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Summer 2002
Fall 2002
Summer 2001
Fall 2001
Summer 2000
Fall 2000
Week Three Highlights
The base of operations, the Perkins, and the pontoon boat to the right.
Public Outreach
A new and crucial component to the field school is the incorporation of a public outreach station located on land in view of the site. As two crews work on the wrecks below, a third crew stays at the information tent to explain to the public what is happening. There is a huge display board that locates each wreck site on a map. Detailed drawings from previous field schools surround this map. Additional information on the history of the area, the types of vessels wrecked and the Maritime Studies Program is available. It is important that the public have the opportunity to understand the significance of our work and how the information we retrieve from these wrecks may help interpret the history of the area.
The Flood
Once our base of operations and land station was set up we began to determine how much damage Hurricane Floyd and the flooding following the hurricane might have done to the overall Castle Island site. We started with an attempt to locate material by snorkeling and diving the area. Last year many of the wrecks were in shallow water and could be investigated standing up. Imagine our surprise this week when we discovered no shallow water at all! The area around Castle Island that was once three feet or less is now a uniform fifteen feet deep. A large portion of the island has been scoured away. What's more, many of the wrecks are now buried under sand and silt. Only two wrecks are shallow enough to locate without scuba as they stick up out of the sandy bottom. None of the wrecks may be investigated without diving. With this in mind, Professor Rodgers decided to shoot in the sites based on last year's information using our transit/edm station. One team located the wrecks using the equipment on land while the other two teams floated to the locations and dropped buoy markers at these sites. Once this was done divers submerged on the markers to see if the wrecks were indeed at the same location. The results: several could be found right away but at least three are no longer in the same place, if they exist at all.
This drawing shows wreck #6 as it was during the 1998 field school.
Further Information
Base of Operations
The Field School in Maritime History and Underwater Research has been held at Castle Island for three years. Each year the team prepares for the fieldwork by setting up a base of operations. In past years this meant anchoring a houseboat, named the Castle Queen, and a pontoon boat near the site for the duration of the fieldwork. The pontoon serves as a diving platform, the houseboat as storage space and sleeping accommodations. Each night two students stay at the base in order to protect the gear from rogue weather and curious passersby. This year the team is fortunate to have a substantial addition to the base, the 65' Perkins, recently acquired by the Maritime Studies Program. The Perkins serves as lab space and additional storage. The team is shuttled to and from the base by the Privateer.
The display board located on the waterfront across from the site.
Heather Cain helps out getting the Perkins shipshape.
The Decision
Professor Rodgers' initial choice for close investigation by the students was Wreck #1, a centreboard schooner. Unfortunately, this is one of the wrecks that is mostly buried. Based on the information provided by the preliminary site investigation, Wreck #6 was chosen as a possible replacement site for investigation. Wreck #6 is an oyster barge. Originally this wreck was laying flat on the bottom. Today the barge sits at an extreme angle. One side is in five feet feet of water; following the hull down to the other side leads you into sixteen feet of water. The pitch of the barge coupled with the proximity of the island served as a buffering zone during the flooding, piling sand up between the barge and the island. The side exposed to the river reveals a deep depression, leaving a wide opening between the barge and the sandy bottom. It will be a challenging wreck to survey.
Giovanni Wagemans, coffee in hand, prepares for the day.
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Department of History |