ARCHAEOLOGY UNDERWATER: ARKEO 302

dates:              AUGUST 11 - AUGUST 18, 2008

credit hours:    2 semester credits

total cost:        $2,460 (includes room, board and tuition) 

Prerequisite: Open to all majors of college undergraduates. For those who wish to
SCUBA dive; must have nationally recognized Open-water SCUBA
certification, AAUS Scientific Diver status, and approved diver application (see below for links and instructions).
Snorkeling will be part of the course for all who pass the snorkel test.
Please follow these links for information about SML's diving program:
SML/AAUS SCUBA Diving Regulations – must be READ by all accepted students!
SML/AAUS SCUBA application –must be COMPLETED by all accepted students!
Accepted students must provide all their own EQUIPMENT – for the list, CLICK HERE!

As a special interest area, Maritime Archaeology explores the development of humankind by exposing and examining the cultural artefacts that our ancestors have left us throughout the coastal zone, both along the foreshore and underwater. Coastal settlements, midden deposits and shipwreck sites are perhaps the more obvious indicators of this rich material assemblage, while island communities invariably combine all three elements to present exceptionally important case studies for research. This course outlines the development of Maritime Archaeology as it has emerged from more traditional terrestrial archaeology and the still-young discipline of Underwater Archaeology. Today, such archaeology is also intrinsically integrated with environmental/biological science and with GIS approaches to data recording. Remote-sensing technology (including Side-scan Sonar) have come to enhance the survey capabilities of all projects and permit unprecedented access to the seabed. As its primary examples, the course focuses on the archaeology of the Isles of Shoals within the Gulf of Maine; it also conducts onsite survey and site investigations to create an in-depth archaeological and historical study of the Isles. Students will participate in active fieldwork, which will include foreshore study and underwater exploration, the results of which will lay the basis for a long-term analysis of the archaeological potential that surrounds the islands on and under water

Faculty:
Dr. Niall Brady, The Discovery Programme, Ireland