AJV Archaeology

This is the third episode of the “LEGACY” series and is brought to you by Maritime Legacy Project: Jamaica. The Maritime Legacy Project: Jamaica is a geoarchaeological initiative to Search for Columbus's last shipwrecks in Jamaica which are the maritime component of the Taíno-Spanish Encounter of 1503. Host and Archaeologist Andrew J. Van Slyke reads a paper co-authored with Dr. Marianne Franklin that they presented to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (in April 2022) and to the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference (in January 2023).  In the coming months, the LEGACY series will interview the co-founders of the Maritime Legacy Project, Dr. Mare Everett Franklin, and Dorrick Gray, as well as others who have searched for the Caravels or joined our team, such as Dr. Morgan Smith, Shawn Joy, Gabrielle Miller, Chris Horrell, and Dr. Charles Bendig.  Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or wherever you enjoy podcasts. To listen on the web, visit www.ajvarchaeology.org 

This is the second episode of the “LEGACY” series and is brought to you by Maritime Legacy Project: Jamaica. The Maritime Legacy Project: Jamaica is a geoarchaeological initiative to Search for Columbus's last shipwrecks in Jamaica which are the maritime component of the Taíno-Spanish Encounter of 1503. Host and Archaeologist Aj Van Slyke speaks on his start in the field, how his University of West Florida professors (Dr. Gregory Cook and Dr. Della Scott-Ireton of Florida Public Archaeology Network - Northwest Region), shipwrecks, and Jamaica's maritime legacy shaped his experience.  In the coming months, the LEGACY series will interview the co-founders of the Maritime Legacy Project, Mare Everett Franklin, and Dorrick Gray, as well as others who have searched for the Caravels or joined our team, such as Morgan Smith, Shawn Joy, Gabrielle Miller, and Chris Horrell. Find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or wherever you enjoy podcasts. To listen on the web, visit ajvarchaeology.org

Dr. Jessi Halligan of the Florida State University and Dr. Morgan Smith of the University of Tennessee, Chatanooga, join the Podcast for an intriguing look at the archaeology of the First Americans. Recorded on Leif Erikson day (October 9, 2022) on the day before Indigenous People's Day/Columbus Day, this Podcast broadens the context about humanity's arrival to the Americas and the rise of Columbus as an American symbol. With the broaden context, Halligan and Smith discuss the earliest sites in the Americas, their study of those specific geoarchaeological sites, and how archaeology continues to refine our understanding of symbols of the past.

Primary source documents suggest seven to nine Spanish vessels wrecked in the Lower Florida Keys on 6 September 1622. Over the past 400 years, only treasure hunters have located three vessels of the doomed fleet. Historical Documents point to three other shipwrecks in modern Dry Tortugas National Park. NPS Underwater Archaeologists and historians study the fleet's disaster, contemporary salvage, and protect the delicate nature of the shipwrecks in Dry Tortugas National Park. Since underwater archaeology began in Dry Tortugas National Park (then Fort Jefferson National Monument) in 1971, many archaeologists led investigations to find the 650-ton galleon Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a patache (which carried messages between the treasure galleons), and the Portuguese frigate Nuestra Señora del Rosario in the Dry Tortugas. Not only were the ships salvaged in 1623, but the wooden remains were burned to make it easier for the Spanish to recover all the bronze cannons and precious metal in the holds of the ships. Therefore, the only things that remain from these shipwrecks aren't the wood, silver, or even iron fasteners, but only a few ballast stones and an assemblage of wrought-iron, breech-loading swivel guns. Archeologists have never located this type of swivel gun in a dateable context—besides a single gun La Belle (1686), which was wrecked in Matagorda Bay, Texas.  These guns are dated to 1450-1550 in European museums. The grouping of this style of swivel gun in Dry Tortugas demonstrates how older, cheaply-made guns crafted around the time of the Spanish Armada (1588) armed the rails of treasure galleons in 1622 because of a decline in the Spanish economy. Without archaeology, we would never know the aspects of history that slip into the sea.

With the 400th anniversary of the 1622 Tierra Firme Fleet Disaster occurring next week, I am dedicating a podcast series to the earliest shipwrecks and maritime history of the Florida Keys. In this podcast series, Spanish Treasure Fleets, we dive deep into the history of the oldest shipwrecks in the Florida Keys. This, the second podcast: The History of the Spanish Treasure Fleet System, illustrates the maritime system that shaped the modern world's economy and de- and re-populated the Caribbean and the Americas.  The Spanish Treasure Fleets carved one of the oldest and now most used routes from North America to Europe. They grew the economies of the “Old World” by stealing from and abusing the indigenous populations of the “new.” Precious metals drove the greed of conquistadors and the Royals who wished to tax the profits to fuel their wars—other nations colonized what the Spanish couldn't hold to get in on the action. Here is the history of the treasure fleets, how they fell into enemy hands and were wrecked at the mercy of Mother Nature along the coasts of North America and the Caribbean.

In this podcast series, Spanish Treasure Fleets, we dive deep into the history of the oldest wrecks in the Florida Keys. The first podcast, The Men Who Stole the Stars, is a metaphor for the difference between the academic pursuit of archeology and the profit-driven motives of treasure hunting.  In 1979, Peter Stanford, editor of Sea History, asked George Bass if he would write an article on the difference between archaeology and treasure hunting. Bass began a letter of response and, in the middle, began to turn the letter into a short story to make his point. Since Sea History, that part of his letter has now been published in several other American and Dutch magazines as “The Men Who Stole the Stars.” Except for substituting the word “stars” for “shipwrecks,” everything in the story is based on fact.

Live from Dr. Samuel Mudd's prison cell near the Sally Port of Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park, University of Miami graduate student Devon Fogerty, tells us the medical history of the Dry Tortugas and readdresses Dr. Mudd's racism and troubled past.  This podcast was meant to be a "Part One," but after exciting discoveries in the field (days after this podcast's recording), we can't yet tell you our findings likely jeopardizing a "Part Two."

A conversation with Austin Burkhard, Underwater Archaeologist of SEARCH H20 Inc., regarding the Shipwreck Tagging Archaeological Management Program!

Joshua Marano tells us about how he found archaeology, studies maritime cultural landscapes, and does archaeology in Biscayne, Everglades, and Dry Tortugas National Parks.

A great interview with Gabrielle Miller and Stephanie Sterling about the future of Black maritime archaeology.

Dr. Morgan Smith and Shawn Joy discuss the new Human Altered Lithic Detection (HALD) method, and they tell how they discover submerged precontact archaeological sites in Florida!

This multi-part podcast series is an attempt to locate a Royal Naval vessel, which was destroyed in Blackwater Bay, part of the Pensacola Bay System, Florida, during the spring of 1781. The study utilized maritime cultural landscape theory to construct an understanding of the setting and circumstances in which the ship sank. A history of the vessel is introduced to add context to the historical and environmental analysis defined by a critical examination of the Royal Navy’s 18th-century concept of the maritime cultural landscape of Pensacola Bay. The methodology behind the remote sensing survey for the ship and subsequent testing of previously known shipwrecks in this study’s project area is described, and a location for the wrecked vessel is presented. This Master’s Thesis could not have been completed without the great assistance of my advisors Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Gregory D. Cook, and Dr. Amy Mitchell-Cook. I thank you three for the continuous help and guidance! This is the fourth part of the multi-part podcast series and is how maritime archaeologists use Spanish, French, English, and American hydrographic maps to build the Maritime Cultural Landscape Theory of 18th-century Royal Naval Pensacola Bay. Listen and Learn how the region’s environment and history is combined to construct an anthropological Maritime Cultural Landscape. This analytical mindset helps maritime archaeologists understand the historic battlefield in which HMS Mentor rests.

This multi-part podcast series is an attempt to locate a Royal Naval vessel, which was destroyed in Blackwater Bay, part of the Pensacola Bay System, Florida, during the spring of 1781. The study utilized maritime cultural landscape theory to construct an understanding of the setting and circumstances in which the ship sank. A history of the vessel is introduced to add context to the historical and environmental analysis defined by a critical examination of the Royal Navy’s 18th-century concept of the maritime cultural landscape of Pensacola Bay. The methodology behind the remote sensing survey for the ship and subsequent testing of previously known shipwrecks in this study’s project area is described, and a location for the wrecked vessel is presented. This Master’s Thesis could not have been completed without the great assistance of my advisors Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Gregory D. Cook, and Dr. Amy Mitchell-Cook. I thank you three for the continuous help and guidance! This is the third part of the multi-part podcast series and is how maritime archaeologists use Spanish, French, English, and American navigational charts to build the Maritime Cultural Landscape Theory of 18th-century Royal Naval Pensacola Bay. Listen and Learn how the Maritime Cultural Landscape Theory helps maritime archaeologists understand the historic battlefield in which HMS Mentor rests.

This multi-part podcast series is an attempt to locate a Royal Naval vessel, which was destroyed in Blackwater Bay, part of the Pensacola Bay System, Florida, during the spring of 1781. The study utilized maritime cultural landscape theory to construct an understanding of the setting and circumstances in which the ship sank. A history of the vessel is introduced to add context to the historical and environmental analysis defined by a critical examination of the Royal Navy’s 18th-century concept of the maritime cultural landscape of Pensacola Bay. The methodology behind the remote sensing survey for the ship and subsequent testing of previously known shipwrecks in this study’s project area is described, and a location for the wrecked vessel is presented. This Master’s Thesis could not have been completed without the great assistance of my advisors Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Gregory D. Cook, and Dr. Amy Mitchell-Cook. I thank you three for the continuous help and guidance! This is the second part of the multi-part podcast series and is the Introduction to the Maritime Cultural Landscape Theory of 18th-century Royal Naval Pensacola Bay. Listen and Learn how the Maritime Cultural Landscape Theory helps maritime archaeologists understand the historic battlefield in which HMS Mentor rests.

This multi-part podcast series is an attempt to locate a Royal Naval vessel, which was destroyed in Blackwater Bay, part of the Pensacola Bay System, Florida, during the spring of 1781. The study utilized maritime cultural landscape theory to construct an understanding of the setting and circumstances in which the ship sank. A history of the vessel is introduced to add context to the historical and environmental analysis defined by a critical examination of the Royal Navy’s 18th-century concept of the maritime cultural landscape of Pensacola Bay. The methodology behind the remote sensing survey for the ship and subsequent testing of previously known shipwrecks in this study’s project area is described, and a location for the wrecked vessel is presented. This Master’s Thesis could not have been completed without the great assistance of my advisors Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Gregory D. Cook, and Dr. Amy Mitchell-Cook. I thank you three for the continuous help and guidance!

This podcast was a live talk I gave on the Shipwrecks of Blackwater River at the Bagdad Village Museum on Saturday, March 7, 2020. https://blackwatermaritimeheritagetrails.org/ or https://BMHTrails.org/ sponsored the event along with Bagdad Waterfronts Florida Partnership 501c3 non-profit and the Bagdad Village Historic Preservation Association. The map on the cover of the podcast is from 1937 and can be found: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/image=1265-11-1937

Don Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish Governor of Louisiana and Field Marshall of the Spanish troops, laid siege to the capital of British West Florida at Pensacola in 1781. The 61-day siege was the longest landlocked siege of the American Revolutionary War. The Siege of Pensacola was the conclusion of Gálvez’s conquest of the Northern Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River Valley. Commencing his conquest from New Orleans in September 1779, one month after a violent hurricane destroyed the General’s initial invasion there, General Gàlvez campaigned and took control of the British outposts of Manchac (September 7), Baton Rouge (September 21), and Fort Panmure at Natchez (October 5). The following spring Gálvez took Fort Charlotte at Mobile on March 14, 1780. Hurricanes and the Spanish miscalculation of merchants shipping at Pensacola in March 1780 delayed the Siege of Pensacola, which commenced in March 1781, a year after the siege of Mobile. After the siege of Pensacola in 1781, Bernardo de Gálvez was praised by his Catholic Majesty Carlos III for “the expulsion of the English from the entire Gulf of Mexico.” The Spanish King’s appreciation of Gálvez’s victory was rectified in re-naming the prestigious harbor of Pensacola to the “Bahia de Santa Maria de Gálvez.” Conde de Gálvez was raised to royalty and promoted to Lieutenant General and Governor of West Florida and Louisiana. Gálvez’s coat of arms incorporated himself aboard his flagship Gálveztown, flying a broad pennant bearing “Yo Solo,” which commemorated his entrance to and the defeat of Pensacola. Cover Image accessible through the University of West Florida’s Archives: https://uwf.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/digital_object_components/4229 https://archives.uwf.edu/Archon-Migrated/6.jpg

HMS Stork and HMS West Florida were merely two Royal Naval vessels dispatched to the Pensacola Station from 1777 to 1781. HMS West Florida was purchased in 1777 and named after the colony it was sent to protect. The name was chosen as a means of distinguistion from the HMS Florida Sloop and HMS Florida schooner. West Florida lost the Battle of Lake Ponchartrain, in 1779, to the American ship Morris. It is rumored and very likely that the crew of Morris sold West Florida to the Spanish in New Orleans where the ship was made Galvez’s flagship, Galveztown. HMS Stork was purchased in 1777. By 1779, the ship was unserviceable in Pensacola. In April of 1780, the Stork was made unserviceable by a violent gale of wind and was likely immobile at the Deer Point Carreenage Station near modern Gulf Breeze, Florida. The 90ft. long sixth-rate sloop-of-war has never been located. Cover chart by George Gauld in 1780 found at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3932p.ar166300

This paper will situate maritime battlefield cultural landscape theory in the archaeological discipline. Stemming from a variety of cultural landscape theory, an archaeological study of a single maritime battlefield may lend a synchronic understanding of how soldiers in fortifications on land, sailors aboard naval vessels in bodies of water, and more recently, pilots of planes in the sky, attacked and defended an area during a time of conflict. A collection of archaeological studies of maritime battlefields may ultimately develop a diachronic and holistic understanding of how political powers attacked and defended the land, air, and sea in the face of threats both foreign and domestic. It is posed that this methodology will not only aid the researcher in identifying movements and motives of opposing forces during conflict but will also yield a better understanding of patterned human behavior on the maritime landscape which, when taken together with the terrestrial and marine landscapes, can contribute to the broader understanding of warfare over time. An understanding of battlefields and their interpretation and public archaeological application is also addressed. Cover image available:http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3884y.ar146200

The Deadman’s Island and Town Point Shipwrecks are unidentified wrecks that were archaeologically investigated and interpreted as small stripped and abandoned vessels from the British Occupational Period of Pensacola (1763-1781). The wrecks were in an 18th-century British Royal Navy careenage called Old Navy Cove at the landform known as Deadman’s Island near Gulf Breeze, Florida. Documents rediscovered may prove the Deadman’s Island Wreck to be HMS Florida, the last survey schooner of Royal Surveyor and Cartographer George Gauld, and the Town Point Wreck her attendant shallop. This podcast is dedicated to the late Dr. Roger Smith and could not have been possible without the extensive assistance of Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Marianne Franklin, and Billy Ray Morris III.

The Deadman’s Island and Town Point Shipwrecks are unidentified wrecks that were archaeologically investigated and interpreted as small stripped and abandoned vessels from the British Occupational Period of Pensacola (1763-1781). The wrecks were in an 18th-century British Royal Navy careenage called Old Navy Cove at the landform known as Deadman’s Island near Gulf Breeze, Florida. Documents rediscovered may prove the Deadman’s Island Wreck to be HMS Florida, the last survey schooner of Royal Surveyor and Cartographer George Gauld, and the Town Point Wreck her attendant shallop. This podcast is dedicated to the late Dr. Roger Smith and could not have been possible without the extensive assistance of Dr. Della A. Scott-Ireton, Dr. Marianne Franklin, and Billy Ray Morris III.

El Tigre was a French brigantine loaded with merchandise that wrecked during a storm on 16 February 1766, east of Dog Island. The ship was headed to New Orleans from St. Domingue (modern Haiti) when they encountered a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and ran aground on an offshore reef (possibly the modern Dog Island Barrier Reef). The wrecking of Tigre and the survival of an experienced seaman and French merchant Pierre Viaud was published in a 1768, Naufrage et Aventures de M. Pierre Viaud, Natif de Bordeaux, Capitaine de Navire, Histoire véritable, vérifiée sur l’Attestaion de Mr. Sevettenham, Commandant du Fort St. Marc des Appalaches (1768). Pierre Viaud’s narrative describing the loss of Le Tigre was translated to English in 1771 and can be found: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015078546549&view=1up&seq=6