Underwater Archaeological Investigations Of The Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck 7s D 91a

The Delaware Valley is a distinct region situated within the Middle Atlantic states, encompassing portions of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. With its cultural epicenter of Philadelphia, its surrounding bays and ports within Maryland and Delaware, and its conglomerate population of European settlers, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans, the Delaware Valley was one of the great cultural hearths of early America. The region felt the full brunt of the American Revolution, briefly served as the national capital in the post-Revolutionary period, and sheltered burgeoning industries amidst the growing pains of a young nation. Yet, despite these distinctions, the Delaware Valley has received less scholarly treatment than its colonial equals in New England and the Chesapeake region. In Historical Archaeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850, Richard Veit and David Orr bring together fifteen essays that represent the wide range of cultures, experiences, and industries that make this region distinctly American in its diversity. From historic-period American Indians living in a rapidly changing world to an archaeological portrait of Benjamin Franklin, from an eighteenth-century shipwreck to the archaeology of Quakerism, this volume highlights the vast array of research being conducted throughout the region. Many of these sites discussed are the locations of ongoing excavations, and archaeologists and historians alike continue to debate the region’s multifaceted identity. The archaeological stories found within Historical Archeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850 reflect the amalgamated heritage that many American regions experienced, though the Delaware Valley certainly exemplifies a richer experience than most: it even boasts the palatial home of a king (Joseph Bonaparte, elder brother of Napoleon and former King of Naples and Spain). This work, thoroughly based on careful archaeological examination, tells the stories of earlier generations in the Delaware Valley and makes the case that New England and the Chesapeake are not the only cultural centers of colonial America.

Shipwrecks have a way of catching the imagination of both professionals and the general public. During the fall of 2004 a shipwreck was discovered in Delaware Bay near Lewes, Delaware. This vessel, believed to be British, was lost during the second half of the eighteenth century. Preliminary examination of the wreck site suggested that it was a merchant ship bound for the colonies. While wrecks dating to this period representing various countries have been found, no British merchant vessels bound for the colonies have been examined archaeologically. This project provided the opportunity to investigate a ship and its cargo in light of the historical events of the period. Analysis of artifacts recovered from the site provided important glimpses of colonial American consumer practices in the period leading up to the American Revolution. In light of the general colonial displeasure over increased Parliamentary restrictions, colonists adjusted their buying habits. Study of the artifact assemblage suggests British merchants were attempting to substitute non-British manufactured goods for some objects. This study also indicated that colonists were perhaps not idealistic in practice when it came to denying themselves consumer goods. Further excavation of this vessel, and the study of other inbound merchantmen, should help confirm the conclusions regarding British policy and its effect on pre-revolutionary consumer practices. Based upon evidence derived from a handful of artifacts, this study tentatively identified the vessel as the ship Severn, lost in 1774 off the coast of Delaware.

For centuries seafaring people thought that the presence of women on board would mean bad luck: rough weather, shipwreck, and other disasters were sure to follow. Because of these beliefs and prejudices women were supposedly excluded from the maritime domain. In the field of maritime history too, the ship and the sea have predominantly been perceived as a space for men. This volume of the Yearbook of Women’s History challenges these notions. It asks: to what extent were the sea and the ship ever male-dominated and masculine spaces? How have women been part of seafaring communities, maritime undertakings, and maritime culture? How did gender notions impact life on board and vice versa? From a multidisciplinary perspective, this volume moves from Indonesia to the Faroe Islands, from the Mediterranean to Newfoundland; bringing to light the presence of women and the workings of gender on sailing, whaling, steam, cruise, passenger, pirate, and navy ships. As a whole it demonstrates the diversity and the agency of women at sea from ancient times to the present day.

What a discovery! Deep under the Atlantic Ocean, divers found a shipwreck like no other. It was the H. L. Hunley, a submarine that had sunk during the Civil War! A team of scientists from all over the world came to work on the discovery. How would they raise the Hunley from the ocean floor? How would they open the submarine? And what would they find inside?

The U.S. Army Engineer District, Wilmington, developed plans for improving the authorized navigation channel. In response to concerns that the proposed activity could impact cultural resources in a proposed National Register District fot Civil War shipwrecks, both historical and remote sensing investigations of the inlet were conducted. Investigation of three vessels included the shipwreck traditionally identified as the blockade runner BENDIGO. Reconnaissance level surveys of 2 sites produced data to support identification of the wrecks as the blockade runner ELIZABETH and the gunboat USS IRON AGE. Investigation of the BENDIGO generated data confirming the traditional identity of the ship, assessed the condition of vessel remains at the site, and produced an indication of the nature ans scope of the archeological record associated with the ship. Except for highly detailed vessel specific research, most of the historical and archeological research questions identified in the Cape Fear Civil War Shipwreck District nomination could more effectively be answered by investigation at other shipwreck sites. Requirements for mitigation should be limited to research associated with unique aspects of the BENDIGO and ELIZABETH, documentation of threatened vessel structure, and archeological salvage of associated cultural material.