Shipwrecks of the 19th and 20th Century

Expedition to positive identify the shipwreck of the Italian Regia Marina battleship Regina Margherita, sunk 11th November 1916 by the German minelayer submarine  UC 14 off the harbour of Valona (Albania). The expedition received the appointment and patronage of the Ministero degli Affari Esteri della Repubblica Italiana, Italian Embassy in Tirana and Italian Consulate in Valona.

Vom 4. bis 14. July 2014 fand eine Survey Expedition in Wilhelm Gustlof wrack statt, es war ein nazi-Kreuzerschiff von K.d.F. das wurde ein Kaserneschiff vom Kriegsmarine und am 30. Januar 1945 wurde vom sowietischen U Boot S-13 gesunken. Wilhelm Gustloff Wrack ist eine Erinnerung vor der grossen Seetragoedie der Geschichte und liegt in internazionale Wasser vor der Kuesten dem heutigen Poland, zwischen dem Stolpe-Bank und der danischen Insel Bornholm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfBtFVfWYNM

La Isla del Coco es un territorio insular costarricense que cuenta con la categoría de Parque Nacional, geográficamente abarca 2.400 Ha en la parte terrestre y 97.235 Ha en el sector marítimo. El interés científico que suscita, tradicionalmente,se ha centrado en el estudio de su biodiversidad, y específicamente en los valores que se obtienen de profundizar en su conocimiento biológico y ecológicocon proyectos destinados a su mejor gestión y conservación.Los estudios relacionados con el patrimonio cultural y específicamente el patrimonio subacuático de esta isla son relativamente recientes. A través de este trabajo, tratamos de dar a conocer los resultados obtenidos en la primera prospección arqueológica subacuática realizada en la Isla del Coco y la localización y estudio de uno de sus pecios, el tentativamente identificado como el SV Viduco.

Cocos Island is a Costa Rican island territory with the category of National Park, geographically it has 2,400 Ha in the land part and 97,235 Ha in the marine part. The scientific interest that arouses, traditionally, has focused on the study of its biodiversity, and specifically, in the values that it deepens in its biological and ecological knowledge for its better management and conservation, the studies related to the cultural heritage and specifically the underwater heritage of this island are relatively recent. Through this work, we try to share the results obtained in the first underwater archaeological survey conducted on Cocos Island and the location and study of one of its wrecks, the one tentatively identified as SV Viduco.

Naufrágio da fragata espanhola Numância (1916) e outros episódios marítimos com cidadãos espanhóis em Sesimbra.
Shipwreck of the Spanish frigate Numancia (1916) and other maritime episodes involving Spanish citizens in Sesimbra, including the arrest of the carrack S. Valentim (St. Valentine - 1602).

This paper discusses Belgian pressed glass made for export to India during the 19th and early 20th century, in particular from the Val Saint Lambert glass factory. The paper includes a description of the shipwreck of the Duke of Buccleuch, which sank in 1889 on it's way to India with a large cargo of Belgian pressed glass and ceramics for everydau use.

The wreck of the Italian Regia Marina submarine Scirè lies at a depth of 33 meters in Haifa Bay. The Scirè was sunk on 10 August 1942, at a time when Haifa was a harbor of the British Empire. She belonged to the Italian Navy Special Forces unit called X MAS (Decima MAS). This unit was the fiercest enemy of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and the Scirè was its spearhead. Using innovative underwater warfare in covert operations, the actions of the X MAS, particularly those of the Scirè in Gibraltar and Alexandria, made British harbors unsafe, at least until mid-1943.
This dissertation seeks to examine the main historical questions that still remain unsolved with respect to the final mission and sinking of the Scirè. These questions deal with the purpose and specific objectives of the Scirè in attacking Haifa; the way they fit the general strategy of the Regia Marina in the Mediterranean theater of naval war; her exact plans for the attack and her errors during the approach to the port; how the British discovered her mission and how the battle really took place. More generally, this dissertation will examine the story of the Italian Navy in World War II, and those of X MAS and of the Scirè before the S.L.1 mission against the harbor of Haifa.
The material aspects of the Scirè wreck have been surveyed, studied and documented by divers to obtain information and finds that assisted in reconstructing the primary cause of her sinking. This innovative project is a result of combining archival research with extensive underwater survey of a unique wreck of a World War II submarine, both for the methods and for the subject, since studies of contemporary steel shipwrecks are very recent and rare, especially in the Mediterranean Sea.
Altogether, by combining underwater research and archival studies within a multidisciplinary research context, a wider and more complete picture of this fascinating story has been obtained. This multidisciplinary method has provided an outstanding opportunity to verify the existing data, add more accurate details and significantly enlighten the importance historical military/naval event.
Finally, the study highlighted the importance of the Scirè wreck as a historical monument and the need to protect and manage it, encouraging bilateral agreements between Italy and Israel that meet this need.

La storia del sommergibile della X MAS Scirè e della spedizione della IANTD, guidata da Fabio Ruberti, con l'obbiettivo dello studio del relitto del glorioso relitto, medaglia d'oro alla bandiera.
http://www.iantdexpeditions.com/spedizioni/sc2008/index.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuOK7LTIdhE

Maritime activity in the Gulf of Mexico underwent a series of rapid and substantial changes throughout the 19th century. As territorial Florida opened to an influx of settlers, shipping increased dramatically, dominated by a new type of cargo, that of bulk commodities. A series of ports—among them St. Marks and Newport—were established along the St. Marks River to accommodate the expanding cotton, naval stores, and lumber trade. These towns became a communication and commercial nexus between territorial Florida and the industrial and economic centers of the rest of America and Europe. But with a suddenness matching its rise, this trade system would collapse in the St. Marks region, even while it continued to thrive elsewhere.

Sometime around the height of this maritime commerce, probably in the 1840s, a sailing merchant ship burned to the waterline near old Fort St. Marks. After the fire was extinguished, whatever cargo that survived was salvaged, and the hull itself was attacked in order to remove as many fasteners and fittings as possible. After this, she lay forgotten for over a century.

In March 1992, the site, designated the San Marcos Shipwreck (8WA501), was visited and mapped by students in the Florida State University (FSU) Department of Anthropology class ANT 4131: Techniques of Underwater Site Research. In the summer of 1998, FSU researchers returned to the site as part of the Clovis Underwater ’98 underwater archaeology field school. The extant hull remains were completely excavated and documented, and some 223 artifacts were recovered for analysis and conservation.
The purpose of this thesis is to present the results of the archaeological excavation and analysis of the San Marcos Shipwreck, and to place that data into a socio-historical context in order to gain insight into the emerging system of 19th century maritime commerce. The remains of this ship are a reflection of the cultural system that produced it, and of the activities and ideologies of a highly specialized traditional subculture, that of the sailing merchant seaman. As such, its study has provided information about general processes of human behavior in a setting of dynamic technological, social, and economic change.

Storia del Regio cacciatorpediniere Intrepido, affondato il 4 dicembre 1915 presso Punta Linguetta (Albania) dal sommergibile posamine tedesco UC 14, durante il servizio di scorta a un convoglio di trasporto truppe Italiane. Cronaca della spedizione di identificazione svolta dal  pochi mesi dopo il ritrovamento del relitto da parte di un membro della spedizione.
http://www.iantdexpeditions.com/spedizioni/in2007/in2007.htm

Storia del piroscafo Re Umberto e del suo affondamento avvenuto il 4 dicembre 1915 all'entrata del porto di Valona (Albania), del ritrovamento del suo relitto e della spedizione di identificazione e rilevamento svolta dalla IANTD dal  26 settembre al 3 ottobre 2007 con il patrocino dell’Istituto di Archeologia di Tirana.
http://www.iantdexpeditions.com/spedizioni/ru2007/ru2007.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6M-lDr4oQ

Many studies of maritime site formation processes have concentrated upon the various natural and to a lesser extent cultural processes physically impacting the remnants of the vessel (shipwreck) and closely associated artefacts, while ignoring wider influences that have resulted in the current archaeological records.  This chapter explores how cultural processes not only affect the transformation of a ship into a shipwreck site, but also how continuing human interactions can produce other archaeological sites that are equally important for understanding the archaeology of shipwrecks. In addition, we consider how wider cultural practices, systems and ideologies also warrant investigation when researching behavioural aspects of shipwreck site formation processes.

Spedizione nel Mar Baltico sul relitto del transatlantico nazista Wilhelm Gustloff affondato il 30 gennaio 1945 dal sommergibile sovietico S-13. Gli esploratori e ricercatori della IANTD guidati da Fabio Ruberti studieranno e cercheranno di svelare i misteri della nave che causo la più grande tragedia della storia della navigazione con oltre diecimila vittime.
http://www.iantdexpeditions.com/spedizioni/wg2004/wg2004.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfBtFVfWYNM

As part of the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project, in 2007 and 2009 LAMP (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum) undertook an archaeological investigation of a double shipwreck site (8SJ3310) off St. Augustine, Florida.  The two wrecks, one steam and one sail, are believed to date to the nineteenth century and are located adjacent to the historic inlet on what was known as the “North Breakers.”  While researchers in the 1990s were primarily interested in recording extant steam machinery, recent research has focused on the ballast pile situated just meters away.  In June and July 2009, a meter-wide trench was excavated across the ballast pile, exposing well-preserved and substantial hull remains but relatively few artifacts.  Over three tons of ballast stone were recovered, sampled, and returned to their original provenience on the seafloor.  This paper discusses the results of the 2009 investigation.

This paper deals with the ships which were sunk in the wider zone of the Belgrade aquatorium during April War 1941. Ships were sunk in the Danube, Sava and Kolubara river by the crews of the River Military Flotilla of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and by the civil crew of the Yugoslav River Navigation as well as one private shipping company, in order to prevent him being captured by the German army. Monitors and ships, mobilised for the needs of the River Flotilla were sunk after it had been ordered, while ships of the State River Navigation and towboat Deligrad, ownership of “Brodarstvo Blažek” from Belgrade, were sunk because their captains and the crews considered such act to be their patriotic duty. The work is based on the unpublished material from the Archive of the Museum of Science and Technology, Collection of the River Navigation, historiography literature and press.

This investigation into shipwrecks in the Port MacDonnell region addresses to what extent archaeological signatures inform the impact of shipwrecks, as processes and places, in the community and vice versa. A review of archaeological, archival and oral history data is undertaken to achieve several aims. These include identifying the remains of a wooden shipwreck seasonally exposed in the beach and a group of timbers located at the Port MacDonnell Maritime Museum. Also, the concept of shipwrecks as places in the landscape and local attitudes towards shipwrecks is explored. Finally, the impacts shipwrecks have on rural coastal communities is identified using a framework based around shipwreck response, exploitation and memorialisation landscapes. This research is archaeologically significant as it contributes to the theme of shipwrecks as places; an understudied area which has the potential to reveal meaningful interpretations about human behaviour. Furthermore, it is significant as the behaviours, attitudes and values of a community with a strong maritime identity and a history of responding to, exploiting and memorialising shipwrecks are recorded.

From the 4th to the 14th July 2014 a survey expedition  has taken place to study the wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the K.d.F. Nazi liner converted as a Kriegsmarine barrack ship and sunk on the 30th January 1995 by the Soviet subamarine S-13. The wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff rapresents the greatest sea tragedy with the lost of more than ten thousands lives. She lay in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfBtFVfWYNM

The Saint Nicholas Bay Shipwreck (SNBS) lies in 4 m of water near Chernomorets, Bulgaria. The wreck was studied in a rescue excavation in 2015. Design and construction point to the second half of the 19th century and Mediterranean European provenance. Analysis of fastenings attributes the ship’s origin to the Adriatic coast of the Austro-Hungarian Empire linking its construction with the prominent shipyard Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino. Archival research reveals that the wreck may be one of several vessels, built between 1863 and 1869. The SNBS provides a valuable perspective on the globalization of Black Sea seafaring during the ‘long 19th century’.

This paper is the synthesis of a research initiated in the 90s on the shipwreck of San Telmo, a Spanish 74-cannon warship that disappeared in 1819 South of Cape Horn on its voyage from Cádiz to Lima. Its purpose is to carry out a critical examination of the British sources referring to the voyages of the brig Williams and the testimonies of Captain William Smith in order to clarify the still unclear circumstances of one of the great shipwrecks of the Spanish Navy. It also aims, in the background, to shed light on historical events of major significance since they are linked to the discovery of Antarctica.

In 2005 the Texel diver club discovered an early 19th century shipwreck on the bottom of the Wadden Sea near the Dutch isle of Texel. It contained numerous artefacts, including lots of British earthenware. Based on various dated objects the ship most likely sank in 1822. Apart from many luxurious items, the cargo load also consisted of numerous tools meant for slave labour on the sugar plantations of the Dutch colonies of Surinam and Berbice. The ship never reached its tropical destiny, but the impressive inventory of this wreck remains as a unique time capsule of the colonial past of the Netherlands.

In this article the interesting assemblage of British transfer-printed pottery from the shipwreck is described.

We report on procedures and analyses undertaken in relation to the initial discovery, and the post-processing of data on the Saint Nicholas Bay Shipwreck, Chernomorets, Bulgaria. The methods applied include geophysical remote sensing, dendrochronological and anatomical analysis of ship’s timbers, RTI imagery for deciphering a series of illegible production stamps, and X-ray fluorescence analysis on non-ferrous fastenings. The above were crucial to the investigation, contributing to the discovery of the archaeological site, the establishing of its chronology and principal materials, and revealing of its association with the private Austro-Hungarian shipyard Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino. Thus a rare opportunity was created for further archival research to identify the Saint Nicholas Bay ship and unravel the history of her career and wrecking.

We wrześniu 2019 roku zakończył się grant Narodowego Centrum Nauki, realizowany przez Wydział Humanistyczny US, a poświęcony interdyscyplinarnym badaniom wraków odrzańskich. Wykazały one, że Dolna Odra jest akwenem nadzwyczaj zasobnym w zatopione pamiątki przeszłości.

Keywords: Akko 1 shipwreck Brass case Brass–iron–wood system Flintlock musket Galvanic corrosion a b s t r a c t A flintlock musket and a brass case with two nails attached, were retrieved from the Akko 1 shipwreck, dated to the early 19th century, and studied using metallurgical analysis. Both artefacts were covered with encrustation and concretion. The iron musket barrel and the iron nails did not survive; only corrosion products and oxides were left of them. The brass case, the brass musket ramrod pipe, and the wood texture were well preserved. In both artefacts the iron was sacrificed to protect the brass. This information may assist in future conservation of similar objects.

This paper provides the results of research into the shipwreck landscapes of Port MacDonnell, South Australia. The aim of the research is to offer a framework for assessing the impact on communities and vice versa. It presents a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings to this study and some previous case studies using other frameworks that are relevant. It also provides an analysis of the methodological approach to documenting the myriad ways in which shipwrecks impact on historical and contemporary society. Finally, the results of the research conducted at Port MacDonnell in 2011 will be summarised and incorporated into a framework that includes three identified shipwreck landscape themes: response, exploitation and memorialisation.

Report to the Explorers Club (N.Y.) of the flag N° 176 expedition to identify and survey the shipwreck of the WWII Italian Regia Marina troop carrier Monrosa, sunk on the 25th October 1941 on her route from the Pireo harbour (Greece) to Crete by the British submarine HMS Triumph.

In the Cedynia-Gozdowice-Siekierki Region of National Remembrance (Gryfino county, Poland) a wreck of a military boat was discovered in 2015. The boat was identified as an element of light pontoon bridge park NLP, used by Red Army and Polish People’s Army during World War II. The boat sank in Odra (Oder) river, probably during the fights with Nazi German troops in 1945.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement's (BOEMRE) Environmental Studies Program has funded more than $750 million in environmental studies since 1973 to support decisionmaking as it relates to offshore oil and gas and most recently, renewable energy production. Each regional office within the agency developed its own studies program to support environmental research for information needs specific to that region. The regions' studies programs evolve as new information needs and environmental concerns arise. The Gulf of Mexico Region's (GOMR) Environmental Studies Program funds studies related to air quality, biology, protected species, physical oceanography, oil spills, socioeconomics, and marine archaeology as well as other topics. This paper will discuss BOEMRE's Environmental Studies Program in the GOMR and highlight studies that focused on or included a marine archaeology component to illustrate how science is used to inform decisionmaking and ensure that industry activities do not impact sensitive resources. It will also discuss the program's continual evolution in response to changing information needs such as studying the impacts from the Macondo oil spill. Study results aid in the analyses incorporated into our environmental impact statements and environmental assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and the development of survey requirements. Study results are also used to create or modify environmental mitigations that may be assigned to permits as a condition of approval where sensitive features such as live-bottom habitats, chemosynthetic communities, or archaeological resources could potentially be impacted by industry activities. The BOEMRE's Environmental Studies Program and the results of agency-funded environmental studies as they relate to analyses and management of offshore resources have not been previously presented at OTC. This paper will inform industry about the Environmental Studies Program and how study results are used to support agency decisionmaking. Introduction In 1973, the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) was developed to support the oil and gas leasing program administered by the US Department of the Interior (DOI). The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of 1953 as amended, authorized the program and established its goals, while the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) imparted additional statutory authority. The goals of the ESP, provided in Section 20 of OCSLA, are to:

Seconda spedizione di rilevamento archeologico sul relitto del sommergibile della Regia Marina Scirè, affondato il 10 agosto 1942 di fronte al porto di Haifa nell'allora Palestina Mandataria Britannica, oggi Israele. Con il patrocinio del Ministero degli Affari esteri della Repubblica Italiana e dell'Associazione Nazionale Arditi Incursori Marina della Marina Militare Italiana.

Dal 20 al 28 giugno 2009 si è svolta la terza spedizione archeologica della IANTD sul relitto della Szent Istvàn su incarico del Mistero della Cultura Croato. Come è noto la corazzata Santo Stefano, Szent Istvàn in ungherese, fu affondata dai MAS del Comandante Rizzo il 10 giugno 1918 di fronte all’isola di Premuda. L’importante relitto è sottoposto alla attenta tutela del Governo Croato il quale, dando seguito alla quindicennale collaborazione con la IANTD, ha stipulato un nuovo accordo pluriennale del quale questa spedizione è il primo atto. Con il patrocinio del Restauroski Zavod Ministartvo Kulture Republika Hrvtska.

The interdisciplinary project "Underwater Ethnoarchaeology of the Lower Oder. Preliminary Research on Wrecks in Selected Sections of the River" (grant no. 2018/02/X/HS3/00475 funded by the National Science Centre, Poland) was concluded in September 2019. It consisted of gathering information about the wrecks during ethnological fieldwork and then verifying them, using techniques typical for underwater archaeology. The main goal of the project was to recognize the potential of the resources of underwater cultural heritage in the lower course of the Oder. During the ethnological research, 102 wrecks were located and registered. On this basis, three sites with the highest number of wrecks were distinguished. Then, non-invasive underwater archaeological research was undertaken at these three sites. A team, consisting of commercial divers and an archaeologist, took measurements and made basic documentation of 14 selected wrecks. The results of the project demonstrated the efficiency of the applied research method (called ‘underwater ethnoarchaeology’), as well as remarkable abundance and diversity of anthropogenic objects sunk in the Lower Oder. Moreover, the collected data allowed to conduct further, hydrographic and geophysical research on other 13 wrecks, which took place in September 2019 and August 2020 – their results will be presented in two other posters at this seminar.

SZD1 shipwreck is the largest of 11 wrecks resting in the Regalica River (West Pomerania, Poland) registered during the project "Underwater Ethnoarchaeology of the Lower Oder. Preliminary Research on Wrecks in Selected Sections of the River" (grant no. 2018/02/X/HS3/00475, National Science Centre, Poland). It has been an object of interest for explorers and scholars over the years, because previous investigations by the means of sonars (stationary and side-scan) and interferometric echosounder had not allowed identifying its type accurately and recognizing details visible on the recorded images. Authors of the poster have reached a conclusion that it has been necessary to investigate the wreck one more time by the means of another kind of sonar – ARIS acoustic camera, that allows to record underwater space in analogous way to optical video camera. Investigation has been carried in October 2019 on board of research vessel “Echo 2” owned by ESCORT Sp. z o.o. During the investigation, high quality video records have been made, allowing not only identifying the type of sunken vessel, but also recognizing her construction details. Moreover, ship’s hull damages were observed, so that it has become possible to enunciate the hypothesis about the reason of her sinking.

Preussen, built in Germany in 1902, was the largest sailing ship of her time and, until the launch of the Royal Clipper in 2000, was the only five-masted, fullrigged ship ever built. Known as the ‘Queen of the Queens of the Seas’ to seamen, she was one of the last great sailing ships. She sailed around the world shipping cargo from Europe to South America and back, setting several speed records in the process. She was severely damaged in the English Channel on an outward journey in 1910, when she collided with a steamer. Despite the relentless efforts of the crew to keep her afloat, she was eventually abandoned after having ran aground beneath the cliffs at Dover.

Christian Friedrich Warming, a young and ambitious Dane, was employed as able seaman aboard and acted as helmsman when she ran aground. His newly translated memoirs presented here offer a detailed first-hand account of the demise of the Preussen, which demonstrate the crew’s admiration for the ship and their dedication to save her. This story, a social history in its own right, provides a voice for the many traditional seafaring families who were caught up in a rapidly changing world and witnessed the disappearance of the last great sailing ships in the beginning of the 1900s. C. F. Warming, like many others, had to find employment aboard the oceangoing steamers if he was to make a living at sea. His account of the Preussen, the last great sailing ship on which he was employed, reflects his sentiments on these technological developments. The wreck of the Preussen still lies beneath the chalk cliffs of Dover where she was stranded, although there is little left of her now.

Dal 4 al 14 luglio 2014 è stata svolta una spedizione di rilevamento sul relitto della Wilhelm Gustloff, transatlantico nazista della K.d.F. trasformato in nave caserma della Kiegsmarine e affondato il 30 gennaio 1945 dal sommergibile sovietico S-13. Il relitto della Wilhelm Gustloff è ciò che rimane della più grande tragedia del mare della storia e giace in acque internazionali a largo delle coste dell’attuale Polonia, nel tratto di mare tra il bassofondo dello Stolpe-Bank e l’isola danese di Bornholm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfBtFVfWYNM

Expédition de identification de l'epave du transport troupes de la Regia Marina Italienne Re Umberto, coulé le 4 décembre 1915 pa le sous-marin mouilleur de mines allemande UC 14 °la sortie du port de Valona (Albanie). L'épave avait été retrouvé quelque mois avant par u member de l'éxpedition et il fallait une identification. L'éxpedition a étée faite sous le patronage de l'Institut de Archeologie du Ministére de le Culture Albanaise.