Winter 1984 INA'S 1983 SEASON

L to R: Ottoman Wreck hull remains; glass mending in Bodrum; sediment coring at Sf. Ann's Bay; fish basket in Port Royal.

In this issue, individual project directors Under the direction of Cemal Pulak, a tion of iron objects, including anchors. It and research personnel provide INA mem­ Texas A&M University nautical archaeolo­ would now appear that at least half the bers with an overview of the work carried gy graduate student, four local menders eight anchors on board had been broken out by the Institute on various projects in are tending the arduous task of piecing and hastily repaired-little wonder medie­ 1983. Many of these activities will be the together thousands of fragments of broken val ships carried so many spares. Joseph subject of major articles in forthcoming glass to form complete or near complete Schwarzer has begun the difficult task of issues. vessels. Each month brings new excite­ replicating a large assemblage of objects ment as George Bass opens the envelope within a wicker basket, an assemblage that THE GLASS WRECK containing Sema Pulak's drawings of the includes a bronze steelyard with iron chain latest reconstructed glass vessels. Some and balance pan, a padlock, a dozen Although the Glass Wreck excavation months the envelope contains drawings of chisels and drills, a wood rasp, a claw was completed in 1979, the mending of the entirely new vessel types, adding to what hammer, and spare nails. In the same thousands of broken glass vessels, the is already the largest collection of medie­ envelope with the glass drawings, Netia conservation and reconstruction of the hull val Islamic glass in existence. Piercy sends her drawings of the iron, remains, and the molding, drawing, and Aside from broken glassware, work on copper, and bronze implements from the study of the artifacts is continuing. Glass Wreck artifacts focuses on replica- wreck. CONTINUING RESEARCH ON THE YASSI ADA BYZANTINE WRECK Significant new information about the cargo, anchors, and galley of the seventh­ century Yassi Ada ship has been acquired since the publication of the final report (Yassi Ada: A Seventh-Century Byzantine Shipwreck) just last year. Several ceramic vessels from the ship's galley, as well as over a dozen fragments from its tile roof, have been brought to light by the present excavation of the sixteenth-century Otto­ man Wreck also at Yassi Ada, and a re­ study of the cargo, amphoras, and anchors is being undertaken by Fred van Door­ ninck. Joe Schwarzer works on Glass Wreck concretion. The restudy was prompted by the dis­ covery that many of the Byzantine Wreck The Turkish government has just com­ Then in June, I spent several days at amphoras had graffiti scratched on them. pleted the roof over the new museum Perama, Greece, where a sailing replica of Since only 110 out of some 800 amphoras building which will house the reconstructed the fourth-century B.C. Kyrenia ship is be­ were recovered during excavation of the remains of the ship's hull. The new build­ ing built. Here the theories resulting from wreck, it became clear that the remaining ing is located within the Crusader Castle, years of study of the excavated Kyrenia amphoras would have to be raised. Fully which houses the Bodrum Museum of remains are being applied by an experi­ two-thirds of them are now in the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology. The hull re­ enced team of shipbuilders, using the Museum where they underwent a prelimi­ mains are expected out of chemical treat­ methods and materials found in the origi­ nary cataloging this past summer; over a ment in February or March when they have nal hull. It is an exciting project. During the dozen amphora types other than those finished curing. summer, I also visited INA headquarters in published in the final report were recorded Bodrum, Turkey, to discuss plans for the -each of them represented by only a few examples. Graffiti, often scarcely legible ANCIENT HULL RESEARCH new Serge Liman ship museum with the architects. We expect to begin the recon­ even under optimum lighting, have now My 1983 field work began January 1 struction of the vessel next spring. Most of been found on 80 amphoras and are being with a trip to Haifa, Israel, to work on the the year was spent over drafting boards drawn by B. J. van Doorninck. Those de­ ancient warship ram found off the coast at and in libraries, however, and at the key­ cifered to date include the words phakea Athlit. Two weeks were spent studying board of my new word processor, tending (lentils) and rhoe Guice) and the names methods to extract the old warship's bow to a vital aspect of archaeology: turning Oly(m)pios and Georgios, the latter name timbers from their highly decorative bronze our findings into public knowledge. scratched on the amphora after firing, ram; they had been securely locked to­ J. R. Steffy perhaps indicating it had belonged to gether since the fourth century B.C. That Photo: Don Frey Georgios, the ship's captain. A study of the trip resulted in enough information to per­ organic contents of these amphoras, con­ mit the completion of laboratory research tinued this summer by Texas A&M Univer­ on the ram's timbers. An article on this sity graduate student Cheryl Ward Hal­ work was published in Mariner's Mirror in dane, now indicates that some 700 August. The timbers were removed in July, globular-shaped amphoras in the cargo and the ram is now undergoing conserva­ may have contained wine which was tion treatment preparatory to display in the flavored with umbelliferous (possibly an­ Haifa Maritime Museum. Research on this ise) seeds. A rather frequent occurrence of important find continues in Israel and at one or two olive pits in these amphoras INA's Ship Research Laboratory in Col­ raises the possibility that many of these lege Station. vessels were reused, having earlier held olive oil or other contents (such as len­ During an April conference on the study tils?). of ancient Greek warships at the National Considerable work was done on the an­ Maritime Museum in Greenwich (London), chor concretions from the Byzantine England, I presented a paper on ancient Wreck with a view toward replicating one ship construction. Shortly thereafter, I be­ of the iron stocks and at least one of each gan work in Herculaneum, Italy, on a Ro­ of the three sizes of anchors the ship car­ man boat which was a victim of the erup­ ried. The letter epsilon was found on one tion of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. This boat anchor, a discovery that prompted the au- will be the subject of an elaborate study Van Doorninck holds amphora for Sheila Mat­ next year. thews to examine graffito. Continued on page 4.

2 PEOPLE formed the nucleus of a colony, thus claim­ The Nikonos III is no longer in produc­ ing the island as British territory. The tion and reconditioned models are difficult AND PLACES artifacts will be returned to Bermuda for to find. We have tried the Nikonos IVa display in the Bermuda Maritime Muse­ (actually a better camera for photog­ Tom Oertling, a Texas A&M nautical um ... Carol Olsen, an A&M staff member, raphers who do not subject it to the gruel­ archaeology graduate student and INA graduate student, and former INA volun­ ing schedules of the archaeologist), but a project volunteer, spent this fall in York­ teer, has been invited to lecture at the dose of sea water on its advanced elec­ town, Virginia, helping with the Virginia Chrysler Fine Arts Museum in Norfolk, Vir­ tronics requires more than a sloshing with Research Center for Archaeology excava­ ginia, on January 8. Her lecture will cover cologne to make it right. Needless to say, tion of a Revolutionary War vessel. Earlier her extensive research on identifying we cannot put an excavation on hold while in the year he was on the site of a sunken ship's figureheads in the Mystic Seaport waiting for our cameras to be repaired. Basque whaler in Red Bay, Labrador, Museum and Mariners' Museum. Her work helping with the Parks Canada excavation In short, we need more Nikonos III cam­ has led her to serve as a consultant for and taking wood samples from the hull. era bodies for our upcoming season's antique dealers wishing to authenticate Tom will be returning to College Station to work and are prepared to pay for one in their figureheads. In May she will be pre­ work on the hull remains from the Molas­ good shape or accept it as a tax deductible senting her work at the prestigious Samuel ses Reef Wreck this spring ... Ruby Lang, donation. If you can bear to part with your Eliot Morison Lecture Series at the U.S.S. another A&M graduate student and INA old camera or know of someone who Constitution Museum, Boston, Mas­ volunteer, has recently moved from ship wishes to trade up to the Nikonos IVa, sachusetts ... INA Research Associate reconstructor to project director of the please call us at 409/845-6694. Roger Smith spent the fall as a Research search for the Mittie Stephens, a steam­ Fellow at the John Carter Brown Library, 1984 IJNA, boat lost in a fire on Lake Caddo (Texas/ Brown University, Providence, Rhode Is­ Louisiana border) in 1869. Aside from its VOLUME 13 land. He used the library's excellent collec­ importance to the history of the area, the The 1984 subscription rate to the Inter­ tion for his research on the nautical tech­ steamboat is beginning to reveal an intri­ national Journal of Nautical Archaeology is nology of the period of discovery and guing story, making the research all the $41.00 US for INA members. This price exploration of the New World. more exciting ... Also a Texas A&M grad­ represents a savings of approximately uate student/INA volunteer, Cathy Hoyt NIKONOS Ills 50% off of the regular subscription price. A has been working on the conservation of a subscription to the journal is the best number of artifacts recovered from the Sea NEEDED BY INA means of keeping abreast of research Venture, which wrecked in Bermuda in In recent years almost all our underwa­ around the world in underwater ar­ July 1609. The ship was one of seven ter photographs have been shot with a chaeology. bound for the infant colony of Jamestown Nikonos III. When one is occasionally To receive the INA discount, members when a hurricane drove her aground. flooded, in-field first aid has been a should submit their orders, accompanied While most of her survivors finally made it thorough rinsing with fresh water followed by a check or money order, to INAIPO to Virginia, a few stayed behind and by drying with alcohol or even cologne. Drawer AU/College Station, TX 77840.

PROFILE

would take the profession. With the dedi­ as excited as anyone to learn that perhaps cation of a few scholars who believed this site was an early Phoenician ship­ underwater archaeology could make sig­ wreck. nificant contributions to the understanding Jack spent time this fall with the INA of man's past, and with the help of many survey team diving on this Bronze Age supportive Board members like Jack, the wreck site located near Ka~. From Don Institute-and nautical archaeology-has Frey's stereophotographs, Jack produced indeed come a long way since its estab­ a site plan of the wreck, pictured on page 4. lishment in 1972. This fall is not the only time Jack has Jack was one of the fifteen founding INA been to Turkey to help with the underwater Board members and has served as Chair­ work; he is sometimes accompanied by his man of the Board. As an avid diver, Jack wife, Jean, who has also assisted INA as a was involved in Caribbean wreck diving working diver on the Serc;e Liman Glass long before his association with George Wreck. Jack is also an accomplished led him to the Mediterranean. For years, underwater cinematographer; readers who Jack has wanted to find an early Phoeni­ saw the Odyssey program, ''The Ancient Jack Kelley holds Canaanite amphora from Ka$ cian (Canaanite) shipwreck and has been Mariners," have seen some of his excel­ Wreck. a driving force behind INA's annual survey lent underwater footage. When Jack Kelley and George Bass of the Turkish coast. Needless to say, A Texan by birth, Jack received his de­ were first introduced while George was still when INA's Turkish associates inves­ gree in architecture from Cornell Universi­ at the University of Pennsylvania, no one tigated sponge divers' reports of an early ty. He now resides in Tulsa where he is an could have foreseen how far the founding shipwreck containing Bronze Age "oxhide" oil producer. He and Jean have two of an institute of nautical archaeology ingots and Canaanite amphoras, Jack was daughters, Karen and Jenny.

3 Continued from page 2. However, the most exciting activity of Pulak hopeful that hull remains lie under thor to investigate the anchors of the the survey season was the preliminary ex­ the cargo. Moreover, the discovery of eight eleventh-century Glass Wreck and find amination of the Bronze Age Wreck, dis­ Canaanite (early Phoenician) amphoras that at least one was stamped with Arabic cussed below. reinforces George Bass' theory that ship­ letters. These seventh- and eleventh­ D. A. Frey ping in the Late Bronze Age lay as much in century anchors now become the first re­ the hands of the Phoenicians as it did in ported examples of stamped anchors from Drawing: Jack Kelley those of the Mycenaean Greeks. the medieval Mediterranean world. D. A. Frey BRONZE AGE WRECK AT KA~. F. H. van Doorninck TURKEY 1983 THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY OTTOMAN WRECK TURKISH COASTAL SURVEY The sixteenth-century Ottoman Wreck was discovered by chance in 1967 during In 1980 INA began its annual survey for excavation of the fourth-century Romani shipwrecks along the western coast of Tur­ Byzantine wreck at Yassi Ada. Because its key. The primary purpose of this survey is bow overlay the stern of the earlier wreck, to develop an extensive selection of sites it was partially excavated in 1967. Not until from which to choose when INA is ready to the Council of Europe Field School in 1982 begin a new excavation in Turkey. How­ was real interest in continuing the excava­ ever, by sampling the sites that do not tion of this relatively "new" wreck re­ warrant excavation themselves, INA kindled. hopes to learn more about trade routes in By the end of the 1982 season almost all antiquity. of the port side had been mapped, a large The 1983 survey went south of Bodrum section of the fore part of the vessel raised to the area of Fehtiye, Kalkan, and Ka!? for study, and some 150 concretions Four of the dozen-odd shipwrecks inves­ raised and cast, the most interesting being tigated this year had cargoes which re­ the gudgeon (rudder hardware) . mained intact enough to warrant further • After detailed evaluations of the previ­ study. One of these, the Kalkan Wreck, ous year's results, we chose as our pri­ about which we had heard much over the mary objective for the 1983 season the last decade because of the "huge mound THE BRONZE AGE excavation of the starboard side of the of amphoras lying close together," had WRECK AT KA$ ship, where soundings had revealed large been badly looted despite harsh Turkish curious wooden members resembling penalties for removing antiquities. Not a This summer INA's survey team made wales from the upper part of the hull. Al­ single unbroken amphora remained. the two-day trip from Bodrum to Ka!? to though poorly preserved, parts from the While INA still relies extensively upon spend almost a week exploring and docu­ upper sections of the hull were recovered the reports of Turkish sponge divers, some menting a Bronze Age wreck which had and will greatly aid in the study scheduled of this year's best finds were a result of the been reported to the Bodrum Museum of for spring 1984. A secondary objective of survey crew's own experience and intui­ Underwater Archaeology by Turkish recovering the gudgeon's mating pintle tion. In Kekova, a very large natural harbor sponge divers the previous year. Our two was unsuccessul. where sponge diving is forbidden because Turkish commissioners, Askin Canbazoglu of the number of ancient sites nearby, the and Yasar Yildiz, had already raised a Virazon's captain, Tufan Turanli, pointed copper "oxhide" ingot (like those ex­ out that a dangerous reef at the mouth of cavated at Cape Gelidonya in 1960) and the harbor was just in line for ships travel­ described the site to us, so it was with ing to the ancient city of Myra on the far great excitement that we made our first side of the harbor. A snorkeling reconnais­ dive. Chosen for INA's major 1984 excava­ sance of the tip of the reef turned up the tion, the wreck lies 150 to 170 feet deep, remains of a very large cargo, the strap­ the deepest we have ever attempted to type handles indicating they were from work. large, Iron Age jars. The large jars and Our objective was to learn as much as other selections of pottery found in situ possible without disturbing the site in order may provide valuable parallels for dating to prepare for the upcoming excavation similar artifacts found on land. Two days and to anticipate our material and person­ later, just before completing our investiga­ nel needs. The photomosaic and subse­ tion of the reef, we stumbled upon a sandy quent plan of the site enabled us to obtain ravine filled with some thirty intact am­ a more reliable count (83) of the oxhide phoras. Because this site apparently has ingots, more than twice the number re­ not been looted and is contained within a covered from the Cape Gelidonya wreck. small area, raising the cargo to look for The six very large storage jars indicate the galley wares and other remains of ship­ vessel is much larger than that at Lifting wales (at right and left) and other timbers board life would make a valuable project. Gelidonya. Initial testing leaves Cemal from Ottoman Wreck.

4 Analysis of the keel revealed a totally amount of architectural detail and an im­ during the last two summers. The Little­ distorted bolt concretion containing frag­ mense amount of artifactual material. more Scientific Company (ELSEC) mag­ ments and splinters of what had once been From the thousands of fragments of un­ netometer purchased by INA during the part of the ship's keel: she had received smoked pipes of several varieties found spring was the major tool of the survey. her fatal blow as the bow struck the reef. scattered across the floor, it seems obvi­ This summer's survey was limited to a Of the three shipwrecks excavated at Yas­ ous that Room 5 was a pipe shop. In ten-day excursion during the latter half of si Ada, only the Ottoman Wreck reveals addition to the pipes, there were over a May. Once again, the Jamaica Defense definitive evidence for the suspected hundred liquor bottles, two brass candle­ Force Coast Guard provided patrol boats, catastrophe. Peculiarly lacking in artifacts, sticks, and several pewter objects-two the Fort Charles (P7) and the Discovery this wreck demonstrates clearly that sink­ plates, a charger (large platter), a unique Bay (P4), to act as support vessels. Both ing ships do not have to be driven into the tankard, and a baluster (for liquid mea­ weather and sea remained abnormally sandy sea bed by heavy cannons or a surements). calm during the period of the survey, allow­ cargo of amphoras in order for their In 1983 the entire excavation operation ing the crew to work virtually on top of wooden hull members to be preserved. was improved thanks to the generosity of normally dangerous reefs. Much work still remains to be done be­ AL-CAN of Jamaica and their international The only wreck found this summer fore conclusions about the ship's nationali­ office in Ottowa, Canada. AL-CAN com­ which had not been located previously was ty, purpose, and structure can be made. pletely designed, constructed, and that of a fishing trawler which came to grief However, according to preliminary estima­ donated an aluminum pontoon barge with on the reef sometime last winter. Although tions, we may say that the vessel had an a 12-by-24-foot working platform. A diesel no new historically important sites were overall length of 21-23 meters and a driven air compressor mounted on the located, the results of the survey were breadth of approximately 7 meters. Hope­ barge replaced the two-year-old gasoline­ nevertheless gratifying: all of the wrecks fully, ongoing study and a third excavation powered compressors that had become located over the last two summers were season will yield definitive information very unreliable. relocated, indicating that previous surveys about this relatively well-preserved ship. Photo: Dennis Denton were quite thorough in spite of the usually Certainly any new information will supple­ hazardous sea conditions. Plans for the ment our still meager knowledge of six­ upcoming season are now being de­ teenth-century ship construction tech­ veloped based on the data gathered over nology. the last three seasons. A manuscript on C. M. Pulak the previous work, including site descrip­ tions and analyses, was recently accepted PORT ROYAL for publication by the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. Excavation of the seventeenth-century sunken city of Port Royal continued for a S. D. Hoyt third season as a joint INAITexas A&M THE COLUMBUS University field school. The focus of the excavation has been a CARAVELS PROJECT brick building (Building #1) containing Working from barge at Port Roya/. INA's attempt to locate and identify the three sets of paired rooms, each pair con­ site of Columbus's abandoned caravels Also this year, the Government of nected by a doorway, for a total of six began in 1981 with collection of primary Jamaica completely renovated one of the ground rooms with the probability that historical accounts of his fourth voyage, former British Naval Officers' Quarters there was at least one upper story to the documents pertaining to the subsequent (constructed in 1898) to comfortably house structure. The three northern rooms each founding of the town near the site, and our entire crew of approximately 20 peo­ have a doorway onto what was once Lime early maps of St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica. ple, and for the first time meals were Street, one of the major streets along the The first season of field work began in cooked and eaten at our place of resi­ harbor front in 1692. 1982 with the use of a magnetometer and dence. We are extremely grateful to the By 1983, the excavation of Rooms 3 and sub-bottom penetrating sonar in a sys­ Government of Jamaica and Prime Minis­ 4 (two of the three southern rooms) was tematic survey control grid. Targets were ter Seaga for their continued support. It is completed. A rather interesting find was a located, tested, and identified, but no evi­ with enthusiastic optimism that the 1984 large wicker fish basket found near the dence of Spanish materials was encoun­ project is being planned with the goal of southwest corner of Room 3. I feel confi­ tered during the first survey season. completing the excavation of the remain­ dent in calling it a fish basket, for on one of Before the second season, important ing three rooms of Building #1, the first of my trips to a side street of Kingston, I data about shoreline changes since Col­ many buildings to be excavated in this happened onto some fish mongers whose umbus's time were obtained from the geo­ important seventeenth-century British site. fish were displayed in baskets identical in logical cores and tests conducted earlier. every detail to that found in Room 3. Judg­ D. L. Hamilton Gradual accretion of beach sediments ing from the associated artifacts, Room 3 THE PEDRO BANK over the years suggested that the caravels was probably a meat and possibly a leath­ SURVEY could lie beneath an area now overgrown er processing shop. Room 4 is believed to with mangroves. It was decided to expand have been a tavern. The primary goal for the Pedro Bank the survey network· into this area during Room 5 is extremely interesting. The Survey of 1983 was to conduct an inten­ the 1983 season. The resulting data are outer wall of the building fell across the sive magnetometer search of areas of the currently being compiled by a computer to floor of the room preserving a large bank which were only visually surveyed produce a contour map of the surveyed

5 areas. Although two additional wreck sites Exumas to begin a reconnaissance of the vey in the visible land ruins as well, thus were located, neither was of Spanish site. The Hyburn Cay Wreck was originally producing the first precise instrument sur­ origin. discovered in 1966 and extensively sal­ vey of the oldest surviving town in the New In the process of searching for the lost vaged in 1967. From the brief reports that World! caravels, the project has accumulated an resulted, we realized that the wreck had We were joined by Gordon Watts and enormous amount of electronic, ar­ been remarkably similar to the one at Wes Hall, two colleagues from the History chaeological, and geological data about Molasses Reef; hence, we wanted to have Department of East Carolina University St. Ann's Bay. Although the site of Colum­ a first-hand look at it to determine the and specialists in the fine art of mag­ bus's ships has not yet been positively present condition of the site and to evalu­ netometric divination. Almost immediately identified, sites of other historic shipwrecks ate its archaeological potential. Bad they identified several good targets with have been located and studied. Radiocar­ weather and problems with the anchor their instrument. We dived and discovered bon dating of stratified sediment samples winch on the Morning Watch limited the the bottom of the harbor was composed of has already considerably narrowed the reconnaissance to about 14 diving hours, fine sediments which went into suspension search area vertically, and computer en­ but we learned enough to convince us that at the slightest provocation, rendering the hanced analysis of magnetic information the lower portion of the ship's hull lies visibility virtually zero. Having localized the will further limit the search area horizontal­ preserved, trapped beneath the ballast, target as best we could using the mag­ ly. A third season of field work will com­ and constitutes the most complete struc­ netometer, we began to excavate. Twelve mence in the summer of 1984. While the ture of a sixteenth-century ship known to feet below the surface of the seabed we hunt for these historic ships is perhaps the us in the Caribbean. were still digging when the sides of our pits most difficult survey project that INA has D. H. Keith began caving in, forcing us to abandon yet attempted, patient and systematic ar­ Photo: Dennis Denton excavation. chaeology eventually will produce conclu­ We completed the magnetometer sur­ sive evidence of the caravels' where­ vey ahead of schedule. Now realizing that abouts, if they are meant to be found dur­ the bottom sediments were too thick to ing this quincentennial decade. permit test excavation, we decided sub­ R. C. Smith bottom sonar held the most promise for probing the potential shipwreck sites. Harold Edgerton at M IT arranged to lend THE INA/MORNING us an EG&G Electronics instrument as WATCH RESEARCH well as to provide one of his students, EXPEDITION Peter Mui, as operator and read-out in­ terpreter. In order to answer certain questions By the end of the survey we had select­ about maritime culture and technology ed three areas which demonstrated re­ during the early years of exploration and mote sensing "signatures" characteristic discovery in the New World, INA is pre­ of shipwrecks, but all lie too deeply buried sently making a study of shipwreck and to be explored with the equipment we had harbor sites of the fifteenth and sixteenth on hand. If the wrecks of Columbus's 1493 centuries. One aspect of this study has ships are there in Isabela harbor, they are been a series of field reconnaissance visits going to be difficult to find and even harder to known sixteenth-century sites through­ to excavate. out the Caribbean from Mexico to the Diver examines loose timber from Hyburn Cay D. H. Keith Turks and Caicos Islands. On April 22, Wreck; edge of ballast pile is at left. 1983, an INA survey and excavation team left Miami aboard director Sumner ISABELA HARBOR SURVEY MOLASSES REEF Gerard's research vessel, Morning Watch, WRECK EXCAVATION for a three-month expedition during which Leaving Hyburn Cay, we proceeded to three separate projects were undertaken. the north coast of Hispaniola to survey the After a month in the Dominican Repub­ Primary mission of the team was the com­ harbor of the first permanent European lic, we raised anchor and headed for the pletion of the Molasses Reef Wreck exca­ settlement in the New World-La Isabela. Turks and Caicos Islands where we were vation, but two other "mini-projects" were Established by Columbus, Isabela was joined by Sam Forbes, the government's undertaken as well. struck by a hurricane-the first ever expe­ representative. Our plan was to spend two rienced by Europeans-in 1493, and sev­ months on Molasses Reef, where we HYBURN CAY eral ships were lost. These fifteenth­ hoped to 1) conduct a magnetometer RECONNAISSANCE century vessels were our targets. After search for the ships's missing anchors, securing proper authority from the govern­ 2) finish excavation and recovery of all Crossing the Straits of Florida, Morning ment, we began an intense, controlled re­ artifacts associated with the site, 3) map Watch first stopped in Nassau for us to mote sensing survey of the east side of the accurately the entire site and portion of the arrange with the government of the harbor. A Lietz theodolite and electronic reef on which it lies, 4) core several coral Bahamas to survey a possible sixteenth­ distance meter (EDM) enabled us to pin­ heads at the site and elsewhere on the century shipwreck site in their territorial point the location of any targets discovered reef to test the potential application of waters. Having secured this permission, during the course of the survey. CI ,ief sur­ schlerochronology (coral ring dating) to we sailed to Hyburn Cay in the northern veyor Bruce Thompson managed to sur- nautical archaeology, and 5) recover the

6 Photo: Dennis Denton wooden hull remains from storage on Pine CA YO NUEVO, MEXICO Cay for further study at our conservation facilities at Texas A&M. During November 1983, INA again sent Although we did not manage to finish representatives (Joe J. Simmons and Den­ excavation of the site or discover the miss­ nis D. Denton) to aid Pilar Luna, director of ing anchors, we did map in and recover the Subaquatic Archaeology Department more than 250 concretions. Among the of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologfa e most interesting artifacts recovered were Historia, in the ongoing investigation of the two crossbows, a pair of leg irons, a clear possibly late sixteenth-century shipwreck glass bead, and a medallion or seal com­ located at Cayo Nuevo in the Mexican Bay posed of two different metals. The cross­ of Campeche. bows in particular hint at an early date for The team spent a total of nine days the site. diving at this isolated reef, supported once Our theodolite and EDM saw hazardous again by a Mexican naval vessel. This time duty on Molasses Reef. Since the nearest our work revealed a sparse scatter of bal­ dry land is more than eight miles away, we last stones connecting two distinct areas of installed a "Survey Instrument Tower" artifactual evidence, areas which are (SIT) in the shallows directly behind the separated by almost 250 meters. In addi­ site. From there, the SIT operator could tion, the detailed structure of the reef in the measure simultaneously angles and dis­ immediate area of the most concentrated tances to points on the site or to survey remains was determined. We also dis­ boats more than a mile away. covered another cast-iron cannon, making a total of five at this site, which may prove to contain some of the earliest cast-iron cannons in the Western Hemisphere. J. J. Simmons Coral head coring at Molasses Reef.

Coral geologist Dick Dodge and a coring THESES ACCEPTED technician were brought to the site to core When INA affiliated with Texas A&M selected coral heads in an attempt to date University in 1976, the number of students the site using schlerochronology. Unfortu­ enrolled in the graduate program was a nately this study was interrupted when the mere handful. Since that time, their num­ Morning Watch developed electrical prob­ ber has grown considerably, and recently lems which forced the expedition to retire several theses have been accepted. prematurely from the reef; consequently, Among the latest successful candidates the potential which schlerochronology may are Jim Baker, "Computers and Nautical offer to nautical archaeologists remains to Archaeology: Characterization of the be determined. C.S.S. Georgia Wreck Site;" Mark Gean­ On the way back to Miami, we stopped ette, "Mast Step and Keelson: The Early at Pine Cay and recovered the hull re­ Development of a Shipbuilding Technolo­ mains which had been in storage in crates gy;" Sheila Matthews, "The Rig of the of wet sand for almost a year. We were Eleventh-Century Ship at Serge Liman, pleased to discover that the simple expe­ Turkey;" Margaret Morden, "The Glass dient of covering the wood with wet sand Lamps from the Eleventh-Century Ship­ Bruce Thompson perched atop SIT station. preserved it quite well; no visible deteriora­ wreck at Serge Liman, Turkey;" James tion had taken place. Parrent, "The Conservation of Water­ In the interest of refining our identifica­ logged Wood Using Sucrose;" Dory Slane, tion of the site, we will be concentrating all "The History of the Anchorage at Serge our 1984 efforts and resources on clean­ Liman, Turkey;" and Roger Smith, "The ing, conserving, and analyzing the artifacts Maritime Heritage of the Cayman Islands: already recovered, and will return to Contributions in Nautical Archaeology." Molasses Reef to finish the remaining ex­ Longtime Newsletter readers will recog­ cavation objectives in 1985. nize the titles of many of the theses as D. H. Keith pertaining to INA projects.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology is a nonprofit scientific organization whose purpose is to gather knowledge of man's past as left in the physical remains of his maritime activities and to disseminate this knowledge through scientific and popular publications, seminars, and lectures. The INA Newsletter is published periodically by INA and is distributed to its members and Supporting Institutions to inform them of INA's current activities. INA is an equal opportunity organization. INSTITUTE OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

OFFICERS-ADMINISTRATION

Donald A. Frey, President Michael L. Katzev, Vice-President George F. Bass, Archaeological Director Janet Urbina, SecretaryfTreasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John H. Baird Donald G. Geddes, III Clinton A. Phillips George F. Bass Sumner Gerard Ray H. Siegfried, II Richard D. Bass Nixon Griffis William T. Sturgis Duncan Boeckman, Chairman Harry C. Kahn, II Frank E. Vandiver John C. Calhoun, Jr. Michael L. Kalzev Robert L. Walker Charles Collins Jack W. Kelley Lew O. Ward Mrs. John Brown Cook, Vice-Chairman David C. Langworthy Garry A. Weber Frank Darden Robert E. Lorton Martin A. Wilcox Michael J. Davidson Frederick R. Mayer George O. Yamini Claude Duthuit Melvin M. Payne

STAFF ADJUNCT PROFESSORS

Robin C. M. Piercy Robyn Woodward Edwin Doran, Jr., Ph.D. David I. Owen, Ph.D. J. Richard Steffy Netia Piercy Cynthia J. Eiseman, Ph.D. David C. Switzer, Ph.D. Tufan Turanli Sema Pulak D. L. Hamilton, Ph.D. Gordon P. Watts, Jr., MA Frederick H. van Doorninck, Jr., Ph.D. Murat Tilev Carolyn Koehler, Ph.D. Steven D. Hoyt Denise Lakey

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

Jeremy Green Donald Rosencrantz Donald H. Keith, MA Roger C. Smith, M.A. Cemal Pulak, M.S.

SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS

Australian Institute of Maritime Archaeology Corning Museum of Glass New York University, Institute of Fine Arts Boston University Departamento de Arqueologia Subacuatica de la I.NAH., Mexico University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Brown University Kittery Historical and Naval Museum Partners For Livable Places Bryn Mawr College Maine Maritime Academy University Museum, University of Pennsylvania University of California, Berkeley University of Maryland, Baltimore County Texas A&M Research Foundation University of Cincinnati Massachusetts Institute of Technology Texas A&M University Cornell University University of New Hampshire University of Texas, Austin

Non-profit Organization INSTITUTE OF NAUTICAL U.S. Postage PAID ARCHAEOLOGY Permit No. 19 P.O. Drawer AU College Station, Texas College Station, Texas 77840

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