Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore-side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes. A specialty within maritime archaeology is nautical archaeology, which studies ship construction and use.
A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked, which are found either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be deliberate or accidental. In January 1999, Angela Croome estimated that there have been about three million shipwrecks worldwide.
USS Narcissus — a screw steamer launched in July 1863 as Mary Cook at East Albany, N.Y. — was purchased by the Union Navy at New York City on 23 September 1863 from James D. Stevenson; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 2 February 1864, Acting Ensign William G. Jones in command.
San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park located in 18 feet (5.5 m) of water, approximately 1.25 nautical miles (2.32 km) south of Indian Key. It became the second Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve when it opened to the public in 1989. The heart of the park is the San Pedro, a submerged shipwreck from a 1733 Spanish flotilla, around which visitors can dive and snorkel. The San Pedro, a 287-ton Dutch-built vessel, and 21 other Spanish ships under the command of Rodrigo de Torres left Havana, Cuba, on Friday, July 13, 1733, bound for Spain. The San Pedro carried a cargo of 16,000 silver Mexican pesos and crates of Chinese porcelain. A hurricane struck the fleet, while entering the Straits of Florida, and sank or swamped most of the fleet. The wrecksite includes an "eighteenth century anchor, replica cannons, ballast stones encrusted with coral, a dedication plaque, and a mooring buoy system." The wreck was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2001.
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.
City of Hawkinsville was a paddle steamer constructed in Georgia in 1886. Sold in 1900 to a Tampa, Florida company, it delivered cargo and lumber along the Suwannee River. Eventually rendered obsolete by the advent of railroads in the region, it was abandoned in the middle of the Suwannee in 1922.
The Lofthus is a Norwegian shipwreck near Boynton Beach, Florida, United States. Built in 1868 in Sunderland, England, the iron-hulled vessel was originally christened Cashmere and rigged as a three masted barque. She was equipped with false gun ports to ward off pirates. After a career in the East Indian trade Cashmere was sold to a Norwegian firm, renamed Lofthus, and used in the American trade. She was sunk in a terrible storm on February 4, 1898, en route to Buenos Aires. Her crew of 16 and the ship's cat and dog were rescued by the passing vessel Three Friends, which was smuggling guns to Cuba. The wreck of the Lofthus is located three-quarters of a mile north of Boynton Inlet, 175 yards offshore from Manalapan. On January 6, 2004, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It also became the eighth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve the same year.
SS Tarpon was a ship which sank in 1937 near Panama City, Florida, United States. The shipwreck is located 7.8 nautical miles (14.4 km) off the shore of Panama City. It became the sixth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve when it was dedicated in 1997. In May 2001, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
SS Copenhagen is a shipwreck off the town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, United States. The single screw steamer was built in Sunderland, England in 1898, sinking in 1900. Located on the Pompano Dropoff reef south of Hillsboro Inlet, it became the fifth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve when it was dedicated in 1994. There is a plaque noting this distinction south of the wreck. This was followed on 31 May 2001 with its addition to the US National Register of Historic Places.
Urca de Lima is a Spanish shipwreck near Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. She was part of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, herself, one of the numerous Spanish treasure fleets sailing between Spain and its colonies in the Americas. The wreck is located north of Fort Pierce Inlet, 200 yards off the shore from Jack Island Park. It became the first Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve when dedicated in 1987. This was followed on May 31, 2001 with its addition to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Half Moon was a racing sailboat; it sank in 1930 near Miami, Florida, United States. The wreck is outside Bear Cut, which separates Virginia Key from Key Biscayne. Christened Germania, the racing yacht featured a chrome-nickel steel hull built by Krupp-Germania-Werft in 1908 in Kiel, Germany. During a visit to England in 1914, the yacht was seized as a 'war prize'. After changing owners several times, and surviving an especially-violent storm off Virginia, the yacht became a floating restaurant and dance hall off Miami. It sank near Key Biscayne in 1930. In 2000, the wreck became the seventh Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. In 2001, it was added to the US National Register of Historic Places.
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.
The Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves are a system of underwater parks in the state of Florida, USA. They consist of shipwrecks of historic interest, both off the coast and inland, and are open all year round, free of charge. Similar programs have been created in California, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and Vermont.
SS Regina was a tanker built in Belfast in 1904 that sank on March 8, 1940, near Bradenton Beach, Florida, United States. Her wreck is located in the Gulf of Mexico, 75 yards off Bradenton Beach. In April 2005, the wreck became the tenth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. On December 6, 2005, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site is the site of the historic shipwreck of an Italian barkentine off the coast of Hutchinson Island in Martin County, Florida, with the nearest landmark being the House of Refuge at Gilbert's Bar.
The Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) of the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) is a unit of the United States Department of the Navy. It was formally founded in 1996 as a consequence of the emerging need to manage, study, conserve, and curate the U.S. Navy's submerged cultural resources.
The Kil class was a class of sloops, also referred to as gunboats, built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were designed for anti-submarine warfare, but were completed too late in the war to be used extensively in that role. They were designed to be double-ended to confuse submarine observers, and were painted in dazzle camouflage. Following the war, the majority of the class were sold off and converted to coastal cargo vessels.
The Sport was a tugboat, built in 1873 and wrecked in 1920 in Lake Huron. The wreck site, designated 20UH105, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
