Mission Summary
French Frigate Shoals
This year, the maritime archaeology team will begin its work at French
Frigate Shoals, where in 2005 a NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem
Division marine debris removal team discovered what could be a
shipwreck site while towboarding for derelict fishing gear. They
reported the find to the Pacific Islands Regional office, and in 2007 a
maritime archaeology team conducted an initial brief survey of the
site.
Artifacts
at the wreck site of an unidentified large wooden sailing vessel,
likely the four-masted schooner Churchill
at French Frigate Shoals. (Credit:
Tane Casserley/NOAA) |
The features and artifacts appear to be the
remains of a turn-of-the-century wooden sailing ship, the four-masted
schooner Churchill,
which is known to have been
lost in the area in
1917. During the 2008 cruise, the maritime archaeology team will begin
to create a detailed archaeological site map of the Churchill,
using
baseline traditional underwater mapping techniques in order to fully
interpret the shipwreck site.
Pearl and Hermes Atoll
Following work at French Frigate Shoals, the team will continue on to
Pearl and Hermes Atoll, home of the two oldest shipwrecks discovered
thus far in Hawaiian waters. Pearl and Hermes Atoll was named after the
wrecks of the British whaling ships Pearl and Hermes,
lost there
in
1822. The 262-ton Hermes
ran aground on the unseen reef on April 26,
1822, at about 4 a.m., and the 320-ton Pearl (actually an
American-built ship captured by the British in the War of 1812) ran
aground nearby a few minutes later.
In 2006, a maritime archaeology team thoroughly
documented the Pearl
site, but weather and time constraints have
prevented the team from mapping the Hermes. For the
2008 expedition,
the team plans to develop a site map of the Hermes shipwreck,
revealing
the distribution of artifacts associated with this British whaling ship
and uncovering more of the story of its demise.
Kure Atoll
From Pearl and Hermes Atoll, the team will continue to Kure Atoll,
where an important part of the 2008 expedition will take place. In
2003, a team of maritime archaeologists discovered the site of the USS
Saginaw.
The history of the Saginaw
and the open ocean rescue voyage
has become a legacy in the U.S. Navy, and tells an amazing story of
survival at sea. The team plans to collect specific artifacts at the Saginaw
site, as well from the site of the American whaling ship Parker
lost in 1842, for the purposes of developing a maritime heritage-themed
exhibit at the monument’s Mokupapapa Discovery Center in
Hilo, Hawaii.
Dunnottar
Castle Wreckage and Archaeologist Hans Van Tilburg. (Photo:
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries) |
This exhibit will provide the public with the opportunity to experience
and understand these historic shipwreck sites, and representative
artifacts — properly retrieved and stabilized at a
conservation lab — are a good way to share the maritime
legacy of this remote archipelago. The team will also begin baseline
trilateration at the site of the tall ship Dunnottar Castle,
discovered
in 2006.
Midway Atoll
The maritime archaeology team will then visit Midway Atoll, where it
will spend time documenting archaeological and historic sites with
high-definition video for a short maritime heritage documentary film.
Short videos are one way to share these stories, the maritime legacy of
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with the public.
Time and conditions permitting, the team
will also
search for and assess the 1870 channel cut through the Midway bar into
Welles Harbor within the atoll’s lagoon. Back then, the U.S.
Navy supported a team of Boston hard-hat divers in a (failed) attempt
to blast a narrow channel into the protected anchorage. This would have
provided transpacific steamships with a coaling depot, but the channel
was never completed. Today, the location may still reveal traces of the
19th-century project, as well as the impacts and recovery of 138 years
of coral growth.
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