Decades of attempts to locate prehistoric sites on the sea floor have proven fairly unsuccessful. Here, the authors attempt new methodologies to locate sites in the western Atlantic Ocean. In this study, they use SSS, GIS mapping, and measurement using bathymetric data modeling, coupled with a BlueROV2 and sediment collection, to successfully assess the efficacy of scour for the exploration of the inner continental shelf of the Georgia Bight.
Abstract: Finding prehistoric sites, on the sea floor off the United States, has proven to be a difficult task. Over four decades of innovative attempts have produced few discoveries. This discussion outlines the difficulties in finding submerged prehistory on the sea floor, examines current methodology(ies), and presents a new methodology that demonstrates promise based on research conducted over the past decade. The purpose of this discussion is to outline the problems facing archaeologists searching the sea floor for archaeological sites. It is less of a critique of past efforts and methodologies used in those attempts. Without those efforts, a reason for developing a different methodological approach would be unnecessary. Any “one size fits all” methodology is limiting, and the scant number of marine archaeological sites located off the shores of the United States can attest to the need for practitioners to continue refining their methods. This is especially the case on the continental shelf of the eastern United States, where sediment cover is often meters, or several meters, thick. This opportunistic methodology developed on the continental shelf of the Georgia Bight, western Atlantic Ocean, has located intact paleo-landforms with in situ, palaeoecological remains thereby offering promise for future archaeological discoveries.
Author: Garrison, E. G.; Cater Jones, E.; Robinson, M.; Rivera, Y.I.; Williams, K. A.; Prueitt, B.; Carter, A.; Newton, M. A.; Hemmings, A.
Journal: MDPI
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