting anomalies on the seabed that we think might be associated with [servicemember] losses,” Ward said.
The preliminary data must now be analyzed by a JPAC forensic anthropologist. At promising sites, JPAC teams can use remote exploration vehicles or send divers to see what the sonar array detected.
The Navy first studied the prospect of recovering remains from underwater sites during the war, but ultimately decided against it, Ward said.
Advertisement“At the time, they concluded they didn’t have the technology,” he said.
The potential crash sites were generally no deeper than about 150 feet, Ward added.
The Bowditch underwater search is only the second of its kind. In 2009, the USNS Bruce C. Heezen conducted a similar operation, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
The U.S. and Vietnam have cooperated on 103 searches for prisoners-of-war and missing-in-action servicemembers since the 1980s, according to the embassy statement.
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A U.S. team charged with bringing home the remains of fallen servicemembers found several likely underwater crash sites off the coast of Vietnam in recent weeks, thanks in part to advances in sonar technology.
On Monday, a three-man team from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, wrapped up a 27-day mission to find Vietnam War casualties in Vietnam’s territorial waters, team leader Ron Ward told Stars and Stripes via telephone from Hanoi on Tuesday.
The team found the potential sites with help from the U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office and the USNS Bowditch, a survey vessel from the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The Bowditch is equipped with a multi-beam, wide-angle sonar system, which uses sound pulses to map the ocean floor at higher resolution and accuracy than past systems.
The military believes there are about 600 crash sites off the Vietnamese coast stemming from the war, Ward said.
The team, which also worked with the Vietnam's Office for Seeking Missing Persons, found potential crash sites in waters within 12 nautical miles of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang.
“It was a successful mission in terms of detecting anomalies on the seabed that we think might be associated with [servicemember] losses,” Ward said.
The preliminary data must now be analyzed by a JPAC forensic anthropologist. At promising sites, JPAC teams can use remote exploration vehicles or send divers to see what the sonar array detected.
The Navy first studied the prospect of recovering remains from underwater sites during the war, but ultimately decided against it, Ward said.
Advertisement“At the time, they concluded they didn’t have the technology,” he said.
The potential crash sites were generally no deeper than about 150 feet, Ward added.
The Bowditch underwater search is only the second of its kind. In 2009, the USNS Bruce C. Heezen conducted a similar operation, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
The U.S. and Vietnam have cooperated on 103 searches for prisoners-of-war and missing-in-action servicemembers since the 1980s, according to the embassy statement.
‘Ships from the Depths’ presents a unique view (Book Review)
GalvestonCOuntyDaily News: ‘Ships’ presents a unique view
Ships From The Depths: Deepwater Archaeology,” by Fredrik Søreide, Texas A&M University Press, 2010, 182 pages, $45.
+++
While Texas is associated with oil and cattle more than with ships and seafaring, Texas is home to one of the world’s leading centers for maritime archaeology — The Institute for Nautical Archeology at Texas A&M University.
This is not the only research center that focuses on underwater archaeology. During the last 50 years researchers worldwide have plumbed the oceans’ depths exploring the shipwrecks and other man-made artifacts on the ocean bottom.
The result has been a treasure trove of information that reveals shipbuilding throughout history and how people lived in earlier times.
What process was used to this information? “Ships From The Depths: Deepwater Archaeology,” by Fredrik Søreide, examines underwater archaeology, especially deepwater archaeology.
The book opens by spending a few pages defining the different types of maritime archaeology and differentiating between treasure hunting and research.
It follows this by describing the different tools used in deepwater archaeology.
A long chapter describes the history of deepwater archaeology. It covers a relatively short period — the first attempts started in the 1950s, and most of the work has been done during the last 30 years.
Yet “Ships From The Depths” reveals a large number of investigations have occurred over that brief time, at sites as diverse as Lake Ontario, the Mediterranean Sea, and in all of the major oceans.
Ironically, today’s litter becomes tomorrow’s window into the past. “Ships From The Depths” shows the amount of knowledge that can be extracted from humble pottery finds.
The final section presents the methods and procedures used in conducting a deepwater survey of an underwater find.
It outlines the process used to conduct an investigation. You are told how to survey an area to locate a shipwreck site, how to document the site before excavation and the proper steps to excavate a site.
This section seems intended as a textbook for an introductory course on marine archaeology. It also allows interested lay readers to vicariously participate in a deepwater dig.
This aspect is fostered by the book’s lavish illustrations. The numerous color and black-and-while photographs that highlight the text are informative and attractive. They take the reader inside the process.
The book is written in a dry, academic style some might find difficult. Yet it presents a unique view into an intriguing field of research.
“Ships From The Depths” will fascinate those with an interest in the sea and the history of the sea.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, amateur historian and model-maker, lives in League City.
Copyright 2011 The Galveston County Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ships From The Depths: Deepwater Archaeology,” by Fredrik Søreide, Texas A&M University Press, 2010, 182 pages, $45.
+++
While Texas is associated with oil and cattle more than with ships and seafaring, Texas is home to one of the world’s leading centers for maritime archaeology — The Institute for Nautical Archeology at Texas A&M University.
This is not the only research center that focuses on underwater archaeology. During the last 50 years researchers worldwide have plumbed the oceans’ depths exploring the shipwrecks and other man-made artifacts on the ocean bottom.
The result has been a treasure trove of information that reveals shipbuilding throughout history and how people lived in earlier times.
What process was used to this information? “Ships From The Depths: Deepwater Archaeology,” by Fredrik Søreide, examines underwater archaeology, especially deepwater archaeology.
The book opens by spending a few pages defining the different types of maritime archaeology and differentiating between treasure hunting and research.
It follows this by describing the different tools used in deepwater archaeology.
A long chapter describes the history of deepwater archaeology. It covers a relatively short period — the first attempts started in the 1950s, and most of the work has been done during the last 30 years.
Yet “Ships From The Depths” reveals a large number of investigations have occurred over that brief time, at sites as diverse as Lake Ontario, the Mediterranean Sea, and in all of the major oceans.
Ironically, today’s litter becomes tomorrow’s window into the past. “Ships From The Depths” shows the amount of knowledge that can be extracted from humble pottery finds.
The final section presents the methods and procedures used in conducting a deepwater survey of an underwater find.
It outlines the process used to conduct an investigation. You are told how to survey an area to locate a shipwreck site, how to document the site before excavation and the proper steps to excavate a site.
This section seems intended as a textbook for an introductory course on marine archaeology. It also allows interested lay readers to vicariously participate in a deepwater dig.
This aspect is fostered by the book’s lavish illustrations. The numerous color and black-and-while photographs that highlight the text are informative and attractive. They take the reader inside the process.
The book is written in a dry, academic style some might find difficult. Yet it presents a unique view into an intriguing field of research.
“Ships From The Depths” will fascinate those with an interest in the sea and the history of the sea.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, amateur historian and model-maker, lives in League City.
Copyright 2011 The Galveston County Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Team of archaeologists scour Escatawpa River floor for Moss Point's town cannon
The Republic (Columbus, IN): Team of archaeologists scour Escatawpa River floor for Moss Point's town cannon
MOSS POINT, Miss. — An expert in the field of underwater archaeology brought his state-of-the-art technology to the Escatawpa River recently to look for a "small" piece of artillery thought to be a mid-19th century cannon.
A grant from the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area and private donations made possible an extensive magnetometer survey directed by Michael K. Faught, a senior maritime archaeologist with Panamerican Consultants Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.
Newspaper accounts and oral history indicate Moss Point's town cannon was dumped in the river near and slightly north of the present-day downtown river walk and piers.
Dr. Chris Wiggins of Pascagoula is leading an effort to locate, raise and restore the cannon. A Jackson County orthopedic surgeon, he is president-elect of the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society.
"Tradition held that the cannon had been left over from the Civil War," Wiggins said. "Through the later part of the 19th century, it was fired at special town celebrations. However, after a premature detonation injured two teenagers in April 1864 [doubtless the article author means 1964] , it was thrown into the Escatawpa River where it has remained, all but forgotten."
Although the collected magnetic data has to be further processed and analyzed, initial findings did not disappoint.
"We obtained some very interesting hits with our equipment," Faught said. "Your waterway has been a busy little place over the years. But we definitely found one shipwreck, possibly a 19th century schooner, maybe another shipwreck, and one object that is most intriguing. We will have to process the data before we can come to any firm conclusions."
Using side scan sonar, Faught and his associate, underwater archaeologist James Duff, completed the Escatawpa River project in 3 hours. A 20-foot boat pulled the sonar equipment up and down the river while local society member Buck Redmond and a few other spectators watched.
"The magnetometer is towed back and forth over the designated area and measures magnetic fields, detects metal, not only underwater, but also under the silt bottom," Wiggins said. "It is towed well behind the boat because the boat itself has magnetic properties. We are hoping final results will show a metal signature that would be the cannon."
Data collected by computer equipment and software aboard the boat will be processed and prepared for the local Cannon Recovery Committee. The report will include the team's findings and provide exact Global Positioning System coordinates for all notable objects.
"Our goal is to locate and raise the cannon, then restore it and place it on display, probably right here on the riverbank," Wiggins said, "Not only is it a piece of long lost local history, but it will be an inspiration to others to pursue historical research."
MOSS POINT, Miss. — An expert in the field of underwater archaeology brought his state-of-the-art technology to the Escatawpa River recently to look for a "small" piece of artillery thought to be a mid-19th century cannon.
A grant from the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area and private donations made possible an extensive magnetometer survey directed by Michael K. Faught, a senior maritime archaeologist with Panamerican Consultants Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.
Newspaper accounts and oral history indicate Moss Point's town cannon was dumped in the river near and slightly north of the present-day downtown river walk and piers.
Dr. Chris Wiggins of Pascagoula is leading an effort to locate, raise and restore the cannon. A Jackson County orthopedic surgeon, he is president-elect of the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society.
"Tradition held that the cannon had been left over from the Civil War," Wiggins said. "Through the later part of the 19th century, it was fired at special town celebrations. However, after a premature detonation injured two teenagers in April 1864 [doubtless the article author means 1964] , it was thrown into the Escatawpa River where it has remained, all but forgotten."
Although the collected magnetic data has to be further processed and analyzed, initial findings did not disappoint.
"We obtained some very interesting hits with our equipment," Faught said. "Your waterway has been a busy little place over the years. But we definitely found one shipwreck, possibly a 19th century schooner, maybe another shipwreck, and one object that is most intriguing. We will have to process the data before we can come to any firm conclusions."
Using side scan sonar, Faught and his associate, underwater archaeologist James Duff, completed the Escatawpa River project in 3 hours. A 20-foot boat pulled the sonar equipment up and down the river while local society member Buck Redmond and a few other spectators watched.
"The magnetometer is towed back and forth over the designated area and measures magnetic fields, detects metal, not only underwater, but also under the silt bottom," Wiggins said. "It is towed well behind the boat because the boat itself has magnetic properties. We are hoping final results will show a metal signature that would be the cannon."
Data collected by computer equipment and software aboard the boat will be processed and prepared for the local Cannon Recovery Committee. The report will include the team's findings and provide exact Global Positioning System coordinates for all notable objects.
"Our goal is to locate and raise the cannon, then restore it and place it on display, probably right here on the riverbank," Wiggins said, "Not only is it a piece of long lost local history, but it will be an inspiration to others to pursue historical research."
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