User:Evanleach33/Chesapeake Bay

Underwater Archaeology in the Chesapeake Bay

Underwater archaeology is a subfield of archaeology that focuses on the exploration of submerged archaeological sites in seas, rivers, and other bodies of water. In 1988, the Maryland Maritime Archeology Program (MMAP) was established with the goal to manage and explore the various underwater archaeological sites that line the Chesapeake Bay. This was in response to the National Abandoned Shipwreck Act passed in 1987, which gave ownership of historically significant shipwrecks to those states with proper management programs. Water makes up 25% of the State of Maryland and there are over 550 submerged archaeological sites that have been located across the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding watersheds. Ranging from 12,000 year old, precolonial native settlements to shipwrecks from as recent as World War 2, the MMAP researches thousands of years worth of history in these archaeological sites. Susan Langley, PhD has been Maryland's State Underwater Archaeologist, one of only nine state appointed underwater archaeologists in the United States, since assuming the role in 1995. Before Langley was hired, only 1% of the underwater archaeological sites in the Chesapeake Bay area had been examined. Over the next 10 years, Langley made significant improvements to the MMAP's marine technology, allowing her and her team to explore 34% of the underwater archaeological sites by 2004.

Process of Underwater Archaeology

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has been heavily impacted by natural forces such as erosion, tides, and a history of hurricanes and other storms. Along with environmental factors, the Chesapeake Bay has been negatively impacted by humans since being settled in the 17th century, bringing with them problems like pollution, construction, and destruction of the environment. All of these circumstances have made it increasingly difficult for the MMAP to identify potential underwater archaeological sites. As sea levels rise and historically significant areas are sunk and covered in sediment, the MMAP relies on various pieces of equipment to locate these man-made anomalies but also ensure that the material being examined is kept intact. Using marine magnetometers(detects iron/absent space), side-scan sonar,(detects objects on sea floor), along with precise global positioning systems, Langley and the MMAP have been much more successful in locating submerged archaeological sites. After locating the site, Langley and her team have a strict process in order to preserve the site and its contents, allowing more accurate and thorough research to be conducted. The remains of nearly every site have been submerged in saltwater for sometimes centuries, the integrity of shipwrecks and other materials are fragile and careful precaution must be used when working with them. Taking photos and videos, creating maps, and constructing models are all apart of the process of preserving remains. Susan Langley notes herself, “If you have only ten percent of a ship’s hull, you can reconstruct the ship. Construction techniques can tell us about the people who built the vessels, artifacts can tell us about the people who profited from the ship’s trade, and eco-facts—evidence of insect infestation and organic remains, such as seeds, that are preserved in anoerobic, muddy environments—can tell us about the climate and season when a ship sank." Still, the MMAP makes it a point to publish their data and information once a site is officially identified, however the details of the location are left out to sway would be looters, who have plagued marine archaeologists for decades.

Significant Sites in the Chesapeake Bay

All together there are more than 1,800 ship and boat wrecks that scatter the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding waterways. Dozens of precolonial era canoes and artifacts have been extracted from the bay, helping to portray a better picture of the lives of Native Americans(Powhatan, Pamunkey, Nansemond, etc.) In 2014, underwater archaeologists identified the skull of a prehistoric mastodon, which through carbon dating was found to be 22,000 years old. Along with the skull, a carved blade was also discovered in the same area. Unable to accurately carbon date the stone tool, archaeologists looked at similar styles of blade carving in order to gauge when it was made. The technique was similar to the Solutrean tools that were crafted in Europe between 22,000 and 17,000 years ago and it was noted that the stone tool must be at least 14,000 years old. This challenges the previous theory regarding the first inhabitants of North America, where as its commonly accepted amongst anthropologists that the Clovis people were the first to settle the region somewhere around 13,000 years ago. There is some controversy surrounding these findings, many anthropologists have disputed, this claiming that the environment and setting makes properly identifying the origins of these artifacts nearly impossible.

The Chesapeake Bay Flotilla , which was constructed using shallow barges and ships to provide a blockade to the British during the War of 1812. After holding strong for some months, the British eventually dispersed the flotilla and dozens of these vessels were burnt and sunk. Starting in 1978, there were numerous expeditions launched in hopes of successfully discovering what was left of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla. Since then, hundreds of artifacts and remains have been extracted from the submerged ships such as weapons, personal items, and many other objects. Underwater archaeologists have also been successful in constructing accurate models and maps of the wreckage amongst the sea floor.

In October of 1774, a British merchant ship arrived at the port of Annapolis loaded with tea disguised as linens and garments. The tea was hidden by the British to avoid conflict with the colonists as the recently imposed tea tax had created hostility and unsureness among the colonies. Named Peggy Stewart, the British vessel arrived and attempted to tax the colonists for the purchased tea. The colonists refused to pay the tax and after a few days of public meetings, the colonists decided to burn Peggy Stewart and the contents of it. The British ship was sunk in what became known as the 'Annapolis Tea Party' and has since become an important site for underwater archaeologists in the Chesapeake Bay. In 1949, after the Nazi's defeat in World War 2, the United States seized a German U-1105 built with sonar-evading rubber sheathing for study purposes. It was sunk the same year in the Potomac River off of the Chesapeake Bay following a high explosives test hosted by the U.S. Navy and has since been a popular site for underwater archaeologists.

Maryland has controlled the majority of underwater archaeology research around the Chesapeake Bay, however Virginia's Department of Historic Resources have had a State Underwater Archaeologist since the 1970s. In 1982, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources along with the first State Underwater Archaeologist, John Broadwater, led an expedition to explore and research a sunken fleet of Revolution-era battleships. In September of 1781, during the Revolutionary War, the British intentionally sunk more than a dozen ships in the York River, near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Led by Lord Charles Cornwallis, a fleet of British ships was pushed back towards the rivers of the Chesapeake, in a desperate attempt to avoid surrendering, Cornwallis began burning and sinking his own vessels with the hopes of stalling the incoming French and American ships. Cornwallis was eventually forced to surrender on October 19th and the ships along with its contents were at the bottom of the York River. One of the British ships, called Betsy, has been explored more than any other and over 5,000 relics were removed from Betsy on their original expedition in 1982, including weapons, personal objects, and some valuable metals. Broadwater and his team were awarded a 20-page article in the magazine National Geographic for their findings. Virginia has recently been granted funding for further research of these sunken vessels and expeditions are currently underway with the goal to fully explore this destroyed fleet of British ships. Unfortunately, following the publicity of these sunken ships, many divers have taken it upon themselves to explore the wreckage for 'treasure'.