NAS 2006 Conference Speakers
Martijn Manders
Maritime archaeologist, employed at the National Service for
Archaeological Heritage (ROB/NISA)
Since 1990 Martijn has worked for the Dutch government as an
underwater archaeologist. For the first thirteen years he was
archaeologist in the diving team of the NISA, executing
excavations and assessments underwater. Since 2003 his main focus
has drifted towards policy and the overall management of our
underwater cultural heritage. Martijn’s scientific
interests are now to find out how shipwrecks degrade underwater
and to find solutions how to protect them. Much of this research
has been done in co-operation with other countries within two
EU-projects, called MoSS and BACPOLES. He the Dutch project
leader for these projects. Also, he is currently working on a new
GIS system to help us to manage our underwater cultural heritage
(MACHU).
The 'In situ' protection of shipwrecks in The Netherlands and
beyond. Practice and theory.
The “In situ” protection of archaeological objects
has become an important issue over the years, above as well as
underwater. The reason for protecting underwater sites is partly
the large amount of archaeologically interesting shipwrecks and
partly because of the growing notion of protecting a
representative part of our maritime heritage for future
generations. Article 1 of the ICOMOS-charter of 1996 as well as
article 1 of the UNESCO-convention on the protection of Maritime
Heritage of 2001 put emphasis on the fact that protection in situ
should be the first option.
But if this is going to be the standard procedure, what does
it mean? When can or do we want to protect shipwrecks underwater?
From what are we protecting them? For how long can we protect a
shipwreck? These are the questions that we have to answer
ourselves. The Netherlands have a relatively long tradition of
“in situ” preservation of maritime archaeological
sites. It started with some shipwrecks found within reclaimed
land on the former Zuiderzee-bed in the Flevopolders in the
1980s. Here, more than thirty wrecks are protected against the
lowering of the groundwater table. In 1988 the BZN 3 wreck, a
ship of the East India Company (VOC) located in the Wadden Sea,
was the first wreck under water to be physically protected as
well as protected by law. This “in situ” protection
consisted of covering the site with 6000 sandbags and
polypropylene nets. Throughout the years this method has been
simplified and now only the nets are being used.
The Netherlands Institute for Ship and underwater Archaeology
(NISA) and National Service for Archaeological Heritage (ROB)
have been involved in several EU-projects, focussing on the
degradation and the protection of archaeological and historical
heritage “in situ”. Information about what is
threatening our heritage was collected in a systematic way. The
protection methods we used were being evaluated and new solutions
were developed. In one of these projects, the MoSS project, the
currently used (and above mentioned) method has been
evaluated.
At the moment, not only shipwrecks in Dutch territory are
being preserved with polypropylene nets. Experiments using this
method have been executed in Great Britain, Germany, Australia
and Sri Lanka as well.
Mark Beattie-Edwards
NAS Project Manager.
Started working for the NAS in 2001 as a Training and
Administration Officer and has subsequently moved from Training
Officer to Project Officer and since July 2005 has been the NAS
Project Manager. Mark is responsible for the day to day operation
of the NAS office in Portsmouth including overall supervision of
all training and project opportunities. Mark studied Archaeology
at Southampton University between 1993-1996 and returned to
Southampton in 1999-2000 to undertake the MA in Maritime
Archaeology. He has worked in the Guernsey, Sweden, the Caribbean
and throughout the UK. Current projects include the NAS adopted
stone wreck off Selsey, the Holland V submarine with Innes
McCartney as well as recording the collection of hulked vessels
at Purton in Gloucestershire.
NAS Training - past, present and future
The first official NAS Training course was undertaken in
Bristol in 1986. Since then over 800 courses have been held in
the UK and the scheme has been taken up in over 15 countries.
Although the basic ethos of the training programme has never
changed the syllabus have developed as the discipline of nautical
archaeology has evolved, the practical exercises have changed to
include the latest survey software and the ever present overhead
projector has become a mythological creature that new tutors can
only read about. But what of the future for NAS Training? This
presentation will outline some of the Society’s plans for
the NAS Training Programme - plans that include national
vocational qualifications, scientific diver training, distance
learning and becoming a truly worldwide training agency improving
access to nautical archaeology around the globe.
Marc-Andre Bernier
Maritime Archaeologist, Parks Canada
After working on underwater
archaeological excavations in France, Marc-André Bernier
became a marine archaeologist with Parks Canada in 1990. In his
16 years with the Underwater Archaeology Service, he has directed
or co-directed a number of excavation or survey projects
including those of the Elizabeth and Mary (1690), of the Corossol
(1693) and of the wrecks of the Saguenay/St. Lawrence National
Marine Sanctuaries. Through his work with the UAS he has also
worked on variety of other sites including prehistoric sites,
19thcentury saw mills, submerged town sites and a late
19th-century Arctic trading vessel. Marc- André Bernier is
the NAS Senior Tutor for Parks Canada and has taught NAS courses
in Canada, the United States and various countries of Latin
America. Presently finishing his doctoral studies at Laval
University (Quebec), his research interests focus on the wrecks
of the New-France period in the St. Lawrence River basin.
Maritime Archaeology in Canada
For a little more than 40 years Parks Canada’s Underwater
Archaeology Service (UAS) has been involved in studying and
preserving underwater cultural heritage throughout the Canadian
territory, from the historical wrecks of the Atlantic Coast and
the St. Lawrence River to the well-preserved 19th-century vessels
of the Great Lakes. In its origin, the UAS activities were
primarily focused on research-oriented excavation of the
historically significant wrecks of the country, but since then
have gradually shifted towards the management of underwater
cultural resources where excavation in but one tool amongst
others : inventories of sites, in situ preservation, re-burial,
underwater presentation and public awareness to name but a few.
This presentation will give a wide panorama of the various
projects of the UAS in Canada, showcasing the excavations of the
Red Bay 16th-century Basque wrecks (including a newly discovered
whaler), of the 17th-century New-England wreck the Elizabeth and
Mary and of the 18th-century French frigate Le Machault, and a
variety of sites in the National Parks, National Marine
Conservation Areas and National Historic Waterways managed by
Parks Canada. It will also present how the NAS educational
program has been used with success in various areas of the UAS
activities.
Innes McCartney
Holland 5 Licensee
Innes McCartney is a Publisher/Naval Historian and Diver since
1988. Licensee of the Holland V submarine and an NAS Member since
1992, Innes has to date found and identified over 35 new
submarine wrecks, including a mystery U-boat, the M1 submarine, 4
new wrecks at the Battle of Jutland site, including HMS
Indefatigable and HMS Defence. Innes participated in Operation
Deadlight Expeditions locate 14 U-boats scuttled off Northern
Ireland in 1945 and has participated in "Deep Wreck Mysteries"
and "Mystery U-boats of North Cornwall". His latest book "British
Submarines 1939-45" is being published this year. Innes is also a
contributor to other TV series including "War at Sea",
"Battlefield Detectives" countless talks and magazine articles
about submarines and the Battle of Jutland.
The Holland 5 Submarine
The Holland 5 submarine was the first submarine ever to be
commissioned into the Royal Navy. It rests on the seabed off
Eastbourne and is a protected wreck. Licensee Innes McCartney has
made a lifelong study of submarines and submarine wrecks. He will
present the tale of the Holland 5 along with the latest
discoveries made on the wreck site.
Ole Gron
Honorary principal research-fellow at Institute of
Archaeology, University College London An honorary principal
research-fellow at Institute of Archaeology, University College
London, Ole has a very distinguished career in cultural heritage.
Currently a member of the international steering committee for
the Stone Age project ‘The Stone Age in the Eastern Region
of Norway, based on the Svinesund Project’ within the
frames of the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.
Ole’s abstract will follow.
John Broadwater
Program Manager, NOAA's Maritime Heritage Program and Acting
Manager, NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, John is
responsible for Maritime Archaeology in NOAA. John’s
abstract will follow.
Paula Martin and Colin Martin
Editor, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology & Vice
President, NAS
By Sea, Land, and Air: an interdisciplinary approach to
maritime landscape studies
During the past 30 years two designated historic shipwrecks -
the Dartmouth and the Swan - have been investigated in the Sound
of Mull. Recently Colin and Paula Martin have incorporated their
work on these wrecks into a wider study of the area as a maritime
landscape. The coastline and foreshore have been explored on
foot, by sea kayak and inflatable boat, and from the air.
Previously unrecorded landscapes of early landing-places,
fish-traps, boathouses, and coastal industries have been surveyed
and set into wider contexts of human activity in an area
dominated by the sea. The presentation will demonstrate how
underwater archaeology, foreshore and coastal survey, aerial
photography and documentary research can be combined as
interdisciplinary tools in investigations of this kind.
Conference
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