Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras.
Archaeological ethics refers to the moral issues raised through the study of the material past. It is a branch of the philosophy of archaeology. This article will touch on human remains, the preservation and laws protecting remains and cultural items, issues around the globe, as well as preservation and ethnoarchaeology.
The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The tower is the second lighthouse tower in St. Augustine, the first being lit officially by the American territorial government in May 1824 as Florida's first lighthouse. However, both the Spanish and the British governments operated a major aid to navigation here including a series of wooden watch towers and beacons dating from 1565.
The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and Wales and in Scotland and is a company limited by guarantee.
James Preston Delgado is an American maritime archaeologist, historian, maritime preservation expert, author, television host, and explorer. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist with over four decades of experience in underwater exploration. He has participated in over 100 shipwreck investigations worldwide, including notable sites such as the RMS Titanic, USS Independence (CVL-22), USS Conestoga (AT-54), USS Monitor, USS Arizona (BB-39), USS Nevada (BB-36), Sub Marine Explorer, the buried Gold Rush ships of San Francisco, the atomic bomb test fleet at Bikini Atoll, the slave ship Clotilda, and Kublai Khan's lost fleet from the Mongol invasions of Japan.
Margaret Helen Rule was a British archaeologist. She is most notable for her involvement with the project that excavated and raised the Tudor warship Mary Rose in 1982.
The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is a treaty that was adopted on 2 November 2001 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The convention is intended to protect "all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character" which have been under water for over 100 years. This extends to the protection of shipwrecks, sunken cities, prehistoric art work, treasures that may be looted, sacrificial and burial sites, and old ports that cover the oceans' floors. The preservation of underwater cultural heritage is significant as it allows for the retelling of numerous historical events. As part of its duty to conduct scientific research and provide continuous education on the importance of underwater cultural heritage, UNESCO strives to maintain these sites for the enjoyment of current and future generations. The convention may provide a customary framework to help raise awareness and seek to combat the illegal looting and pirating occurring in waters worldwide. As an international body, member states of the convention agree to work towards the preservation of sunken cultural property within their jurisdiction and the high seas.
George Robert Fischer was an American underwater archaeologist, considered the founding father of the field in the National Park Service. A native Californian, he did undergraduate and graduate work at Stanford University, and began his career with the National Park Service in 1959, which included assignments in six parks, the Washington, D.C. Office, and the Southeast Archaeological Center from which he retired in 1988. He began teaching courses in underwater archaeology at Florida State University in 1974 and co-instructed inter-disciplinary courses in scientific diving techniques. After retirement from the NPS his FSU activities were expanded and his assistance helped shape the university's program in underwater archaeology.
The Florida Historical Society is an independent, member-supported, 501c(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1856 that publishes the journal Florida Historical Quarterly, originally the Florida Historical Society Quarterly, an academic journal which releases new volumes four times a year, and manages the Library of Florida History. FHS has been publishing the Florida Historical Quarterly since 1908 and books since 1925.
The Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database (AUCHD) is an online, searchable database containing data on shipwrecks, aircraft that have been submerged underwater or wrecked on the shore, and other artefacts of cultural significance which are or have been underwater. It includes what used to be called the Australian National Shipwreck Database (ANSDB), originally developed by the Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology in December 2009, now significantly expanded to include other objects. The database was hosted and maintained by the Department of the Environment and Energy until the environment functions of that department, including AUCHD, were taken over by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on 1 February 2020.
Junon was a 32-gun Charmante-class frigate of the French Navy.
Lawrence E. Babits is an American archaeologist with specific interests in military history, material culture, and battlefield and maritime archaeology. Babits is credited with highly accurate accounts of soldiers' combat experience during the 18th century, specifically during the Battle of Cowpens, a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. This is illustrated in his books Long, Obstinate and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse and A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. Babits was a George Washington Distinguished Professor of Maritime Archaeology and History at East Carolina University.
Charles T. Meide Jr., known as Chuck Meide, is an underwater and maritime archaeologist and currently the Director of LAMP, the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum located in St. Augustine, Florida. Meide, of Syrian descent on his father's side, was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in the adjacent coastal town of Atlantic Beach. He earned BA and MA degrees in Anthropology with a focus in underwater archaeology in 1993 and 2001 from Florida State University, where he studied under George R. Fischer, and undertook Ph.D. studies in Historical Archaeology at the College of William and Mary starting the following year.
The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is a professional organization of scholars concerned with the archaeology of the modern world. Founded in 1967, the SHA promotes scholarly research and the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to historical archaeology. The society is specifically interested in the identification, excavation, interpretation, and conservation of sites and materials on land and underwater. It is the largest such organization in the world and the third-largest anthropological organization in the United States.
The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an interest in maritime archaeology and maritime history. The SUHR was renamed as the South Australian Archaeology Society in March 2012 as part of a plan to expand its activities beyond maritime archaeology to include other archaeological disciplines.
María del Pilar Luna Erreguerena was a Mexican underwater archaeologist, pioneer in the field of archaeology, who founded the Division of Underwater Archaeology of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). She was awarded her undergraduate degree by the National School of Anthropology and History and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), from which she then obtained her master's degree in Anthropological Sciences.
The Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) is an international organization of Black archaeologists. The Society was founded in 2011. The founding board members are Drs. Justin Dunnavant, Ayana Omilade Flewellen, Jay Haigler, Alexandra Jones, and Cheryl LaRoche.
The Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) is a professional organization of archaeologists headquartered in Baltimore, MD. Members of the RPA agree to follow a standard code of research ethics and conduct and must be formally approved for membership by a panel of elected colleagues. Similar to organizations elsewhere, such as the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists or Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists, the Register is a mechanism for enforcing archaeological standards, particularly among the large numbers working in cultural resources management.
Leslie E. Wildesen was an American archaeologist best known for her work in policy-making. As the first woman archaeologist in the United States Forest Service and the first regional archaeologist in the Pacific Northwest, she wrote the first guidebook used by a government agency for the management of cultural resources. Throughout her career, she made great strides in public involvement in archaeology, collaboration with Native American tribes, protection of Native American burials, and environmental policy implementation. She developed numerous training programs regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and environmental law.
Margaret E. "Peggy" Leshikar-Denton is an archaeologist specialising in underwater archaeology, and director of the Cayman Islands National Museum.
