MADISON, Wis. (9/7/00) —
Ever wonder what it
would be like to be part of a diving team exploring an historic shipwreck?
Find out starting September 11 when a team of underwater
archaeologists begins a Web-based
chronicle of their investigation into several shipwrecks in Door County,
Wis.
In a collaborative project with the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, and
East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., divers will post daily updates
of their work to the Web, according to Jeff Gray, Wisconsin state underwater
archaeologist. Web users will
be able to follow the divers’ progress as they document historic
shipwrecks with photographs, videos, scale drawings, and archaeological
maps.
“We’ll be exploring
the spectrum of Great Lakes wooden ship construction,” Gray said, “from
the complex, industrial side to the more simple and traditional.”
The diving team will begin
by studying the 300-foot wooden steamer the City
of Glasgow, one of the largest wooden boats in the world when it was
launched in 1891. After being
converted into a stone barge, the ship ran aground in a storm in 1917 and
could not be salvaged.
The diving team will also
document two scow-schooners located off Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek.
Though less impressive in size than the mammoth City of Glasgow,
these simple craft were equally important in the Great Lakes commerce a
hundred years ago, Gray said.
“Besides illustrating
the importance that these vessels played in Wisconsin’s development, we
want the Web site to give people an idea of what doing underwater
archaeology is like,” Gray said.
Results of the
archaeological documentation will enhance understanding and appreciation of
the importance of waterborne transportation in the 19th century,
when the Great Lakes provided vital links between the bustling East and the
developing Midwest.
The project will also help
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin create interpretive materials,
such as historical markers, dive guides, and Web sites, to tell the story of
Great Lakes maritime history. In
addition, the project will help preserve the wrecks themselves. Reports from the work will be used by the historical society
to nominate the wrecks for the National Register of Historical Places, which
will give them federal recognition and protection.
The field work, which will last about three weeks, will also provide
students with valuable experience by working side-by-side, or
“fin-by-fin,” with professional archaeologists, Gray said.
For More Information:
Jeff Gray, State Underwater Archaeologist, State Historical
Society of
Wisconsin, (608) 271-1382
John Karl, Science Writer, UW Sea Grant (608) 263-8621
