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From Science Daily


Small islands dwarf large ones in archaeological importance, says a University of Florida researcher, who found that people who settled the Caribbean before Christopher Columbus preferred more minute pieces of land because they relied heavily on the sea.

“We've written history based on the bigger islands,” said Bill Keegan, a University of Florida archaeologist whose study is published on line in the journal Human Ecology. “Yet not only are we now seeing people earlier on smaller islands, but we're seeing them move into territories where we didn't expect them to at the time that they arrived.”

Early Ceramic Age settlements have been found in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Montserrat, for example, but are absent from all of the larger islands in the Lesser Antilles, Keegan said.

And all of the small islands along the windward east coast of St. Lucia have substantial ceramic artifacts — evidence of settlement — despite being less than one kilometer, or .62 mile, long, said Keegan, who is curator of Caribbean archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus.

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By Eric Berger

A mysterious shipwreck deep in the Gulf of Mexico has provided a glimpse of life aboard a sea vessel two centuries ago, when the body of water was akin to the "Wild, Wild West", scientists say.

At the time, privateers ruled the Gulf, which was poorly policed as America, Britain, France and Spain all claimed interests and ports along its borders.

Archaeologists and oceanographers were therefore eager to explore the 50-foot "Mardi Gras Wreck" — an unidentified ship named after a nearby pipeline — which was found in 2002 by employees from Okeanos Gas Gathering Co. who were surveying the seafloor with remote cameras.

The team, lead by a Texas A&M scientist, did so last summer using two remotely operated vehicles to capture video of the shipwreck and bring artifacts to the surface.

A just-released report shows the scientists recovered numerous artifacts, including a cannon, cannon shot for a few different sizes of cannon, and a chest of weapons including carbines, rifles and swords.

"It's a fairly large arsenal," said Ben Ford, a nautical archaeologist at Texas A&M University.

"They were either out for mischief, or they were concerned about coming to some harm."

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From Ottawa Citizen

Time stands still in Salem, Mass. Dusk falls rapidly, and a creeping fog drifts in from the sea across Derby Wharf.

The tall ship, Friendship, a replica of a 1797 merchant vessel, is anchored nearby, silhouetted by the fading light.

As footsteps of people hurrying home echo off the stately brick and wooden buildings, you can easily imagine yourself in the busy streets of a colonial town hundreds of years ago.

Like the sturdy immigrants who settled here four centuries ago, Salem is a survivor.

Still known best for the 1692 witch trial hysteria, the town embraces its tarnished past.

In October, the streets are bustling with visitors. Haunted Happenings, a monthlong celebration of costume balls, parades, story telling events, and ghost tours, attracts large crowds eager to soak up the one-of-a-kind history and atmosphere.

If you prefer a quieter visit, come a little later in autumn or even winter, when many historic sites and museums remain open for tours.

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By Jannette Pippin


One of the smallest artifacts recovered during the latest dive expedition at the shipwreck presumed to be Queen Anne's Revenge is getting big attention.

The circular, dime-sized piece has been resting on the ocean floor for 300 years, but early examination indicates it may be the first coin to come from the site believed to be the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard.

"Just looking at it you can't see what it is, but from an X-ray of it you can see a little image and what looks like a head (of a coin)," QAR Conservation Field Supervisor Wendy Welsh said of the silver piece.

Welsh said a coin weight with a bust of Queen Anne was recovered from the site during a 2006 dive but no actual coins.

Shanna Daniel, assistant conservator at the QAR lab in Greenville, said it will likely be one of the first items from the 2008 dive reviewed at the lab because it could reveal important markings used in confirming important information, such as the time period of the shipwreck.

By Helena Smith


Nearly 92 years have elapsed since Captain Charles Bartlett, standing in his pyjamas on the bridge of the biggest vessel in the world, the HMHS Britannic, gave the call to abandon ship. 

It was 8.35am on November 21 1916. The four-funnel ocean liner, built to be even larger and safer than the "unsinkable" Titanic, her ill-fated sister, was listing fast.

Bartlett knew the ship was doomed, but on this eerily calm morning as it sailed to collect troops wounded in the first world war's Balkans campaign, neither he nor any of his crew could have imagined the speed with which the vessel would go down.

The explosion occurred at 8.12am, sending a giant shudder through the gargantuan vessel, badly damaging its bow as it steamed past the Greek island of Kea. Fifty-five minutes later, the 269-metre (883ft) "wonder ship" lay starboard side down on the seabed.

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By Jonathan Wynne-Jones


Cambridge University has launched a campaign to recast them as "new men" with an interest in grooming, fashion and poetry.

Academics claim that the old stereotype is damaging, and want teenagers to be more appreciative of the Vikings' social and cultural impact on Britain.

They say that the Norse explorers, far from being obsessed with fighting and drinking, were a largely-peaceful race who were even criticised for being too hygienic.

The university's department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic has published a guide revealing how much of the Vikings' history has been misrepresented.

They did not, in fact, wear horned or winged helmets. And they appear to have been a vain race who were concerned about their appearance.

"It seems that the Vikings may not have been as hairy and dirty as is commonly imagined," the guide says.

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From The Namibian


Excavations at the site where the remains of a centuries-old shipwreck were discovered near Oranjemund almost seven months ago have ended - and now the real work of studying what has been hailed as Namibia's most exciting archaeological discovery in decades at least is set to start.

The shipwreck site, discovered on April 1 and since then shielded from the Atlantic Ocean by a huge wall of sand that diamond mining company Namdeb constructed as part of its beach mining activities along the coast, has now been surrendered to the sea again.

The archaeological dig at the site ended successfully on October 10, archaeologist Bruno Werz from the Southern African Institute of Maritime Archaeology told The Namibian in a telephone interview yesterday.

Werz, who led the excavations at the site during April and again from September 8, said the last piece of timber of the structure of the ship that met its end on that stretch of Namibia's desert coast was removed from the site on October 9.

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From TFOT


MIT researchers have designed an underwater robotic craft dubbed Odyssey IV. This new, small, and inexpensive vehicle is capable of hovering in place much like a helicopter.

In addition, it can move in a speed of up to two meters per second going straight ahead, giving it another advantage.

Odyssey IV can prove to be a valuable scientific instrument for deep water oil explorers, marine archaeologists, and oceanographers.

Odyssey IV differs from previous artificially intelligent submarines developed by the MIT Sea Grant College program's Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Laboratory, in that it can hover in place and doesn't need to keep moving forward at all times.

When stopping, Odyssey keeps correcting itself for currents and obstacles, thus holding its position, enabling it to make detailed inspections or to photograph the flora and fauna around an undersea vent.

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