Trafalgar Day 2014

This is the famous phrase that Nelson signalled to his fleet from the HMS Victory before the Battle of Trafalgar was about to take place on the 21st October 1805 - Source

Happy Trafalgar Day! Today, on the 21st October, it is 209 years since the Battle of Trafalgar took place between the British fleet and the combined French and Spanish fleets. Most people know about this event due to the British Vice-Admiral being Lord Horatio Nelson. Every year the Navy traditionally celebrates Trafalgar Day by having a memorial service and laying a wreath in memory of those who did not survive the battle.

Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson in his full-dress uniform - the hero of Trafalgar. He died from a musket ball during the battle at Trafalgar in 1805 - Source

Because of Nelson being such a celebrity, there is a lot documented about the battle. Even his flagship, the HMS Victory, still remains a popular site to visit in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. If you make your way down to Portsmouth, England, make sure to visit both the HMS Victory and the National Museum of the Royal Navy in order to get the full experience.

The HMS Victory - flagship of Lord Nelson. Now a museum ship at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, UK - Source

Trafalgar Day is not just celebrated by the British, but in other countries as well. In the Australian town, Trafalgar, they hold a celebratory re-enactment of the battle every year. Since I work in the Dockyard, I see people coming from all over the world with different interests in the subject. Some have ancestors who were present at Trafalgar during the battle in 1805, and others have collected objects that relate to the event. It is always great to hear stories, so I really recommend you to speak to the museum staff if you pay us a visit, since we can give you some interesting bits that you won't find on the information boards in the museum.

L

Palaeo-ORG: Bone Database

Source

The Palaeo-ORG is a website created by students and professionals in the purpose of creating a bone database freely available online. This could be a great resource if used right so do have a look around!

L

Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds: Maritime Archaeology - FREE Online Course!

Well it is kind of self-explanatory... Source

Just over a year ago I posted the news about the University of Southampton's new free online course in maritime archaeology -  well! It is finally here! The course started Monday 6th October 2014, but there is still time to sign up! It requires a commitment of about 4 hours every week, but other than that you don't have to have any previous knowledge of the subject, just an interest in it. This is a great way to get an insight into the world of maritime archaeology! Perhaps this course will spark an interest that you didn't know you had, and you will be receiving a lovely certificate at the end if you manage to complete all the steps over the next four weeks.

Happy learning :)

L

The Quest for the Santa Maria

Christopher Columbus’ explorations have for centuries been intriguing a large audience. It is one of the key things you learn about during history classes in school. So it is no wonder that the quest of finding the wreck of the Santa Maria, caught the interest of an international audience.

The Santa Maria was the biggest of the three vessels that Columbus used during his first voyage to the west in 1492, with the mission of finding a safe westerly trading route to India. Unexpectedly for him, he encountered the Americas (although he didn’t reach the actual mainland until his third journey in 1498), more specifically some Caribbean isles such as modern day Bahamas and Haiti. It was outside Haiti that the Santa Maria ran aground and had to be left behind.

Columbus' first journey west in 1492 - Source

Earlier this year in May, Barry Clifford announced that he had found the Santa Maria outside the coast of Haiti. This discovery was reported in many newspapers across the world and following this announcement the Ministry of Culture of Haiti asked for assistance in researching the site from the UNESCO Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB). Subsequently a team of researchers was put together and sent out in September 2014 to investigate the site.

After conducting dives over the site, the team could conclude that this was in fact a shipwreck due to the mound of ballast found on the location. They also recovered a small number of artefacts from the site, such as copper nails and possible copper sheathing. The presence of the copper sheathing suggests that this wreck was in fact a much later wreck than the 15^th century Santa Maria, and is more likely to be from the 18^th and 19^th century. The copper sheathing of the hull was first adapted on ships by the British Royal Navy in the 1760s, which for example was used on the famous HMS Victory (flagship of Lord Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805) that was completed in 1765.

Although further investigations now conclude that this shipwreck could not possibly be the Santa Maria, the question of where she lies still remains unanswered. Another question that also emerges is the identity of the found ship. Could this be a lost ship of the British Royal Navy or is it something completely different?

Copper sheathing found on the site - Source

In the beginning of the UNESCO report, there is a mentioning of the difficult situation concerning archaeology on Haiti. Although the government has signed the UNESCO 2001 convention of protection of underwater heritage, they released a public notice in 2006 stating that all archaeological research (both terrestrial and submerged) would be suspended until further notice. This comes from the issue that the Haitian State University currently doesn’t offer any sort of archaeological training, and most of the previously conducted research in the area has been done by foreign researchers. Perhaps the quest for finding the Santa Maria, which has been a lot international attention, could help with making the Haitian government attracted to the idea of researching the Island’s archaeological heritage? The key thing would be to help spread the knowledge of the archaeological research in order to provide an understanding of the importance of conducting proper scientific surveys of archaeological sites. In the UNESCO report for the shipwreck thought to be the Santa Maria there is also a mentioning of looting of the said site. With no stately bodies concerned with investigating the archaeological sites, it is impossible to keep a constant eye on the state of these sites, which makes them very attractive to be looted. Again, a more public awareness could help with this issue, and what better way to do it than to use an already internationally recognised project?

I’ve included the reference to the online document of the UNESCO report below if you are interested in reading it. 

L

UNESCO.2014. The Mission of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body to Haiti. [online], Available from: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/images/Haiti-STAB-en.pdf [Accessed on: 7th October 2014]

Day of Archaeology 2014

So today is (one of two) the Day of Archaeology 2014! Fittingly I have actually been on a dig all day today. As part of the celebrations it was suggested that archaeologists all over the world would write about one day of their life. Below is my contribution, which also will be published on the Day of Archaeology 2014 blog.

Confessions of an Archaeologist

Southampton 09/07/2014

Hello!

My name is Laura Johansson and I am an archaeologist. I am originally from Pargas, Finland, but moved to the UK in 2010 to do my undergraduate in archaeology at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. My interest in archaeology stretch back to my early teenage years, and since my passion for archaeology has only grown.  My real passion though is for maritime archaeology and I am currently studying for an MA in Maritime Archaeology in Southampton. University will start back up in September, but up until then I am employed as a full-time archaeologist for Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit and on annualised hours as a museum guide for The National Museum of the Royal Navy, which is based in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

I’ve chosen to write an account of one of my days at the Medieval Chantry Dig in Southampton, working for the SCC Archaeology Unit. We are currently clearing out any archaeology from an area where the Drew Smith Group is planning to build a new set of flats. As mentioned before, this site has previously been the location of a medieval chantry which was connected with St. Mary’s Church, located just across the road. In this case there is  a substantial amount of documentation connected to our site, which has allowed us to understand what the different medieval features on the site may be. However, there are also several Saxon pits, containing a substantial amount of animal bones.

On this particular day I had just started digging a new feature. So far the theory is that the feature is a pit of unknown date which is being cut by a ditch which seems to be running across a large part of the site. This job is my first paid full-time position in commercial archaeology (yay me!) and it is refreshing to get to work in a different side of archaeology (previously I have mainly participated in digs organised by universities). Surprisingly (to me) it is quite different! I was told today that in contemporary British Commercial Archaeology we no longer use trowels for other things than cleaning the mud out of our boots. However, (if archaeology was a religion) I did feel like a sinner in church as I was shovelling out the layers of my pit

Unfortunately I can’t really tell you anything interesting about my feature as I don’t know much myself. The dig started in the middle of April this year and we are now running on the last few weeks. Unfortunately time is against us and we are having speed up the process a bit (we are like digging machines!), but fortunately it looks like there is not too much left to do. Hopefully the weather will be with us these last few days as we otherwise will be sat in the office doing finds washing (which isn’t too bad either!).

It has always been my intention to pursue a degree in archaeology after university. My interests are quite wide, but my expertise lies mainly within British and Finnish archaeology. One of my greatest passions is to promote archaeology to the wider public, which is something I am hoping to continue to do in the future. Among other things I am planning to partly base my MA dissertation project on public outreach so we shall see how it goes! Wish me luck!

Laura

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Drew Smith Group, Dr Andy Russel and Emma for their kind contributions to this piece.

A Message In A Bottle...

Who hasn't dreamt about finding a message in a bottle! It is an exciting way of getting to know a completely random stranger who you probably would never have met otherwise. It would be even more exciting if that stranger happens to be from a completely different century!

The bottle and the postcard from 1913, Source

Earlier in March this year, a fisherman pulled up an old brown glass bottle from the Baltic Sea. As it happens that bottle was carrying a message from 1913, written by one called Richard Platz from Germany. Researchers managed to track down his granddaughter who actually had never met her grandfather as he died in 1946, at an age of 54 years. It is a very touching story that the granddaughter got to know her grandfather from when he was in his early twenties, and in a completely unique way too.

Unfortunately the time underwater has caused the writing to fade on the postcard, and not much can be deciphered. With over a hundred years in the sea, this message in a bottle has been classified to be the oldest of its kind in the world. It is amazing to think that the act of a bored 21-year -old will now end up in the newest edition of Guinness World Records book.

Archaeological Sites Destroyed in Finland

As continuation onto yesterday's post about the battle between maritime archaeologists and treasure hunters, I wanted to make people aware that destruction to archaeological sites does not just happen underwater.

Finland. Source

An article published by Yle News (the Finnish version of BBC) states that some well-known archaeological sites in Finland have been subjected to vandalism. One person or several people have been digging holes around the sites without permission. These holes does not seem to be the work of professional archaeologists.

The unfortunate side of archaeology is that it is destructive. Once something has been dug then there is no way of putting it back as it was, consequently important knowledge is lost and the archaeological record is flawed. People should be aware that it is illegal to dig on known archaeological sites (both terrestrial and maritime) without permission.

Hakoinen Castle in Janakkala, Finland, was one of the sites subjected to vandalism. Source

If anyone would be interested in becoming an archaeologist, there are a range of different courses available all over the world. Many universities offer archaeology as a degree subject, but you can also find smaller organisations organising courses in archaeology in your local area and probably for a cheaper price.

L

Maritime Archaeologists vs Treasure Hunters

Now this is a subject that makes the blood run hot in the veins of archaeologists. First of all, let us establish the difference.

As an archaeologist I am interested in uncovering forgotten stories from the past. Although it may not necessarily be of monetary value, knowledge is the most valuable thing we can get from any archaeological site. Valuable artefacts are of secondary nature, although it is undeniably nice to find a piece of jewellery once in a while, but REPEATING; this is not the main purpose of archaeology.

Disaster flood strikes! Graphic image from the movie '2012'. Source

Most people have probably watched the movie '2012' about a disaster flood striking the Earth and threatens to wipe out all life on the planet. Well at the end of the movie [SPOILER ALERT], the first thing the survivors do after establishing their own safety is to start searching for what is left. A lot of people have died and with them the knowledge of many things was lost - to recover this knowledge is now the aim of the survivors. So what is not this if not archaeology! True, it is from a very different perspective compared to what we are normally used to, but nonetheless it is archaeology.

Now in perspective, a treasure hunter is only interested in recovering artefacts of monetary value. That person does not care about what we can learn from the site and sees that as the secondary purpose of the project. Unfortunately a lot of history and knowledge is lost because of this, and all those underwater graves are disturbed and treated with no respect.

Maybe not quite how it works... Source

The United Nations estimates that about 3 million shipwrecks lay scattered across the world's oceans (Source). Although this is a huge number, it is not very likely that you will come across a treasure shipwreck during your lifetime. So despite what has been said, treasure hunting does not bring in the millions into your bank account. In fact, it is likely to just do the opposite. Two divers have pleaded guilty of looting artefacts from shipwrecks, with the total value being £250 000. They now face to be heavily fined and receive a prison sentence of up to 8 years. Their case will appear in court again on the 2nd July.

Now here is a question; why does illegal looting of shipwrecks keep occurring on a regular basis? Is it because people tend to ignore the laws or that they are ignorant of them? Best way of counteracting this is through education! The domestic and international maritime laws need to be made available and visible to everyone. They should also be included in the schools' curriculum, as the earlier people are made aware the better. Although I have studied archaeology for four years now, it was not until this year (2014) that I properly learnt about the laws concerning maritime archaeological sites! If I am not made aware of this before now, then certainly we can't expect the public to be aware of it either.

The UNESCO 2001 Convention protects the World's underwater heritage. Source

So what should you do if you happen to come across a shipwreck. If the wreck lies in UK territorial waters (the law states differently depending on which country the wreck is located in) then you have 28 days to report it to the Receiver of Wreck. Failure to do so will be seen as an offence and you can face a fine for breaking the law. You are also not allowed to touch it until the site has been properly investigated - so no illegal looting! After reporting the site it doesn't mean that you aren't allowed to be part of the project any more. Professional Maritime Archaeologists welcome volunteers as this will speed up the project and also spread the knowledge of how to excavate and treat underwater sites - so make sure you keep an eye on what they are planning! You can of course claim the credit for discovering the site as well.

I could go on ranting about this subject, but I shall save it for a later post. It is a shame that there is some disagreement between maritime archaeologists and treasure hunters, as a mutual partnership could turn out to be very valuable indeed.

L

How do you become an archaeologist?

So I was thinking the other day about the different questions people ask me when I tell them I study Maritime Archaeology. The most common one seems to be; "what made you choose it and how did you get to where you are today?".

I am the happiest standing knee-high in mud! Source 

When I was 13 my teacher asked the class to write down what we want to become when we grow up. She collected all the notes and kept them in a drawer for three years and during the week before we graduated from the school she handed them back out to everyone. To my surprise I found that I had written 'archaeologist'. I had absolutely no memory of this but the thought stuck with me. 

In Sixth Form I decided to take all history classes and other relevant subjects so when the day comes for me to apply for my undergraduate degree in archaeology, I would have the highest chance possible. The day came and I got accepted on to an archaeology programme at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, so I packed my bags and moved from Finland to the United Kingdom and I haven't looked back since. 

During my undergraduate degree I became interested in maritime archaeology and decided I should do a masters in that subject. In order to prepare myself for the MA I chose most of the case studies for my assignments from a maritime environment and I also decided to do some work experience at the Mary Rose museum during my second year. This definitely paid off as I got a lot of contacts in the business (which actually in the end got me the job I have today) and it was another good aspect I could put on my masters application.

So I applied and was accepted on to the masters programme in Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton. Part of my current research for the program is actually based on ideas I originally thought of when I was 14, but wasn't skilled enough at the time to test them out. So if you happen to come across something interesting then keep it in mind as it may come a day when you actually base you research on it - it is never too early to start!

Just a normal day at the office... Source

Yesterday I finally got a good break as the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth hired me! I am very excited as I have finally reached the goal I dreamt about when I first caught an interest in archaeology.

My younger brother once told me that I am the only person he knows who actually follow my dreams and do what I want to do. I realised at that point that far too many people take the easy way out. Where I stand today is the result of 10 years of hard work, during which I have been able to keep my passion and interest for the subject. I now feel I can give others the advice to follow your dreams! It may be hard work and few short cuts, but the feeling you get from achieving you goal is amazing. I still have a long way to go, during which I most likely will have ups and downs, but even if it means I have to work with something else in order to work up my experience in archaeology then that is what I am prepared to do. Don't take the easy way ladies and gents! The hard work was so worth it!

L

Damn those shipwrecks!

So, just wanted to put this out there; maritime archaeology does not just involve shipwrecks, but a range of other features too like historic and archaeological landscapes, buildings, airplanes, etc. So if you happen to be designing a logo that has to do with maritime archaeology, please forget about trying to squeeze a shipwreck in there! Rather choose something that can symbolize maritime archaeology in a way that includes a larger spectrum of what we do.

Yup we do this too - snorkel not necessarily required... Source

I came across this article the other day! 1500-year-old basilica - beautiful! I am looking forward to read more about in the future when further excavations have been conducted. Just thought I would share it with you.

Yeah, sometimes it really is this easy! Source

L