Public Broadcasting Produces Underwater Archeology Series
Ask most anyone what tools they would need on an archeological dig and chances are nothing would be said about a snorkel and a wetsuit. With the help of a PTTGrant, the National Park Service's Submerged Resources Center is sharing archeological treasures under the sea with the public.
The principal investigator of the project is Ronald Tobias, Discovery Networks Professor of Science and Natural History Filmmaking, and program director of the M.F.A. program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. Tobias says that the PTTGrant presented an avenue by which America could discover its vast underwater heritage.
"The project came as a result of the realization that the Submerged Resources Center had been archiving images of the America's underwater parks for many years and that it was being under-utilized as a valuable internal resource," Tobias said. "Since outreach is such an important part of our federal research mandate, Larry Murphy, chief of SRC, agreed to allow Montana Public Television access to the archives, and with the grant money awarded to us from NCPTT we were able to create a series of programs for public television about the work being done to preserve many of our country's treasures underwater."
As a result of NCPTT funding, new footage was shot and six half-hour programs were developed for public television that chronicle the work of the Submerged Resources Center's efforts to save and preserve several important sites, including the U.S.S. Arizona in Hawaii, the B-29 Bomber at the bottom of Lake Mead, the Ellis Island ferry in New York harbor, and shipwrecks at Fort Jefferson and Biscayne National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, and at Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.
NCPTT has made all six of the episodes downloadable in Windows Media format from its website at www.ncptt.nps.gov.
"Public awareness of the Park Service's work to preserve America's national heritage is an important part of the mission of the Park Service," Tobias said. "NCPTT's funding made these presentations possible."
According to Tobias, an unforeseen result of this relationship is that both Montana Public Television and the Submerged Resources Center have collaborated on new production in order to keep the content current and fresh.
"The actual work of preservation technology is critical to preserving our nation's artifacts," he said. "However, the public has little understanding of the work that is being done, and if we can maintain a public posture of entertaining and educating, then that will bolster the need for continuing funding for these field projects."
Additional funding was provided by the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Project.