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. Its acceptance has been a relatively late development due to the difficulties of accessing and working underwater sites, and because the application of archaeology to underwater sites initially emerged from the skills and tools developed by shipwreck salvagers. As a result, underwater archaeology initially struggled to establish itself as actual archaeological research. This changed when universities began teaching the subject and a theoretical and practical base for the sub-discipline was firmly established in the late 1980’s. Underwater archaeology now has a number of branches including, maritime archaeology: the scientifically based study of past human life, behaviours and cultures and their activities in, on, around and (lately) under the sea, estuaries and rivers. This is most often effected using the physical remains found in, around or under salt or fresh water or buried beneath water-logged sediment. In recent years, the study of submerged WWII sites and of submerged aircraft in the form of underwater aviation archaeology have also emerged as bona fide activity.
Biscayne National Park is an American national park located south of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive mangrove forest. The park covers 172,971 acres and includes Elliott Key, the park's largest island and northernmost of the true Florida Keys, formed from fossilized coral reef. The islands farther north in the park are transitional islands of coral and sand. The offshore portion of the park includes the northernmost region of the Florida Reef, one of the largest coral reefs in the world.
HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales, in 1826. The vessel was the second in the Royal Navy named after Erebus, the personification of darkness in Greek mythology.
Fowey Rocks Light is located seven miles southeast of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne. The lighthouse was completed in 1878, replacing the Cape Florida Light. It was automated on May 7, 1975, and as of 2021 is still in operation. The structure is cast iron, with a screw-pile foundation, a platform and a skeletal tower. The light is 110 feet above the water. The tower framework is painted brown, while the dwelling and enclosed circular stair to the lantern is painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum Fresnel lens which stood about 12 feet (4 m) high and weighed about a ton (tonne). The light has a nominal range of 15 miles in the white sectors, and 10 miles in the red sectors.
The archaeology of shipwrecks is the field of archaeology specialized most commonly in the study and exploration of shipwrecks. Its techniques combine those of archaeology with those of diving to become Underwater archaeology. However, shipwrecks are discovered on what have become terrestrial sites.
James Preston Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, historian, maritime preservation expert, author, television host, and explorer.
The Lofthus is a Norwegian shipwreck near Boynton Beach, Florida, United States. Built in 1868 in Sunderland, England by T.R. Oswald, the 222-foot iron-hulled vessel was originally christened Cashmere and rigged as a three masted barque. She was painted with false gunports to ward off Sumatran and Javanese pirates. After a career in the East Indian trade Cashmere was sold to a Norwegian firm, renamed Lofthus, and used in the American trade. On February 4, 1898, the Lofthaus wrecked in a storm en route to Buenos Aires, Argentina from Pensacola, Florida. The crew of 16 men, as well as the ship's cat and dog were rescued by the passing vessel Three Friends, which was smuggling guns to Cuba. The ship, however, was declared a loss as it could not be removed from the shallow reef. The cargo, primarily lumber, was salvaged and brought ashore by locals and reportedly used to build homes in the Boynton Beach area.
Maple Leaf is a United States National Historic Landmark in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Maple Leaf, a side paddlewheel steamship, was first launched as a freight and passenger vessel from the Marine Railway Yard in Kingston, Upper Canada in 1851. The 181-foot (55 m) sidewheel paddle steamer measured 24.7-foot (7.5 m) at the beam.
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.
SS Kamloops was a Canadian lake freighter that was part of the fleet of Canada Steamship Lines from its launching in 1924 until it sank with all hands in Lake Superior off Isle Royale, Michigan, United States, on or about 7 December 1927.
HMS General Hunter was a 10-gun brig of the Upper Canada Provincial Marine then, in 1813, the Royal Navy for their squadron on Lake Erie. She was ordered and built as a schooner in 1806 to replace Hope, a Provincial Marine vessel that had run aground in 1805. General Hunter was launched in 1807, entering service that year. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, General Hunter was converted to a brig and rearmed. As part of the Lake Erie squadron, General Hunter was present at the Battle of Lake Erie where the United States Navy defeated the British and gained control of the lake. General Hunter was captured at the battle and taken into American service. With the ship's name shortened to Hunter, she was used as a transport for the rest of the war. Following the war, the ship was sold into mercantile service. In 1816, the ship ran aground in a storm on Lake Huron and wrecked. The ship's contents were salvaged, but the wreck was left to be buried under the sand. In 2004, the wreck became the site of archaeological excavations and artifacts were retrieved from the site and placed in museums.
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 nearby 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. Meide has participated in a wide array of shipwreck and maritime archaeological projects across the U.S., especially in Florida, and throughout the Caribbean and Bermuda and in Australia and Ireland. From 1995 to 1997 he participated in the search for, discovery, and total excavation of La Salle's shipwreck, La Belle , lost in 1686. From December 1997 to January 1998 he served as Co-Director of the Kingstown Harbour Shipwreck Project, an investigation sponsored by the Institute of Maritime History and Florida State University into the wreck of the French frigate Junon (1778) lost in 1780 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In 1999 he directed the Dog Island Shipwreck Survey, a comprehensive maritime survey of the waters around a barrier island off the coast of Franklin County, Florida, and between 2004 and 2006 he directed the Achill Island Maritime Archaeology Project off the coast of County Mayo, Ireland. Since taking over as Director of LAMP in 2006, he has directed the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project, a state-funded research and educational program focusing on shipwrecks and other maritime archaeological resources in the offshore and inland waters of Northeast Florida. In 2009, during this project, Meide discovered the "Storm Wreck," a ship from the final fleet to evacuate British troops and Loyalist refugees from Charleston at the end of the Revolutionary War, which wrecked trying to enter St. Augustine in late December 1782. He led the archaeological excavation of this shipwreck site each summer from 2010 through 2015, overseeing the recovery of thousands of well-preserved artifacts.
David Moore is an American archaeologist and historian. He is best known for his work on the Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project. The Queen Anne's Revenge was the flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. He used her for less than a year, but she was an effective tool in his prize-taking.
SS Arratoon Apcar was an iron-hulled steamship built in 1861 for the Apcar Line. She ran ashore on Fowey Rocks off the coast of Florida on 17 February 1878, was abandoned 3 days later, and broke apart. Today the wreck is a good location for scuba diving.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:
The Hive Shipwreck is a heritage-listed shipwreck site of the Hive, a former convict transportation ship located approximately 40 metres (130 ft) off Bherwerre Beach, Jervis Bay Territory, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 April 2010.
Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.
Rear-Admiral Polycarpus Taylor was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for his service commanding ships in the West Indies during the War of the Austrian Succession. Having joined the Royal Navy some time before 1733, Taylor served at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias and Invasion of Cuba before being promoted to commander in 1742. After commanding several vessels and being promoted to post-captain, in August 1744 Taylor took command of HMS Fowey; serving in the English Channel he ran ashore and destroyed the French privateer Griffon in 1745.
Great Britain