Submerged site archaeology

Ubaid pottery was famously recorded by H. R. Hall during the excavation of a tell mound at Al cUbaid, and for nearly half a century became associated with the origins of urbanisation and developments in social hierarchy in southern Mesopotamia. The discovery in 1968 of cUbaid pottery around the western Gulf littoral, some 1,000km to the south of Mesopotamia, raised questions regarding the nature of interaction between these two societies. This paper considers the origins of this interaction and the effects of geomorphology, hydrology and the palaeoenvironment on regional migration. The extent to which topography and marine transgression were a catalyst for migration is also discussed, and how, or if such factors influenced post-transgression settlement dynamics.

L'Archeologia costiera è una branca dell'archeologia capace di fornire una grande quantità di informazioni utili alla ricostruzione del paesaggio antico ma che allo stesso tempo richiede un imprescindibile approccio multidisciplinare. Prima di tutto è necessario studiare la geomorfologia del territorio per tentare di capire quali processi geologici possono aver apportato modifiche nell'area oggetto d'indagine. Spesso infatti ci si trova in presenza di strutture costiere, come ad esempio i porti, individuate sulla terraferma anche a parecchie centinaia di metri dalla costa odierna; allo stesso modo non è raro imbattersi in resti di edifici attualmente sommersi che nel loro periodo d'utilizzo non presentavano alcun rapporto con il mare. La geologia permette inoltre di ricostruire, almeno in parte, eventi catastrofici come terremoti o tsunami che possono aver avuto un forte impatto sul territorio e magari aver anche causato l'abbandono di un determinato sito. Un altro aspetto da non sottovalutare è quello biologico in quanto il rinvenimento di fossili di organismi marini può coadiuvare la ricostruzione della linea di costa antica. Lo studio delle fonti antiche è altrettanto importante perché può fornire delle linee guida per l'individuazione degli insediamenti costieri e per la loro identificazione. La toponomastica è un elemento fondamentale per la contestualizzazione di un sito nella narrazione storica e la ricostruzione degli eventi di cui è stato teatro. Infine la stessa indagine archeologica è spesso soggetta a variabilità in ragione delle differenti condizioni offerte dai siti costieri: è possibile che si debba passare dallo scavo stratigrafico tout court al lavoro in pochi centimetri d'acqua o addirittura ad eseguire uno scavo subacqueo vero e proprio con l'impiego di sommozzatori. L'obiettivo di questa ricerca è fornire tramite alcuni esempi concreti una panoramica delle condizioni in cui gli archeologi si trovano ad operare ponendo particolare accento all'utilizzo di un approccio multidisciplinare per l'identificazione dei processi che hanno portato nel corso del tempo alla variazione della linea di costa del Peloponneso. La scelta di questa regione della Grecia è stata dettata dalla compresenza di due fattori importanti ai fini di questo studio: da una parte una ricca tradizione storico-archeologica, dall'altra un'intensa attività geologica.

A B S T R A C T Various artillery and rigging artefacts were retrieved from the Megadim wreck-site, Israel. The present research is aimed at determining the composition, microstructure and manufacturing processes of the objects, as well as their dating. Therefore, a multidisciplinary testing approach was applied, based on typology, metallurgical criteria, archaeobotanical analysis and 14 C radiocarbon dating. Based on their typology, the three cannons found off Megadim were of Venetian origin. Metallurgical analysis of the three cannons revealed they were made of cast bronze, with tin (Sn) composition of 3.2–6.5 wt%; and were most likely manufactured at the same European foundry. The chain links of the iron-bound deadeye were made of wrought-iron, manufactured by the bloomery process; and the forge-welding zone of the largest chain was located. Epi-illuminated and SEM analyses suggest that the deadeyes were made of Rhus coriaria, and the wads were made of Cupressus sempervirens and Pinus pinea. The largest breech chamber was made of cast leaded-bronze, probably manufactured of recycled alloys due to the low amount of tin. The other two chambers were made of wrought-iron, and based on their similar composition, were probably manufactured at the same workshop. Examination of the material extracted from the chambers suggests it was black powder. The bronze cannons were typologically dated to between the late 16th and the early 17th centuries. Based on the metallurgical criteria and the 14 C analysis, it is suggested that all the objects were most likely manufactured before the middle of the 17th century. This research enhances our knowledge of the Megadim wreck-site, and provides better understanding of the manufacturing technologies of marine artillery and rigging elements in Europe between the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

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.

Prehistoric artifacts have been found by fisherman and/or watermen using a diverse array of fisheries technologies.  The range of harvesting technologies greatly influence the retrieval rates and the size of the artifacts exhumed from the bottom.  The following summarizes the types of gear used by fishermen, outlines the range of chance finds made as a result of these harvesting methods, and provides a perspective on how the documentation of chance discoveries can lead to a better understanding of how humans once used currently inundated landscapes.  Cultural resource managers in the United States have typically discounted the chance discoveries made by fishermen.  Some archaeologists ardently believe that objects exhumed by fishermen from the bottom are “not ordinary”, “lack context”, and “barely rise above the level of hearsay”.  With this discussion, I provide a synopsis of the finds made by hydraulic soft-shell clam dredgers within the central Chesapeake Bay region where literally thousands of diagnostic artifacts have been exhumed from the bay’s bottom.  Discounting these underwater chance finds would be analogous to ignoring archaeological discoveries made in agriculturally-tilled fields.

Wetland archaeology. There are also a video from the excavation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50koHDP1bwI&t=41s
Wooden items from boats, charts, farm. 14C datings 40-410 AD and 410-650 AD. A lot of finds from the whole process concerning work at different wooden artefacts (halvfabrics, complete and broken items).  Vehicle for using on the sea as well on land. Wetland offering. 14C- , makro-, pollen analysis. Type of wood. Transgressed refuse layer. Key words (every item is made of wood): oarlook, oars (prefabricated and broken parts), anchor, bowl, tray, ladder, basket, wheel, club, board, peg, tool for making ropes (fig 107), wooden sword, groove/channel for ships (pre wiking ships), ships for sailing. A lot of photos. The text is in Swedish.

I was a very young graduate student when I wrote this paper, but I still believe that the thesis is important to the development of submerged terrestrial site archaeology and experimental archaeology: Lake Nasser contains submerged terrestrial sites that were documented prior to submersion. The only way to understand the affects of submersion on terrestrial sites is to study the sites in Lake Nasser. One can compare the before-submersion evidence to the after-submersion evidence to determine how submersion affects the preservation of sites. The world assumes that submersion is detrimental, and therefore when sites are threatened by submersion, we protest and hastily excavate... but, what if submersion is healthy for the long-term preservation of a site (or at least not as damaging to the site as 'salvage archaeology')? We do not currently have any data that suggests that a site buried behind a dam is destroyed - inaccessible for the foreseeable future, yes, but is it worth hasty and shoddy excavation? I don't know - my plea in this paper is that we take the experimental case of Lake Nasser to find out.

L'Archeologia costiera è una branca dell'archeologia capace di fornire una grande quantità di informazioni utili alla ricostruzione del paesaggio antico ma che allo stesso tempo richiede un imprescindibile approccio multidisciplinare. Prima di tutto è necessario studiare la geomorfologia del territorio per tentare di capire quali processi geologici possono aver apportato modifiche nell'area oggetto d'indagine. Spesso infatti ci si trova in presenza di strutture costiere, come ad esempio i porti, individuate sulla terraferma anche a parecchie centinaia di metri dalla costa odierna; allo stesso modo non è raro imbattersi in resti di edifici attualmente sommersi che nel loro periodo d'utilizzo non presentavano alcun rapporto con il mare. La geologia permette inoltre di ricostruire, almeno in parte, eventi catastrofici come terremoti o tsunami che possono aver avuto un forte impatto sul territorio e magari aver anche causato l'abbandono di un determinato sito. Un...

One of the many unique environments of Finland is its inland with waterways and lakes. The Saimaa Lake complex in the eastern part of Finland has constituted one of the major inland water systems throughout our prehistory. In the earlier stages, the water level of the small lakes was relatively low. Due to the post-glacial land uplift and lake tilting, the Saimaa basin continued to transgress in the southeast direction and thus inundating the earlier lakeshores. Circa 6000 years ago, the Ancient Lake Saimaa reached its maximum extent, nearly 9000 km2 in size which culminated in the outburst of the Vuoksi river in the south c 4000 cal BC. Because of this, the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites predating the transgression are to be found under water and in wetlands surrounding the lake. An experimental project was launched at the turn of the millennium with the aim of finding submerged settlement sites by means of underwater archaeology. A few new observations were made under shallow water and in lake mud in the municipality of Taipalsaari and the results make it the most likely to discover new, submerged and paludified sites in the region. The new project ‘Lost inland landscapes’ by the University of Helsinki is both ambitious and innovative. New techniques and experiences in wetland and underwater archaeology make it possible to find hitherto unknown prehistoric sites on wetlands as well as on the lakebed in the SE Saimaa area in 2015 and 2017-2018.

This thesis assesses the application and effectiveness of consumer-grade sonar instruments for documenting inundated archaeological sites across Northwestern Ontario. Although the use of bathymetry and side scan sonar is commonly used by marine archaeologists, the acquisition of such data can be extremely costly, while also cumbersome in shallow water environments. Many Northwestern Ontario lakes and rivers have complicated histories involving both human-made and natural lake-level changes that have degraded and inundated shorelines containing archaeological resources. Four case studies throughout the Thunder Bay region were assessed using an inexpensive hull-mounted sonar system to test whether the instruments provide sufficient precision and resolution for further archaeological investigations.

Since the Research Centre for Maritime Archaeology in Roskilde was formed as a department under the Danish National Museum in 1993, the application of modern technologies to archaeological surveys in wetlands and coastal zones has played an important
role in its activities. This work has been carried out in close contact with the Department of Geology, Aarhus University. German interest in further investigation of the harbour area of the Viking Age trading centre Haithabu/Hedeby, and the defensive structures related to it, together with geo-archaeology in general, has led to a broader collaboration between these institutions and the GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences in Kiel, the Archaologisches Landesmuseum der Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Schleswig, and the Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Chistian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel.

The primary purpose of the use of acoustic bottom profiling in geo-archaeology hitherto has been to distinguish larger geological structures such as coast lines or the beds of water courses, which may have played an important role in man's use of landscapes
submerged today, or to distinguish larger archaeological structures such as ship-wrecks. An essential element has been to gain experience by using different sub-bottom profilers on
a series of known structures to compare their archaeological
potential and to see what types of elements could be distinguished in the profiles.

This paper outlines the research strategy developed for survey in shallow water and discusses some of the first results obtained on three archaeological sites.

The North Sea bed host remains of Pleistocene and Early Holocene landscapes that were, mostly gradually, inundated following the last deglaciation. Archaeological remains from the seabed obtained by fishing, dredging, and sand suppletion include human skeletal remains. Radiocarbon dating reveals that most of these are Mesolithic although a few Late Palaeolithic and historic remains are represented. Samples with known stable isotope ratios δ13C and δ15N show that Mesolithic inhabitants of ‘Doggerland’ had a significant component of freshwater fish in their diet. This means the 14C dates are subject to a reservoir effect mainly determined by the freshwater bodies at the time. Because of the lack of context, the magnitude of the reservoir effect cannot be derived, so that the 14C dates cannot be precisely calibrated to absolute ages. However, a distinct correlation is observed between the δ15N values and the (uncalibrated) 14C dates, suggesting a chronological development.

The presence of submerged Stone Age sites along the Norwegian coast has been recognised for a long time. Until recently, however, they have not been treated as a topic of interest. From shallow waters, more than 80 submerged Stone Age sites are known in Norway, one of which is a probable ritual site with bones of several humans. Due to complex patterns of shoreline displacement and uplift after the last deglaciation, the present-day shallow water areas along the Norwegian coast contain sites from periods which are also represented by numerous sites on dry land. The submerged sites can provide better preservation quality for cultural remains of organic materials than settlement sites on dry land. This allows for a dynamic and informed study of Stone Age coastal adaptations, interactions and lifeways.

Knowledge of underwater topography is essential to the understanding of the organisation and distribution of archaeological sites along and in water bodies. Special attention has to be paid to intertidal and inshore zones where, due to sea-level rise, coastlines have changed and many former coastal sites are now submerged in shallow water. Mapping the detailed inshore topography is therefore important to reconstruct former coastlines, identify sunken archaeological structures and locate potential former harbour sites. However, until recently archaeology has lacked suitable methods to provide the required topographical data of shallow underwater bodies. Our research shows that airborne topo-bathymetric laser scanner systems are able to measure surfaces above and below the water table over large areas in high detail using very short and narrow green laser pulses, even revealing sunken archaeological structures in shallow water. Using an airborne laser scanner operating at a wavelength...

This thesis assesses the application and effectiveness of consumer-grade sonar instruments for documenting inundated archaeological sites across Northwestern Ontario. Although the use of bathymetry and side scan sonar is commonly used by marine archaeologists, the acquisition of such data can be extremely costly, while also cumbersome in shallow water environments. Many Northwestern Ontario lakes and rivers have complicated histories involving both human-made and natural lake-level changes that have degraded and inundated shorelines containing archaeological resources. Four case studies throughout the Thunder Bay region were assessed using an inexpensive hull-mounted sonar system to test whether the instruments provide sufficient precision and resolution for further archaeological investigations.

The phenomenon of severe stone decay in coastal areas is well documented as a significant threat to stone cultural heritage in both Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe, and previous research has consistently shown that the action of salts of marine origin play a significant role in the deterioration of these stone surfaces. However, in an Irish context, a monument located on the coastline does not necessarily or even normally experience any greater degradation than a similar monument of the same stone type located in a non-polluted inland environment. Outside the harsh inter-tidal zone and the special deterioration processes found in shallow marine environments, there is often negligible difference in the rate or severity of stone decay on a granite monument built 2metres from the high water mark, with a comparable granite monument located 50metres or 50kilometres inland. Why then would coastal buildings in Ireland survive in better condition than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe? This paper presents a synthesis of field-and laboratory studies of 88 archaeological monuments built of granite located in three of the four granite batholiths in Ireland on the east, west and south coasts of the country. These monuments include prehistoric tombs, ruined roofless medieval buildings and external sculpture, and ruined post-medieval fortifications from submerged, inter-tidal, coastal and unpolluted inland environments. The research detected particular patterns of salt deposition on granite building stones, and developed a hypothesis to explore the anomalies of salt-related granite weathering in Ireland and the significance of local distinctiveness in building conservation studies.

13th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone, Glasgow, September 2016