Underwater Archaeology part 2

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. I then asked my friend Michelle Damian, an underwater archaeologist with the museum to write a posting about her experiences in the field. Here is her response.

Genevieve introduced everyone to underwater archaeology in a recent blog post, and kindly invited me to talk a little more about the subject. Since then with all the rain and groundwater on the featured site here, I see that the archaeologists have indeed had to handle a “submerged” site! Though the water in the pit looks pretty murky, that’s actually similar to most of the underwater sites I’ve been able to work on so far – including the very first archaeological dive I ever did.

I got started in underwater archaeology when I was living in the Washington DC area. I had been diving for several years and enjoyed the handful of “touristy” shipwreck dives I’d done in tropical waters, just observing large steel wrecks usually sunk intentionally as artificial reefs. When I heard about the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society’s (MAHS) introductory class for maritime archaeology, I knew I had to find out more.

Little did I know how my life would change by taking that class! The MAHS program was a series of classes on search and mapping techniques, ship construction, ethical approaches to shipwreck archaeology, and historical research. After participating in some pool training sessions, we spent a weekend in a Maryland river inlet investigating the remains of a nineteenth century schooner. It was my first experience with “black-water” diving – so silty that it is nearly impossible to see anything underwater. And there were jellyfish to dodge!

But even with all that, something amazing happened. We felt around the wreck site and found various recognizable parts of the ship – the keel, some hull planking, some structural supports (“knees”) and even a stempost. With the data we collected the professional archaeologist who led the class, was able to create a site map that revealed the basic shape of the wreck. We were probably the first people to touch that site in over a century. By recording what was left of the ship and making that knowledge publicly available, we gave this lost vessel a voice again. It is truly an incredible feeling to help bring history back to life. I was captivated. Jellyfish, black water, and all!

I began volunteering with the Museum of Underwater Archaeology (MUA), which is run by Kurt Knoerl, the same archaeologist who led our field school, and learned more about the field. Since I had spent many years in Japan and have a love for that area, I began to wonder how I could integrate all my passions. I was able to do so in East Carolina University’s master’s program in maritime archaeology, which among other things allowed me to investigate Japanese shipbuilding. As Genevieve mentioned, that journey is recorded on the MUA as well. I’m hoping to finish that thesis this summer.

If any divers reading this are interested in learning more about underwater archaeology, the annual MAHS class is relatively local to the DC area and is a good introduction to the field (I think the jellyfish were an unusual occurrence on a field school!). For interested nondivers and divers alike, the MUA holds a wealth of information on sites ranging from the Delmarva area to Florida, the Great Lakes, France, Australia, Asia, and beyond. Good luck as well to the archaeologists on the Banneker-Douglass related sites – hopefully your terrestrial sites will remain terrestrial in the future!

Michelle is currently working on her PhD at the University of Southern California. Her degree will help her better combine her love of all things historical, Japanese, archaeological, and underwater.

Thanks Michelle!