Development of new fishing vessels led to a significant expansion of the United States’ Mid-Atlantic oyster industry in the 19th century. New types of boats, such as the pungy, were developed to enable dredging in the deep waters of the Chesapeake Bay. During the Oyster Boom of the late 19^th century, several hundred pungies served the Mid-Atlantic oyster fishery. By the 1920s, less than twenty pungies were actively being used in the industry due to the introduction of other advantageous vessels. The James A. Whiting was one of the few pungies that survived into the 20th century and was abandoned at Walnut Point, Virginia near the oyster canning house owned by C. R. Lewis & Co.. This paper discusses documentation of the historic oyster industry at Walnut Point and the search for remains of the James A Whiting.

Depending on the environmental parameters of an aquatic system, wooden shipwrecks undergo site formation processes that contribute to their overall deterioration and, occasionally, the complete loss of structures from the archaeological record. Considering our aquatic systems are rapidly changing due to climate change and other anthropogenic forces it is important to work toward understanding how interconnected archaeological site formation processes contribute to the structural stability of a wooden shipwreck. This paper outlines an investigation into shipwreck stability using a case study site in the Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. The project uses interdisciplinary approaches from archaeology, microbial ecology, hydrology, and geospatial sciences to work toward evaluating and quantifying wooden shipwreck degradation. This paper provides an overview of research objectives, disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies, anticipated results, and the significance of characterizing and evaluating wooden shipwreck degradation.

In the summer of 2022, the Program in Maritime Studies held its annual summer field school in the Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. The project focused efforts on recording Maryland shipwrecks 18CH506 and 18CH511 (previously identified as Aowa and Bayou Teche, respectively). Corresponding to wooden-hulled cargo ships built for the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) over the period 1918-1919 and built according to naval architect Theodore E. Ferris’s design (EFC Design #1001), these ships would be deliberately scuttled with dozens of others at Mallows Bay (on the Potomac River) in the 1920s. This paper outlines the construction features of both vessels to assess the congruence and deviation from plans provided to builders across the United States during the First World War. Comparing construction traits has the potential to illuminate variation in regional and yard-specific efforts to mass-produce wooden steamers in the United States during the early 20^th century.

Equator was designed and built by one of the most prolific American shipwrights, Matthew Turner, as a two-masted schooner in Benicia, CA, in 1888. Shortly thereafter, it was chartered by Robert Louis Stevenson for his cruise among the islands of Samoa and Kiribati. In 1897, it was sold and converted to a steam tender for Alaskan salmon canneries. Equator underwent its second transformation in 1915 when it was outfitted with a diesel engine, chartered by NOAA, and later became a working tugboat in the Puget Sound where it remained in operation until it was scuttled along Jetty Island in Everett, WA. This paper will examine the history, archaeological documentation, recording, and review the construction features of this important Pacific trading vessel.

Although Equator was built as a two-masted schooner in 1888, it was significantly altered throughout its long career. In 1897, Equator was sold and converted to a steam tender: boilers and a steam engine were installed, the transom was rebuilt, and a new deckhouse was added with a pilot house and funnel atop. In 1915, a new engine was installed, and the ship was transformed again, this time to function as a tugboat. It remained in this service until 1956 when it was finally abandoned. As one of the last remaining ships built by Matthew Turner, Equator has provided critical information on the hull design of the late 19th-centiry Pacific traders. The many lives of the Equator has also demonstrated how well-built wooden hulls were adapted to new purposes as economic forces and technology changed the maritime trading environments of at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Built in 1874 as a British barkentine-rigged crew steamer, Bear served as a sealer for ten years. In 1884 the United States government conscripted Bear for the rescue of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. For the next 80 years Bear served as a cutter for the United States Revenue Cutter Service, a museum ship for the city of Oakland, California, an Antarctic research vessel under Richard Byrd, and a patrol ship in World War II before sinking in 1963. During the career of Bear, it was modified multiple times for its designated purposes. This research uses multiple three-dimensional virtual ship models to analyze the technological, economic, cultural, political, and institutional influences that precipitated Bear’s structural modifications.

The remains of the steel-hulled tramp steamship Norlina, located offshore of Sonoma County, California, were recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places at the national level due to the site’s historical and archaeological significance. The vessel served as a cargo steamship between 1909 and 1926, including service during World War I. In 1926, while enroute from San Francisco to Puget Sound with the Garland Steamship Corporation, the vessel struck the jagged shoals south of Horseshoe Point and came to rest in Gerstle Cove. The vessel was heavily salvaged before breaking up and is now comprised of a dispersed debris scatter within Salt Point State Park and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. This paper will focus on work done by volunteer divers from the Sonoma Coast Historic and Undersea Nautical Research Society to map Norlina’s remains and highlight research issues relevant to shipwreck sites along the rough northern California coast.

Canada has a remarkable record of Basque wrecks from the 16th to 18th centuries. On sites from Labrador to Chaleur Bay, archaeologists have investigated eight ships and four small boats built in different ports of the Basque Country. If we include earlier presumed Basque wrecks in Europe and the Caribbean, the record covers 300 years, from before 1468 to 1757. We may highlight the evolution of four aspects. First, wood study shows the peak of oak plantations in the 16^th century, followed by increasing recourse to wild trees. Second, on a similar timeline, traditional geometric methods of hull design culminated, then lost favour to modern lines plans and battens. Third, carpentry techniques evolved from clinker to carvel planking, and from so-called “floating futtocks” to preassembled half-frames or “balisas”. Last, material culture shows increasing French influence in Basque transatlantic outfitting from the 17^th century, paralleling the evolution of shipbuilding technologies.

During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the classic Iberian ship concept was characterized by the nao (carrack) and galleon. These types of vessels eventually became popular throughout Europe since they were essential for the transatlantic journeys because of the exploration, commerce, and conquest of the New World. After decades of recovering evidence from various archaeologically excavated shipwrecks, our knowledge of structural features has allowed us to identify characteristics from the Iberian tradition. However, the actual design of the ship has been harder to define due to the similarity with other traditions and the variability among the Iberian shipwrights. The present ongoing research seeks to determine the relationship between structure and agency in the Iberian design through statistical and nautical engineer approaches to define the parameters in which an Iberian ship was conceptualized.

Indiana University is conducting underwater archaeological investigations on a mid-16^th century Iberian transatlantic merchant ship in collaboration with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Culture. The site was impacted by commercial salvage from 2011 to 2013. However, current investigations indicate significant site integrity, including evidence of ship hull construction, artillery, anchors, and cargo. Analysis of this cargo determined that the shipwreck represents international commerce and the early colonization of the Americas in the 1500s. This international trade is exemplified by goods from Spain, England, Germany, and Flanders. The ultimate goal following academic investigations is to protect this site’s unique underwater cultural heritage and associated biology as a “Living Museum of the Sea” within the newly established Southeast Reefs Marine Sanctuary.

This study seeks to expand the potential of information gleaned from tool marks on shipwreck timbers using the excavated remains of Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge (ex La Concorde, c.1710-1718), as a case study. The approach attempts to utilize the complementary strengths of three different techniques: Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), close-range photogrammetry, and statistical analysis of manual measurements. Presenting an overview of technologies, a particular focus is given to processes which thoroughly capture anthropogenic markings on the timbers in a high level of detail. When compared in aggregate, collated signatures may contribute to a further understanding of how the vessel was constructed, used, and repaired, and outline variations within the tool markings on a single site of this period. The methodology may also establish a baseline of signatures of well-documented provenience for comparison to other shipwreck assemblages.

While mostly known for its use as a military prison during the American Civil War, the islands and waters surrounding Fort Jefferson within what is now Dry Tortugas National Park were utilized for a variety of purposes throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. As the population of Fort Jefferson swelled with military personnel, prisoners, enslaved persons, engineers, laborers, and occasionally their families, the stories of those living in the “City on the Sea” grew increasingly complex. Recent historical research and renewed archeological inquiry has resulted in several new discoveries that better represent the variety of archaeological resources both above and below the water within the park. One such discovery, including the remains of a quarantine hospital and graveyard on a submerged island within the park highlight not only the variety of resources preserved within the park but also the dynamic environment in which they are preserved.

The Little Talbot Island Shipwreck, located on the beach in Little Talbot Island State Park, was initially investigated and reported by state archaeologists in 1987. When initially encountered, the site consisted of a section of hull from a composite ship measuring 16.13 m (52.92 ft.) by 5.25 m (17.22 ft.). Since that time, the position and integrity of this section of hull has been significantly impacted by successive storms. Accounts from rangers indicate it has been periodically buried and re-exposed, and has moved as much as three miles down the beach. After Hurricane Dorian in 2019, LAMP archaeologists visited the site to assess its current condition. LAMP returned in 2022 for a more thorough documentation after both Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. This paper presents an overview of this wreck as it has changed over the years, with an emphasis on how its integrity was affected after each aforementioned named storm.