Foreshore archaeology

El capítulo trata acerca de los restos de naufragios localizados durante las prospecciones costeras efectuadas en el marco del Programa Arqueologico Costa Atlántica Fueguina (Direccion Provincial de Patrimonio y Museos, Tierra del Fuego), llevado a cabo entre los años 2010 y 2014. Se analizan en distinto grado de profundidad los materiales hallados y se postula una metodología de trabajo aplicable al relevamiento de restos de naufragios dispersos a lo largo de grandes extensiones costeras.

I am co-planning a conference on "Shipwrecks in the Intertidal Zone", dealing with this topic from different angles: The archaeology and site formation of the wreck sites, the historical narratives connected to the wrecks in terms of crews, wreckers and beachcombers, and last not least the public interest in these sites, channelled through volunteer involvement like site monitoring and museum exhibitions.

We have already received very interesting international papers from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to Auckland, and are now in the progress of finalising the programme in order to raise funding for this conference.

If you are working on a wreck in the intertidal zone, please contact me. Although we have almost completed the programme for oral presentations, we are still seeking contributions for our digital poster presentation, which shall be integrated as slideshow-loop during the coffee breaks (like an "intermission"), also to be broadcasted as live conference. 

Contact: d.zwick@archaeologia-navalis.org

Significant archaeological sites along England’s coast and on the foreshores of tidal estuaries are being lost from natural and anthropogenic forces, continually eroded by winds, waves and tidal scour. The Thames Discovery Programme and CITiZAN: the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network work with citizen scientists from local communities to provide systematic responses to these threats to coastal and intertidal archaeology. This paper will compare and contrast the methodologies employed by both projects to involve the public in the monitoring and recording of intertidal archaeological features, including standard single context recording as well as 3D photogrammetry and CITiZAN’s smartphone app, and discuss the implementation of standardised recording and monitoring using crowd-sourced data

Coastal archaeological sites have always been vulnerable to erosion. In recent years this vulnerability has become a contentious issue when a variety of archaeological sites across Northern Europe were impacted by the winter storms of 2013-14. Stone forts fell into the sea. Castles crumbled to the ground. Shipwrecks, middens, timber trackways and ancient drowned forests were revealed for the first time in centuries. Heritage venues were flooded and a large number of archaeological sites were washed away entirely.

The annual winter storms now regularly require rescue work by governments and archaeologists, allow chance finds by members of the public and have necessitated the creation of citizen science schemes to report vulnerable / newly discovered sites.

The Weather Beaten Archaeology Conference is the first of its kind and will establish a forum for the exchange of experiences of extreme weather events and their impact on archaeological sites.

Who is coming?
Our speakers include Policy Makers, Environmental Geoarchaeologists, Climatologists, Archaeologists, Historians and Social Media Commentators.

Although primarily concerned with experiences from Ireland, Britain, Sweden and France, the conference will extend a warm welcome to diverse experiences from around the world.

The main themes of the Conference include:
The Winter Storms of 2013-14 – Lost Sites and New Discoveries
Predictive Climatology: Freak Events or Frequent Events?
Vulnerable Monuments at Risk of Weather
Mitigation: Monument Monitoring & Protection Methods
Revelation of Ancient Drowned Forests
Government and Heritage Organisations – Inundated with Data
The Public Response & Citizen Scientists