Marine Geoarchaeology

The surveying, exploration and documentation of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites are rapidly entering a new era with the evolution of technology. Marine remote sensing techniques enable an adapted approach to the study area, overcoming the difficulties and limitations of conventional means and acting in a non-intrusive, non- destructive manner. This research is a marine geo-archaeological survey the case study of which is the semi- submerged site of Grotta, the north coastal zone of the ancient city of Naxos, Cyclades, in Greece. To meet the peculiar needs of the site with the presence of antiquities in ultra-shallow waters (0 to − 5 m), a catamaran Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) was employed for the concurrent retrieval of shallow geoacoustic data and visual footage, equipped with acoustical and optical sensors. The collected acoustic datasets were processed to create bathymetric view and georeferenced mosaics of high-resolution and metric precision to map and inves- tigate the submerged residential remains. Additionally, photogrammetric methods was applied for creation of 3D models and orthophotomosaics of the ancient structures located on the seabed, facilitating a better record of their individual characteristics. Both acoustic datasets were incorporated into GIS Software, where diverse spatial information was utilized to generate conclusive maps of the study area. This field research aims to demonstrate the adaptive use of USV’s in challenging environments for the exploration and documentation of underwater archaeological sites and the simultaneous acquisition of multi-level information without damaging the marine antiquities.

This study combines marine remote sensing and photogrammetry to investigate underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites in the Gulf of Patras, Greece. The research utilized multibeam echosounders, side scan sonar, and marine magnetometers to detect potential UCH sites, followed by visual inspections using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with a GoPro camera. Photogrammetry techniques were applied to create high-quality 3D models of the identified UCH site, revealing sunken cannons within a Posidonia oceanica meadow. Despite shape alteration caused by concretions and biological colonization, the 3D models provided valuable morphometric data. This integrated approach demonstrates the effectiveness of marine remote sensing and photogrammetry in mapping and documenting UCH sites, contributing to the preservation and exploration of underwater heritage.

Shipwrecks are an integral part of our maritime archaeological landscape and are associated with diverse societal and cultural interests, yielding significant management challenges. Coupled hydrodynamic and geomorphological processes significantly impact the effective in situ preservation of these fragile sites. In this study, we assess sediment budget change and hydrodynamic triggers at metal-hulled shipwrecks lost between 1875 and 1918, all located in the tidally dominated Irish Sea at depths between 26 and 84 m. This is conducted using time-lapse, multibeam echosounder surveys at multiannual, annual, and weekly time steps, supported by sediment grain-size analysis, modeled ocean currents, and shallow seismic data. Results indicate significant changes at all time steps for sites located in sand-dominated environments, whereas the seabed around shipwrecks settled in multimodal sediments shows virtually no change outside of measurement errors (±30 cm). Variability in geomorphic change is attributed to local environmental factors, including bed shear stress, sediment supply, and spatial barriers to scour. We demonstrate that individual wrecks in similar shelf sea regions can be in very different equilibrium states, which has critical implications for the in situ management of underwater cultural heritage.

Shipwrecks are an integral part of our maritime archaeological landscape and are associated with diverse societal and cultural interests, yielding significant management challenges. Coupled hydrodynamic and geomorphological processes significantly impact the effective in situ preservation of these fragile sites. In this study, we assess sediment budget change and hydrodynamic triggers at metal-hulled shipwrecks lost between 1875 and 1918, all located in the tidally dominated Irish Sea at depths between 26 and 84 m. This is conducted using time-lapse, multibeam echosounder surveys at multiannual, annual, and weekly time steps, supported by sediment grain-size analysis, modeled ocean currents, and shallow seismic data. Results indicate significant changes at all time steps for sites located in sand-dominated environments, whereas the seabed around shipwrecks settled in multimodal sediments shows virtually no change outside of measurement errors (±30 cm). Variability in geomorphic change is attributed to local environmental factors, including bed shear stress, sediment supply, and spatial barriers to scour. We demonstrate that individual wrecks in similar shelf sea regions can be in very different equilibrium states, which has critical implications for the in situ management of underwater cultural heritage.

Cloud service zon 2020 research and innovation programme, via grant agreement No. 863448. Within NEANIAS, a total of ten work packages (WPs) were defined in order to fulfil the challenge. Every of the 21 partners works in several of the WPs shown in Fig. 1. A brief overview describes the nine thematic, as well as the core services, respectively the content of WP2, 3, 4 and 6.

The 'Evolved GE.N.ESIS Project' highlights the underwater cultural heritage resources off the coast of Methoni, Greece that could locally drive sustainable socioeconomic growth. An integrated marine geophysical survey, a hydrographic survey, and a GNSS survey were conducted off Methoni, recording six historic wreck sites, artefacts, the ruins of a submerged prehistoric settlement, and the town's ancient harbour/breakwater, as well as the geophysical properties of the underwater environment. The preliminary project results present bathymetric surfaces, backscatter intensity and magnetic maps, drawings, and seismic reflection profiles of the underwater antiquities and of the seabed, all fused in a 3D geographical platform. The results also shed light on the archaeological potential of the site, the nearshore physical processes, and their effect on the underwater archaeological resources. The project outcomes have shown that the establishment of an underwater archaeological park and diving sites at the cultural heritage sites will support cultural tourism development in the area and will have a positive impact on local socioeconomic development. The underwater archaeological park should comply with the basic principles of a site management plan-one that is established in the context of an integrated coastal management plan that identifies the maritime synergies or conflicts among human activities, archaeological resources, and the local environment, and utilises the 3D synthesis of marine knowledge from the project outcomes as a decision-making tool.

In the port of Thessaloniki, Greece, benthic megalitter detection was achieved using an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) equipped with a compact high resolution sidescan sonar (SSS) and a single beam echsosounder (SBES). The benthic megalitter survey was organized in two separate phases. Firstly, a systematic hydroacoustic survey using the SBES and SSS managed to outline and map all the acoustic anomalies. The second phase followed using the ROV hovered over these acoustic anomalies and the sites were identified on the video camera. An Automated Target Detection procedure, based on acoustic texture analysis and Independent Component Analysis (ICA), was applied for the automated detection of acoustic anomalies. The ground truth survey attested that the anomalies represent megalitter (metallic items, car tires, wires, e.t.c.). The developed procedure had promising results towards fast detection of the benthic megalitter in coastal areas.

Coastal underwater archaeological sites are by nature dynamic, and often subject to disturbance from the action of waves, currents, sediment, and human activity. The need to document such sites comprehensively, accurately, and quickly has been the driving force behind technological advances in predisturbance site mapping since the 1960s. Certain challenges remain constant: the need for technology to be affordable and robust, with efficient post-processing as well as data acquisition times. Non-engineers must be able to interpret the results and publish them according to archaeological conventions. Large ancient shallow water port sites, submerged settlements, and landscape surveys present additional difficulties because of the volume of data generated. In this paper we present initial results of the first season of an expedition to map the submerged Herodian structures at Caesarea Maritima, Israel, using a robotic vehicle, the Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) Pladypos, which was developed to address these challenges. This vehicle carries high-resolution imaging and remote-sensing tools to produce photomosaics and microbathymetry maps of the seafloor, as well as performing precise georeferencing. The Pladypos acquired a vast amount of georeferenced bathymetric and photographic data over several days in May 2014 and the results were later integrated into a GIS.

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

In the port of Thessaloniki, Greece, benthic megalitter detection was achieved using an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) equipped with a compact high resolution sidescan sonar (SSS) and a single beam echsosounder (SBES). The benthic megalitter survey was organized in two separate phases. Firstly, a systematic hydroacoustic survey using the SBES and SSS managed to outline and map all the acoustic anomalies. The second phase followed using the ROV hovered over these acoustic anomalies and the sites were identified on the video camera. An Automated Target Detection procedure, based on acoustic texture analysis and Independent Component Analysis (ICA), was applied for the automated detection of acoustic anomalies. The ground truth survey attested that the anomalies represent megalitter (metallic items, car tires, wires, e.t.c.). The developed procedure had promising results towards fast detection of the benthic megalitter in coastal areas.

Before excavations were carried out of the rocks and dredging spoils for extension of the Porto-Vecchio marina in Corsica, France, an investigation was carried out by the Subaquatic Office of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. SHOM (Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine, Ministry of Defence in France), who specialised in Hydrographic and Oceanographic services, recommended that the project team couple the sub-bottom profiler with a multibeam echo sounder. In preventive archaeology, time pressure is a significant factor in your need to compile a large volume of data. Archives such as archival maps, old spatial data and data from more recent surveys including meta-data from a sub-bottom profiler and multibeam echo sounder, can be superimposed on the dataset of current marine maps after which all statistics can be integrated in a Geographical Information System (GIS). All of the processed data were exported in QGIS®™. The GIS allowed us to subdivide or categorise the abnormalities according to different parameters. GIS is a meta-data compilation tool-a guide for archaeologists to strategically choose what to excavate.

Before excavations were carried out of the rocks and dredging spoils for extension of the Porto-Vecchio marina in Corsica, France, an investigation was carried out by the Subaquatic Office of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. SHOM (Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine, Ministry of Defence in France), who specialised in Hydrographic and Oceanographic services, recommended that the project team couple the sub-bottom profiler with a multibeam echo sounder. In preventive archaeology, time pressure is a significant factor in your need to compile a large volume of data. Archives such as archival maps, old spatial data and data from more recent surveys including meta-data from a sub-bottom profiler and multibeam echo sounder, can be superimposed on the dataset of current marine maps after which all statistics can be integrated in a Geographical Information System (GIS). All of the processed data were exported in QGIS®™. The GIS allowed us to subdivide or categorise the abnormalities according to different parameters. GIS is a meta-data compilation tool-a guide for archaeologists to strategically choose what to excavate.

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

Cloud service zon 2020 research and innovation programme, via grant agreement No. 863448. Within NEANIAS, a total of ten work packages (WPs) were defined in order to fulfil the challenge. Every of the 21 partners works in several of the WPs shown in Fig. 1. A brief overview describes the nine thematic, as well as the core services, respectively the content of WP2, 3, 4 and 6.

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

Cloud service zon 2020 research and innovation programme, via grant agreement No. 863448. Within NEANIAS, a total of ten work packages (WPs) were defined in order to fulfil the challenge. Every of the 21 partners works in several of the WPs shown in Fig. 1. A brief overview describes the nine thematic, as well as the core services, respectively the content of WP2, 3, 4 and 6.

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites constitute an important part of the overall cultural heritage both nationally and globally as they carry cultural, environmental, scientific, technological, political, economic and social viewpoints. UCH includes not only submerged sites and buildings, but also vessels and aircrafts. The Inner Ionian Sea in Greece is a place rich in a significant number of shipwrecks with a timespan ranging from ancient times right through to the 20th century. The results herein present the study of ancient, World War I (WWI), World War II (WWII) and more recent shipwrecks in the inner Ionian Sea. A total of 11 out of 36 known shipwrecks in the area have been systematically studied using marine remote sensing and ground truthing techniques. The marine remote sensing sensors include: side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and multi-beam echo-sounders. At each wreck site, the condition of the wreck, the debris field and man-made activities were determined based...

The modern underwater acoustic equipment, like multibeam sonar, is able to provide the data which allows for unambiguous localization and also 3 visualisation of targets of different kinds, including wrecks, mines and other submerged objects. The large amount of information that seems to be useful for this purpose, could also be extracted from side-scan sonar data, which has been collected over years within different survey regions. In this context, the paper concerns the development of side-scan data processing method for 3 reconstruction of seafloor and its imaging. In this paper, two novel approaches are proposed. The first utilises the more accurate models of backscattering, including the differences in signatures of several types of objects. The second is based on definition and investigation of some quantitative descriptors of geometric features expected to be found in images of localised objects of artificial origin. The preliminary results obtained by application of these te...

The objective of this project is to create a new implementation of a deep learning model that uses digital elevation data to detect shipwrecks automatically and rapidly over a large geographic area. This work is intended to apply a new methodology to the field of underwater archaeology. Shipwrecks represent a major resource to understand maritime human activity over millennia, but underwater archaeology is expensive, misappropriated, and hazardous. An automated tool to rapidly detect and map shipwrecks can therefore be used to create more accurate maps of natural and archaeological features to aid management objectives, study patterns across the landscape, and find new features. Additionally, more comprehensive and accurate shipwreck maps can help to prioritize site selection and plan excavation. The model is based on open source topo-bathymetric data and shipwreck data for the United States available from NOAA. The model uses transfer learning to compensate for a relatively small s...

The objective of this project is to create a new implementation of a deep learning model that uses digital elevation data to detect shipwrecks automatically and rapidly over a large geographic area. This work is intended to apply a new methodology to the field of underwater archaeology. Shipwrecks represent a major resource to understand maritime human activity over millennia, but underwater archaeology is expensive, misappropriated, and hazardous. An automated tool to rapidly detect and map shipwrecks can therefore be used to create more accurate maps of natural and archaeological features to aid management objectives, study patterns across the landscape, and find new features. Additionally, more comprehensive and accurate shipwreck maps can help to prioritize site selection and plan excavation. The model is based on open source topo-bathymetric data and shipwreck data for the United States available from NOAA. The model uses transfer learning to compensate for a relatively small s...

The objective of this project is to create a new implementation of a deep learning model that uses digital elevation data to detect shipwrecks automatically and rapidly over a large geographic area. This work is intended to apply a new methodology to the field of underwater archaeology. Shipwrecks represent a major resource to understand maritime human activity over millennia, but underwater archaeology is expensive, misappropriated, and hazardous. An automated tool to rapidly detect and map shipwrecks can therefore be used to create more accurate maps of natural and archaeological features to aid management objectives, study patterns across the landscape, and find new features. Additionally, more comprehensive and accurate shipwreck maps can help to prioritize site selection and plan excavation. The model is based on open source topo-bathymetric data and shipwreck data for the United States available from NOAA. The model uses transfer learning to compensate for a relatively small s...

The objective of this project is to create a new implementation of a deep learning model that uses digital elevation data to detect shipwrecks automatically and rapidly over a large geographic area. This work is intended to apply a new methodology to the field of underwater archaeology. Shipwrecks represent a major resource to understand maritime human activity over millennia, but underwater archaeology is expensive, misappropriated, and hazardous. An automated tool to rapidly detect and map shipwrecks can therefore be used to create more accurate maps of natural and archaeological features to aid management objectives, study patterns across the landscape, and find new features. Additionally, more comprehensive and accurate shipwreck maps can help to prioritize site selection and plan excavation. The model is based on open source topo-bathymetric data and shipwreck data for the United States available from NOAA. The model uses transfer learning to compensate for a relatively small s...

The so-called Mahogany Ship remains one of Victoria’s and the nation’s most perplexing maritime mysteries. There have been numerous searches for the wreck, reportedly first seen in the coastal dunes of Armstrong Bay in south-western Victoria in 1836. The investigation decribed here utilises geoarchaeological methods to test an historical account of the wreck’s first sighting, in which its location is described in terms of prominent geological features, lines of sight and measured distances. The approach taken in this study extracts geological and positional data from the account and translates them into graphical results using GIS. One key piece of information used in this study, which previous searchers either have ignored or failed to recognise, is a cross bearing. The study provides a possible explanation for the wreck’s position in the dunes, and proposes an area measuring only 500 m × 100 m wherein the shipwreck is likely to be found

In the present paper a methodological scheme bringing together common Acoustic Classification Systems (ACS) and a promising data decomposition approach, called Independent Component Analysis (ICA), is demonstrated regarding its suitability for detecting small targets on Side Scan Sonar imageries. Traditional ACS extract numerous texture descriptors leading to a large feature vector, the dimensionality of which is reduced by means of data decomposition techniques, usually Principal Component Analysis (PCA), prior to unsupervised classification. However, in the target detection issue, data decomposition should point towards finding image components that represent sub-ordinary anomalies (i.e. small targets) rather than dominant information. ICA has long been proved to be suitable for separating targets from background and this study represents a fair exhibition of its applicability on Side Scan Sonar (SSS) images. The present study attempts to build a fully automated target detection approach that combines image based feature extraction, ICA and unsupervised classification. The suitability of the proposed approach has been demonstrated using an SSS data-set containing a large number of manmade targets, most of them metallic, validated through a marine magnetic survey or ground truthing inspection. The method exhibited very good performance, achieving high target detection accuracy rate, while ICA exhibited clear superiority over using no decomposition technique or PCA instead of it, in the exact same methodological scheme.

In recent years, the use of multibeam sonar to investigate and interpret the underwater landscape has increased substantially. Its advancement has allowed marine archaeologists to study areas underwater not previously accessible and its non-intrusive nature has positive implications for archaeological methodology and conservation – especially in terms of the spatial investigation and interpretation of archaeological features underwater. A close examination of the newest version of multibeam sonar, in contrast to the more commonly applied side scan sonar as demonstrated in projects in Norway and Scotland, allows us to see its superiority. Recent case studies of marine archaeology using multibeam sonar in Ireland, Slovenia and France, and the particularities of its application, also illustrate this and will further shed light on present challenges posed by its use. An analysis of multibeam sonar's strengths shows it to be the underwater remote sensing technology with the most interpretative potential and future. This includes the efficient capturing of high-resolution images, which affords archaeologists the opportunity to view features from many angles as well as from behind. While single-beam sonar has dominated the discipline, due to its accessibility and low-cost, multibeam sonar, because of its superior imaging ability, is clearly the best choice to non-intrusively investigate archaeological sites underwater in greater detail.

Most of the oil and gas potential reserves are located in offshore area. Jack-up drilling rig is one type of many other oil rig type. To locate a jack-up rig, a sea mapping process must be conducted to get information about the seabed surface and what kind of morphology there are. The seabed condition must be clearly identified in order to know if there are any endangering objects or obstructions within the emplacement area, start from the planned maneuver for rig entrance up to the rig's leg penetration.The instruments used are single beam echo sounder, multibeam echo sounder, side scan sonar. Single beam echo sounder have a role to validate the result of the multibeam echo sounder. To know about the existing features, side scan sonar is used to make a high resolution seabed image. Also if the result must be interpreted by a geophysicist. To know about the soil structures, then a soil boring must be conducted to know the site's soil structure. Within the mapping area, there are seven wells are proposed. Single beam and multibeam echo sounder results bathymetric data and side scan sonar results seabed features information. Within the 2kmx2km mapping area there are some area that might be a threat specifically located in the southern and eastern part. Side scan sonar also provides information about the existence of some rock/coral outcrops and high reflectivity seabed that may be an obstruction. Based on the bathymetric, seabed features, and sub-seabed features, the seven proposed wells comply the requirement of jack-up drilling rig emplacement, but based on soil boring data only well four, five, and six comply.

Most of the oil and gas potential reserves are located in offshore area. Jack-up drilling rig is one type of many other oil rig type. To locate a jack-up rig, a sea mapping process must be conducted to get information about the seabed surface and what kind of morphology there are. The seabed condition must be clearly identified in order to know if there are any endangering objects or obstructions within the emplacement area, start from the planned maneuver for rig entrance up to the rig's leg penetration.The instruments used are single beam echo sounder, multibeam echo sounder, side scan sonar. Single beam echo sounder have a role to validate the result of the multibeam echo sounder. To know about the existing features, side scan sonar is used to make a high resolution seabed image. Also if the result must be interpreted by a geophysicist. To know about the soil structures, then a soil boring must be conducted to know the site's soil structure. Within the mapping area, there are seven wells are proposed. Single beam and multibeam echo sounder results bathymetric data and side scan sonar results seabed features information. Within the 2kmx2km mapping area there are some area that might be a threat specifically located in the southern and eastern part. Side scan sonar also provides information about the existence of some rock/coral outcrops and high reflectivity seabed that may be an obstruction. Based on the bathymetric, seabed features, and sub-seabed features, the seven proposed wells comply the requirement of jack-up drilling rig emplacement, but based on soil boring data only well four, five, and six comply.

Sakellariou D., Beck J., Rousakis G., Georgiou P., Panagiotopoulos I., Morfis I., Tsampouraki-Kraounaki K., Zavitsanou A., 2015. Submerged prehistoric landscapes off Franchthi Cave, East Argolic Gulf: preliminary results. 11th Panhellenic Symposium on Oceanography & Fisheries, 2015, Proceedings, 993-996.

Detailed and systematic marine geological-geophysical survey of the Kiladha Bay, close to the Franchthi cave, reveals a wealth of information on the active faulting network, the geomorphological features on the prehistoric submerged landscapes and the location and depth of palaeo-shorelines and coastal forms of Early Holocene and Late Pleistocene age. Geological and geomorphological interpretation of the geophysical data is in progress and aims at shedding light on the interaction of prehistoric inhabitants of Franchthi Cave with the dynamically changing landscapes and environment.

The Blackwater River in Santa Rosa County, Florida, is host to numerous ship sites, many of which relate to Pensacola’s historic brick and lumber industry. Since the 1980s, the University of West Florida and Florida’s Bureau of Archaeological Research have been documenting these sites, which are generally preserved well as a result of the low-speed hydrodynamics and high-tannin content of the river. In this thesis I examine the site formation processes of these sites, including a thorough analysis of natural and cultural forces. The data include previous historical and archaeological research, environmental data, side-scan sonar imagery, and diver reconnaissance. In addition to providing a greater understanding of sites in the Blackwater River, I hope this information plays an integral role in future site management strategies.

This investigation into abandoned vessels and baches (holiday homes) on Rangitoto Island, New Zealand, addresses to what extent archaeological signatures inform the adaptive reuse of discarded watercraft material in local communities. A review of archaeological, archival and oral history data is undertaken to achieve several aims. These include determining the material available for salvage at the time of abandonment, what cultural site formation processes are visible at the individual vessel sites located in the ships graveyard at Boulder Bay and locating and recording the reuse of abandoned ship material in Rangitoto’s three bach communities; Beacon End, Rangitoto Wharf and Islington Bay. Finally, community behaviours towards abandoned vessels are identified and discussed and this information is used to update post- depositional site formation processes of abandoned vessels.
This research is archaeologically significant as it contributes to the theme of discarded watercraft reuse, an understudied area which has the potential to reveal meaningful interpretations about human behaviour. Furthermore, it is significant as the behaviours and attitudes of a disappearing community with a strong community identity and a history of reusing material are recorded.

The Abandoned Ships’ Project (ASP) was a research initiative
of the Department of Archaeology at Flinders University, South
Australia, and carried out in conjunction with the doctoral
research of one of the authors (Richards 2002). The project
involved the compilation of a database of more than 1,500
discarded and partly dismantled watercraft sites, including
information from the archaeological inspection of more than
120 deliberately discarded ships. Researchers used this data
to assess the degree of correlation between discard activities
and economic, social, and technological issues. The logistics
of discard were also examined as refl ected in commentaries
describing discard processes and as seen in the archaeological
signatures of these events. This information illustrated the
causal relationships among processes (landscape, economic
trends, regulatory frameworks, and cultural site formation)
associated with harm minimization, placement assurance,
salvage, and discard activities.

Presentation: GEORGIOS PAPATHEODOROU, Professor in Geology, Director of Laboratory of Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography, University of Patras. Hellas

Work of Scientists : GEORGIOS PAPATHEODOROU,
GEORGE FERENTINOS, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
MARIA GERAGA, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
DEMETRIOS CHRISTODOULOU, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
MARGARITA IATROU, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
ATHINA CHALARI, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
STAVROULA KORDELLA, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
ILIAS FAKIRIS, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
DESPOINA ZOURA, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas"

In the past, planning detailed visual investigations of deepwater archaeological sites has primarily been done with side scan sonar and subbottom profiler data. Advancements in multibeam bathymetry acquisition and processing, especially of backscatter data, now provide additional ways to view these sites. Deepwater archaeologists have begun to utilize bathymetry and backscatter data to develop better understandings of overall site conditions and attributes. As a result, they are able to develop more cost and time effective investigation plans to detail deepwater sites with increased accuracy. This paper will examine several deepwater shipwreck sites to demonstrate how use of the backscatter and bathymetry data has advanced the investigation methodologies used on deepwater archaeological sites.

The use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) systems has greatly expanded archaeologists' abilities to assess shipwreck sites especially those in deepwater. Deepwater archaeological surveys initially used a single sensor, side scan sonar, to locate and document shipwreck sites. In the last decade, the focus has turned to the integration of data from multiple sensors on AUVs including side scan sonars, subbottom profilers, multibeam echosounders, and cameras to assess these sites. Using data from multiple systems is allowing archaeologists to better see the complete site picture and better understand the processes impacting the deepwater shipwrecks. This paper will examine how multiple system data is being used to assess deepwater shipwrecks. Each system will be discussed including the key information it provides. This discussion will be followed by an examination of how multi-system data was used to assess deepwater shipwreck sites in the Gulf of Mexico.