Maritime Research Division

The South Carolina Public Notice and Review System is actively supported by the Division and is used to alert developers and State and Federal agencies to the known and possible presence of submerged cultural resources in project areas.

Sport Diver Archaeology Management Program (SDAMP) is a state mandated program set up by the Division in 1990 to manage the antiquities and fossil collection activities of South Carolina's sport divers. The SDAMP attempts to limit the adverse effects of such activities by working with the diving public and educating them to the need for proper reporting and recording of collections. This program manages licensed recreational collecting by the sport diving community and provides public education. As the main public outreach branch of MRD the SDAMP office, located in Charleston, SC offers programs to the public on South Carolina's maritime heritage including field training courses for recreational divers, public presentations and workshops for dive clubs, shops, and community groups.

The staff of the MRD conducts ongoing research into the maritime heritage of the state through regional remote sensing surveys, site-specific investigations, and small craft research. These activities are a part of a statewide archaeological survey of all state waters and waterways to inventory and assess the submerged cultural resources contained therein. Recent regional studies include the Port Royal Sound Survey, the United States Naval Wreck Survey, and a survey in the Winyah Bay region to locate a historic shipwrecks and a 16th century Spanish Capitana, lost near the Bay in 1526.

For more information about MRD activities, duties, and research projects please visit the division's webpage.