Deepwater archaeology uncovers secrets from the ancient maritime past .
. . Thousands of shipwrecks and archaeological sites lie undiscovered in
deep water, potentially holding important clues to our maritime past.
Scientists have explored only a small percentage of the oceans' depths,
as 98 percent of the seabed lies well beyond the reach of conventional
diving.
Ships from the Depths surveys the dramatic advances in technology over
the last few years that have made it possible for scientists to locate,
study, and catalogue archaeological sites in waters previously
inaccessible to humans. Researcher and explorer Fredrik Søreide presents
the development of deepwater archaeology since 1971, when Willard Bascom
designed his Alcoa Seaprobe to locate and raise deepwater wrecks in
the Mediterranean. Accompanied by descriptions and color photographs of
deepwater projects and equipment, this book considers not only
techniques that have been developed for location and observation of
sites but also removal and excavation methods distinctive to these
unique locations, far beyond the reach of scuba gear.
Søreide provides an introduction to and survey of the history,
development, and potential of this exciting branch of nautical
archaeology. Scholars and field archaeologists will appreciate this
handy compendium of the current state of the discipline and technology,
and general readers will relish this comprehensive look at the
challenges and opportunities associated with locating and studying
historical and ancient shipwrecks in some of the world's deepest waters.
