| Abstract: |
Underwater archaeology had its beginnings as a discipline in the 19th century, when salvers working on shipwrecks and divers seeking sponges occasionally came across ancient material. The advent of modern scuba equipment and the birth of sport diving in the 1950s begat maritime archaeologists (who had scholarly motives) and `looters' (who didn't). This book deals with aspects of archaeology and the techniques that are used to conduct it in an underwater environment.Although shipwrecks are highlighted, the techniques can be applied to submerged land structures and research associated with sea level changes. Underwater archaeology is a viable field of study because water is a great preservative of artifacts. The book assumes, ultimately, that because the overall archaeological process is no different from the process that takes place on land, archaeology should be systematic and as much information as it is reasonably possible to record must be extracted, properly recorded, documented, fully analyzed, and published. |
