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October
2011:
SDAMP Oyster Roast: The Sport Diver Archaeology Management Program (SDAMP) will be hosting its first ever Oyster Roast (Flyer) this November. This event is to help raise awareness of the needs of maritime heritage in the state of South Carolina. There are multitudes of underwater archaeological sites all over the state that range from 4,000-year-old canoes to 20th century tugboats. The many waterways served as the roads of their time and experienced early settlements, wars, agricultural growth, and technological advancements. The waters of South Carolina and the sites they hold can answer many questions about our past as Americans and as people. The mission of SDAMP is to protect these incredible cultural and natural resources, learn from them, and share that information with all those interested in the past. The SDAMP Maritime Heritage Awareness Oyster Roast serves as a platform in the pursuit of this mission. Whether those needs be financial, material, or volunteered labor, anyone can get involved with the program and the preservation of South Carolina heritage on any level. Get involved and talk with archaeologists and other members of the public about what this state can do to further the protection, preservation, and education regarding our very own maritime heritage resources. Join us November 19, 2011 from 4-7pm in Charleston for an evening of fun, entertainment and presentations about the maritime archaeology our great state of South Carolina has to offer. Tickets (Ticket Order Form) are on sale now for $35 per person. Oysters, purlow, dessert, and iced tea will be served, but feel free to bring a cooler with beverages of your choice. Contact Ashley Deming at 843-762-6105 for tickets and more information. What: SDAMP Maritime Heritage Awareness Oyster Roast When: Saturday, 19 November 2011 From: 4-7 PM Where: Fort Johnson Marine Resource Center, James Island, Charleston, SC Cost: $35 per person (make checks payable to USC Educational Foundation) Contact: Email Ashley Deming or call (843)-762-6105 for more information. Tickets must be purchased in advance and no later than 11 November 2011. Tickets will not be sold at the event. September 2010: Announcing Field Training Course: SDAMP
is offering a brand new two-day field training course in underwater
archaeology. This course is designed mainly for hobby divers, but is
great for anyone who wants to get involved with underwater archaeology.
We will be teaching basic techniques that can be used in the field to
observe, report, and record underwater sites. The course will be a
mixture of hands-on activities and lectures designed to teach the
average diver how to be first responders to sites that they may come
across while diving. Think of it as a kind of Field Underwater
Archaeology 101. The class will be on Saturday and Sunday, September 25
& 26. Saturday will consist of classroom lectures and dry land
practical sessions, while Sunday will be underwater sessions using the
skills developed on Saturday.
As this is a brand new endeavor for us, we are offering this class at cost for our “guinea pigs.” The course is $100 per person. This includes both days, a handbook, all materials involved, and air tanks. Divers will need to provide their own dive gear, lunches (food and drink for all day), and transportation. The Saturday session will run from 9am-5pm at the Fort Johnson Marine Resource Center in Charleston. The Sunday session will be located at a training pond in Awendaw and run from 10am-4pm. Please email Ashley Deming or call (843)-762-6105 if you are interested. I will need checks (payable to USC) by September 17th if you would like to attend. There are 10 spaces available, so sign up now! If we do not have at least 8 people sign up, we cannot hold the class. When: Saturday and Sunday, September 25 & 26 From: Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm Where: Saturday-Fort Johnson Marine Resource Center, Charleston & Sunday-Awendaw Cost: $100 (we accept cash, check or money order-make checks payable to USC) Contact: Email Ashley Deming or call (843)-762-6105 for more information. Mars Bluff Navy Yard Project: Established
by the Confederacy during the Civil War, the Mars Bluff Navy Yard,
situated on the Great Pee Dee River, constructed the CSS PeeDee,
along with several other smaller vessels. As Union General William
Sherman's troops advanced towards North Carolina, the navy yard was
abandoned and war materiel and ordnance from the PeeDee
and the navy yard were jettisoned into the Great Pee Dee River. Since
that time avocational and professional researchers have searched the
waters adjacent the navy yard and remains of the gunboat further
downriver for tangible artifacts, including shells and shot, the guns
off the vessel, and other sundry items. In the 1990s the CSS PeeDee
Research and Recovery Team under an Intensive Survey License
issued by SCIAA documented and recovered items that are now on display
at a museum in Myrtle Beach. Importantly, the group located two of the
three large guns reported thrown overboard from the PeeDee.
In 2009, the MRD under a grant from the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation
conducted an archaeological project, in conjunction with an East
Carolina University Program in Maritime Studies field school, to
document the remains of the navy yard, to locate the third gun, and to
begin the process of recovering, conserving, and displaying the
cannons. Please follow this link
to learn more about this project.
July
2010:
Artifact Workshop Announcement: SDAMP
will be conducting another Artifact
Identification Workshop in
August. Our workshops feature a mixture of lectures and
hands-on activities designed to help you identify some of the types of
artifacts you collect from South Carolina waters. We hope to help you
better understand and identify artifacts so that you can love your
collection even more and report your finds more accurately to us.
Historic and prehistoric ceramics, bottles, Native American stone
tools, and much more will be covered. You will get the opportunity to
work with real archaeological material. Please note that we will not be
covering any paleontological material (fossils: i.e. shark teeth and
bone). The details about the lecture are below.
Artifact
Identification Workshop
If
you are interested in attending, please email Ashley Deming
immediately and we will reserve you a seat. We MUST
have your check before 7/30/10 or you will lose your spot. There are
only 15 spots available so sign up nowAugust 7, 2010 9am-5pm SCIAA 1321 Pendleton St Columbia, SC Cost: $30 (make checks payable to USC) SDAMP also offers talks to various groups and organizations. If your group is interested in a SDAMP talk, please contact our office at 843-762-6105 or email us at deming@sc.edu. Recent SDAMP Newsletters: Please follow these links to SDAMP's newsletter, Quarterly Reporter, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. March 2010: Ongoing Research: Since 1995 the MRD has conducted marine remote sensing operations off Winyah Bay in search of a 1526 Spanish shipwreck associated with the first European attempt to colonize North America during the Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon epedition. The MRD completed another field season of remote sensing survey and investigated a number of magnetic and acoustic anomalies generated during the survey in 2007. Learn more about the research venture by visiting this link. February 2010: Ashley Deming Takes Reins of Sport Diver Program : As of the beginning of January, Ashley M. Deming has taken over the reins of the Sport Diver Archaeology Management Program (SDAMP), replacing Lora Holland who has left South Carolina to pursue her interests (professional and otherwise) in San Francisco. As head of SDAMP, Ashley will also manage the Charleston office of SCIAA’s Maritime Research Division. Ashley arrives in South Carolina fresh from the University of Bristol in the UK, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Maritime Archaeology and History. Her studies at the University of Bristol included an underwater archaeology field school on Tortola, British Virgin Islands, participating in the recording of two shipwrecks in Road Harbor. Ashley did her undergraduate studies at Western Michigan University, receiving a degree in anthropology with a minor in geology. As an undergraduate she completed a terrestrial archaeology field school on Barbados, where she participated in excavations of Jubilee Gardens in Bridgetown. While in England she also worked as an Education and Marketing Volunteer on the SS Great Britain. Prior to that she worked as an Education and Outreach Specialist at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan. She is also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors fraternity. SDAMP, an outgrowth of the South Carolina Underwater Antiquities Act of 1991, functions as a connection between the sport diver community and professional archaeologists. Through talks, seminars, field training courses, and avocational projects, SDAMP shares archaeological principles with interested members of the public, both divers and non-divers. In addition, SDAMP issues and monitors South Carolina Hobby Diver Licenses. These licenses allow divers to collect artifacts and fossils from state waters on a recreational, non-commercial basis, provided the licensees report the items and the location of their finds. She can be reached at the Charleston Office (843-762-6105) or online at deminga@mailbox.sc.edu. Please follow this link to read Ashley's bio. Maritime Research Division Focus of New Book by Carleton Naylor:
The book also describes the division’s investigations of suspected Revolutionary War gunboats in the Cooper River, a colonial and Revolutionary War shipyard on Hobcaw Creek, the famous Brown's Ferry cargo vessel found in the Black River, a steamship sunk in a storm off Hilton Head Island in 1899, the Ingram wreck in the Pee Dee River, our survey of the waters around Callawassie Island, and a mysterious cargo site in the Cooper River. In addition, there are chapters on the division’s Sport Diver Archaeological Management Program, the wildlife we encounter during our projects, how we find shipwrecks, working with salvage divers, dugout canoes, the Cooper River Anchor Farm, and more. According to one reviewer, Roger C. Smith, underwater archaeologist with the Florida Division of Historical Resources, “Naylor has skillfully woven throughout this narrative humorous anecdotal tales with well-researched historical facts and archaeological lessons as he recounts and interprets his journeys through South Carolina’s heritage. Readers will enjoy the trip and learn a great deal in the process.” Carl says he couldn’t have said it better himself. Any group wishing a talk with power point presentation on the book can contact him at 843-762-6105 or canaylor@sc.edu. March 2008: New MRD-Geology Article: A new article has been posted discussing the colloborative work between MRD and Geological Sciences. The article written by Chris Amer, MRD head, and Jeff Morin, of Geological Sciences, documents the various projects undertaken to assist each other in mutually beneficial studies along South Carolina's coast. Please follow the link to read the article. December 2007: New feel and look for MRD webpage: The MRD has completely updated and revised the previous webpage with more content and information to better reflect the diverse duties and projects of the division. We will strive to continually update the webpage to keep visitors informed of ongoing research endeavors and activities. Please meander through the site to learn more about the maritime heritage of South Carolina. Thanks for visiting and please feel free to contact us with your thoughts and suggestions about improving the website. Ongoing Research: Since 1995 the MRD has conducted marine remote sensing operations off Winyah Bay in search of a 1526 Spanish shipwreck associated with the first European attempt to colonize North America during the Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon epedition. The MRD has just completed the third field season of remote sensing survey and investigated a number of magnetic and acoustic anomalies generated during the survey. Learn more about the research venture by visiting the project webpage. |
