UNDERWATER CULTURE

With a surge in global recognition of the importance of ocean preservation and sustainability, there is a timeliness to Southampton’s significant work in this area.

“In 2017, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was tasked with developing a focused approach to addressing the many factors affecting global marine systems and to manage them sustainably through ocean observations and research,” explained Dr Helen Farr, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton.

“The result was the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030, which is a large-scale UN initiative that promotes a common framework for supporting ocean stakeholders in studying and assessing the health of the world’s oceans and implementing change to deliver ‘the ocean we need for the future we want’,” Helen explained.

The Decade of Ocean Science complements the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 – “Life below Water”. Which, when created in 2016, identified the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

“The Ocean Decade recognises the need for innovation, research and policy in implementing the sustainable development goals; environmental concerns are forefront, but how these relate to society, for example, cultural heritage is still less developed,” said Helen. “To work on improving the visibility of maritime cultural heritage within the Decade, we have been working directly with UNESCO and the Ocean Decade Heritage Network, we now have a Cultural Heritage Framework Programme within the Decade. Through this we hope to improve interdisciplinary communication between coastal, often Indigenous, communities, cultural heritage management, and marine science and industry. This is vital for marine management.”

Preservation in action

Maritime cultural heritage is important, not only because it works to preserve and document the past, including past environmental changes across a variety of scales, but because it can help in improving the future of an ever-changing and at-risk, ocean and coastal landscape.

“The variety of research projects we work on with colleagues here at the University and in organisations around the world, really does demonstrate the large scope of activity in this area,” said Helen. “With our oceans at such a critical point environmentally, it is key we look to the past to answer questions about what to do in the future. We can start by understanding the value of our coastal and maritime heritage, its importance to current communities, the value of traditional knowledge, and how these landscapes and seascapes have been changing through human history. Through this, we can better understand the societal effects of climate change, sea-level rise and flash floods, offshore development, policy and planning. Through increasing ocean literacy, community engagement and interdisciplinary projects, we can work to protect this heritage.”

Origins Of Seafaring

Helen is heading up an interdisciplinary ERC project which is researching some of the earliest seafaring in human history, to answer questions of When, Where, Who and How in relation to the earliest ocean crossings in world history.

The ACROSS project is focused on the geographical region between the Sunda shelf, Island South East Asia, and Sahul, Australia and New Guinea,” she explained. “The chronology and notion of ‘arrival’ of people in Sahul is debated, with the accepted ontology of many Aboriginal peoples being that they have been on country since the Creation, from ‘time immemorial’.

“Meanwhile the nature and timing of the peopling of Australia within western science, places this dispersal within the wider context of global ‘colonisation’, potentially between 65,000-50,000 years ago. This represents some of the earliest evidence of modern human occupation outside Africa. Yet, even at the greatest sea-level lowstand, the peopling of Sahul would have involved seafaring.”

The project is looking into the maritime nature of this dispersal, which is what makes it important to questions of technological, cognitive and social human development.

Helen said: “These issues have traditionally been the preserve of archaeologists but with a multidisciplinary approach that embraces a unique combination of marine geoarchaeology, oceanography and archaeogenetics, we have the opportunity to bring together and examine different data sources.”

The ACROSS project has three distinct elements to it: land, sea, and people. Each element brings together interdisciplinary research methods to feed the overall picture of early seafaring and its effects on people and place.

Helen explained the elements: “Land is where we look at the changing coastline, paleoenvironment and now-submerged landscape of southern Sunda and northern Sahul. Changes in sea level associated with glacial cycles have led to significant changes in coastal configurations, understanding the location and geomorphology of the palaeocoast is a first step in understanding seafaring, population movement and human activity on the coast in the deep past.

“Coasts are active zones, so in addition to an understanding of the sea level, an analysis of coastal geomorphology through time includes calculations of sedimentation and erosion rates, uplift and palaeoenvironmental change. By understanding the nature of a changing coast through time, we can understand coastal productivity and the availability of different raw materials or resources.”

For the ‘sea element’, research into early seafaring must consider the active maritime landscape.

“ACROSS studies the marine environment, including modelling ancient tides, and the oceanic currents, and includes research into climate change, studying the effects of seasonality and monsoon through time,” said Helen. “We use the palaeogeographic data to map boundaries for palaeohydrodynamic modelling, to investigate the changing ocean currents and tidal regimes through the region in the past. With these data sets, we can run a variety of seafaring models to investigate routes and the likeliness of undirected drift versus simple forms of directed propulsion.”

The ‘people’ element of ACROSS aims to add to the understanding of the movement of people through Sunda and into Sahul by combining a detailed study of past land and seascapes with a study of archaeogenetics to map population history and movement. It also has worked to collate oral traditions of seafaring and maritime activity.

Helen concluded: “Overall the project has already given us incredible insight into the peopling of Australia in deep time and the role of seafaring within this. Rather than narratives of early colonisation by accidental drift, our results suggest a higher level of complexity in maritime technology and planning was achieved by our ancestors 65,0000 years ago. More than this though, it has demonstrated the deep connection Indigenous people have with Sea Country within the region and the long durée of their maritime heritage.”

ENDANGERED ARCHAEOLOGY)

The Maritime Endangered Archaeology project, MarEA, headed up by Dr Lucy Blue from the University of Southampton’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology, aims to rapidly and comprehensively document and assess threats to the maritime and coastal archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

“Maritime heritage sites in this particular region face many threats, particularly from conflict, rising sea levels and urban, agricultural and industrial development,” explained Lucy. “The protection and preservation of these sites is vital for increasing our understanding of maritime cultural heritage and for the potential benefits which heritage could bring to economic prosperity in the region. However, existing research is fragmented, essential baseline data on-site location, condition and threats limited, and local agencies often lack the specialist expertise to deal with both maritime heritage sites and coastal and marine processes.”

Partnering with Ulster University, Lucy’s team received a grant of £2 million from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, to support the MarEA project over five years (2019-2024).

“I am leading a team with Dr Colin Breen from Ulster University’s School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, to study satellite imagery, published data and archival information from coastal and nearshore zones across the MENA region,” said Lucy. “The collected data and the condition assessments for all analysed sites will be added to the Arches-based open access database platform of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project hosted by the University of Oxford.”

The EAMENA project Lucy refers to was established to respond to the increasing threats to archaeological sites in the Middle East and North Africa. This project uses satellite imagery to rapidly record and make available information about archaeological sites and landscapes which are under threat.

EAMENA’s spatial database provides the fundamental information for each site, including an assessment of its condition and level of risk and archaeological detail pertaining to each site. It is accessible to all heritage professionals and academic institutions with an interest in the archaeological heritage of the Middle East and North Africa.

“These two projects complement each other, MarEA enhancing the data collated with a focus on the sea, forging a very effective collaboration,” explained Lucy. “The work the projects are undertaking in this region has led to much communication with organisations and Governments in the countries, which has, in turn, led to sharing of expertise, training, and upskilling of local experts and teams. That has been wonderful to see.”

MarEA in Gaza

However, archaeological research in the area has been limited in the past 20 years due to several factors, largely political unrest in the region. As a result, knowledge of the Gaza Strip, a place often referred to as a historical landmark between Egypt and different empires in the Near East, is outdated.

As part of the MarEA project, Lucy’s team undertook a remote assessment of the area which demonstrated the widespread impact of coastal erosion, building development and conflict on Gaza’s archaeological sites.

“The lack of preservation of these important cultural sites in the Gaza Strip such as Anthedon Harbour, Rafah and Tell el Ajjul, is exacerbated by lack of funds, restricted access to sites, systematic damage and destruction, limited capacity and expertise, and limited public awareness,” explained Dr Georgia Andreou, research associate on the project. “All these factors are impeding the documentation, monitoring, and management of Gaza’s rich maritime cultural heritage and we wanted to assist in remedying that if at all possible.”

“We worked closely with the Department of Antiquities and Ministry of Tourism in Gaza,” said Georgia. “Who were very supportive of this and future maritime archaeological projects, creating important opportunities to establish partnerships, build capacity and develop longer-term maritime archaeological projects in the region.

“The Ministry indicated two sites as exceptionally vulnerable and at imminent risk of coastal erosion, illicit digging, which is typically for sand mining, looting and building development. And our team responded to the urgent need for the documentation and assessment of the two sites.”

A team of Archaeology and GIS students from the Islamic University of Gaza received training from MarEA to undertake a detailed topographical survey of the tells (aerial and terrestrial survey of the tell, the scarp and the beach; snorkel survey in front of the sites) to document the actively eroding, partly built on, and vulnerable to looting, archaeological sites. Tells are ancient settlements that were made up largely of mudbrick architecture, that over time were eroded and repeatedly built over, forming a hill of archaeological remains that stretches back in time, essentially getting older the deeper you dig.

In addition, the team created the first-ever maritime archaeological field school in Gaza, which trained students from the Islamic University of Gaza on the methods and theories of maritime archaeology, building much-needed capacity in the Gaza Strip with respect to maritime archaeology.

“We are hoping to provide skills that will enable archaeologists based in Gaza to monitor other maritime archaeological sites in the region,” said Georgia. “If we can enhance existing skillsets and create networks of stakeholders with different interests in the maritime landscape such as archaeologists, coastal engineers and geologists in Gaza, we can create more targeted training programmes on coastal monitoring and heritage management within the wider framework of Integrated Coastal Zone Management process, that can in the future attract funding from multiple resources to undertake more of these preservation projects in this historically rich and important area.”

THE BLACK SEA

The Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project (BSMAP), led by Professor Jon Adams from the University of Southampton, is one of the largest of its type ever undertaken. Working with an international team, funded by the Expedition and Education Foundation, a charitable foundation established to support marine research, the team surveyed the Bulgarian shelf of the Black Sea where thousands of years ago large areas of land were inundated as the sea level rose after the last Ice Age.

Dr Helen Farr, a co-I on the project, explained: “The project investigated Holocene sea-level rise in the region, as sea levels began to rise, the once isolated Black Sea was reconnected to the Mediterranean, much research and speculation has surrounded this process of reconnection and whether this led to a great flood event’.

The team carried out geophysical surveys to understand the sedimentation of the basin and took core samples to characterize and date the various formation facies.

“During these surveys, the team found and inspected 65 shipwrecks, many of which were of types known from historical sources but never before seen,” said Helen. “Their preservation was so good due to the anoxic, or low oxygen, conditions of the Black Sea below 200 metres. The ships we discovered were beautifully preserved, in some cases with masts and rigging still intact, including the incredible 2500-year-old sailed galley from the Ancient Greek period discovered in 2000 metres of water. The other shipwrecks spanned the Roman, Ottoman and Byzantine Empires, as well as Medieval and other historical ships. Alongside the changing environmental histories that this project documented, these ships provided new data on the maritime interconnectivity of Black Sea coastal communities and manifest ways of life and seafaring that stretch back through the cultural history of the region.”

This deep-water research was enabled using state-of-the-art offshore survey vessels equipped with the most advanced geophysics and underwater survey systems. The project used two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs): the ‘Supporter’ a Work Class ROV is optimised for high-resolution 3D photogrammetry and video and equipped with robotic arms for excavation or retrieval of artefacts and the ROV ‘Surveyor Interceptor’, a revolutionary high-speed survey vehicle developed by the survey companies MMT and Reach Subsea. The ROV interceptor could fly at three times the speed of conventional ROVs and carried an entire suite of geophysical instrumentation as well as lights, high-definition cameras and a laser scanner. This technology revolutionizes how we can undertake accurate work at great depths.

Black Sea MAP’s team established a formal partnership with the Bulgarian Institute of Archaeology, the Bulgarian Museum, and the Bulgarian Centre for Underwater Archaeology. The project operated under permits from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in strict adherence to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001). From its outset, engagement and education were written into this project, as well as providing training for multiple STEM scholars, the project has been disseminated to schools nationwide, used for STEM learning, created an award-winning roadshow, documentary films and worked with the Digital Humanities team within the University to create an IMAX immersive experience.

RISING FROM THE DEPTHS –BAHARI YETU, URITHI WETU (OUR OCEAN, OUR HERITAGE)

The coast around Bagamoyo, Tanzania, is alive with a sight rarely seen elsewhere in the world today: locally-built wooden watercraft, powered by sail, and engaged in economic activity.

The sight of these traditional boats is often used as a representation of Tanzania’s coastal beauty and monetized to attract tourists. However, for the Bagamoyo communities who build and use these craft, economic development, urban expansion, the planned Bagamoyo Special Economic Zone (or Mega Port) and tourism development—are pressuring ‘traditional’ ways of life and threatening the practices that build these iconic craft.

Dr Lucy Blue, in collaboration with maritime and heritage academics from the Universities of Exeter and Dar es Salaam, have been working with maritime communities in Bagamoyo to explore, through co-created, collaborative engagement, the value of maritime heritage as perceived by the communities of the region, and to document endangered material culture, craft and fishing practice.

“This community faces displacement and loss of access to traditional fish landings, markets and construction areas, while coping with overfishing and disruption to traditional timber supplies unless visibility is brought to these important heritage assets,” said Lucy. “Besides ongoing documentation of the living maritime heritage, the project has already successfully conducted a series of co-created workshops, engaging local communities of boat-builders and fishers, as well as regional and national policymakers.

“We commissioned master boat-carver, Mr Alalae Mohamed, to build a double-outrigger ngalawa logboat, the region’s most common fishing vessel, which we recorded from start to finish and created a Swahililanguage documentary film, with English subtitles, entitled ‘Ngalawa Making Film’.

Lucy went on to reveal other outputs of the project included: “The creation of a three-day community exhibition which showcased the lives and work of the maritime community, including boatbuilders, mangrove-whelk collectors and fishermen, who were all on hand to explain their craft.

“However, our most impactful achievement to date is the establishment of a formal organisation to represent the interests of maritime practitioners in Bagamoyo, an officially registered nongovernmental organisation named CHAMABOMA-Bagamoyo – the Association of Boatbuilders and Vocational Training-Bagamoyo.”

CHAMABOMA-Bagamoyo brings together boatbuilders to advance their collective objectives and provides training opportunities for the next generation. And it provides members with the opportunity to diversify their economic activities, bringing much-needed income whilst at the same time preserving and promoting traditional practices

The ultimate goal of the project is to formulate a coastal heritage strategy briefing for municipal planning, tourism and heritage agencies in Tanzania, to secure sustainable continuity of valuable maritime heritage practice and knowledge.

THE BUSINESS OF ARCHAEOLOGY

With extensive capacity and expertise in marine archaeology, alongside the world-leading research undertaken in this area, the University also has the commercially driven enterprise Coastal and Offshore Archaeological Research Services (COARS), based at The National Oceanography Centre.

Headed up by Dr Michael Grant, for over a decade COARS has provided a solution for businesses and industry seeking advice and access to technical specialists in marine archaeology.

“As the University’s reputation has grown, so has the demand for our services” explains Michael. “Our experts are recognised leaders in their respective fields, all well-published, and are best known for their unique specialisms in marine geophysics, geoarchaeology and the study of maritime material culture. We are routinely requested to provide these services to a wide range of archaeological consultants, professional service firms and developers.

“We work primarily with offshore developers who need to consider any impact upon maritime archaeology and the submerged palaeolandscape. Key sectors we routinely work with include Offshore Windfarms, High Voltage Interconnectors, Fibre Optic Cables, Nuclear, Carbon Capture Storage and Marine Aggregate extraction.”

In addition to this enterprise activity, delivering a valuable source of funding to the University, many of our industry partners have permitted access to the large datasets that they generate for use in applied research, providing a unique resource for university researchers and students to usethat would otherwise be unattainable due to research budget constraints. “The scale of the datasets we access to undertake our work for clients, are well beyond anything our research budgets could attain. This means we can address current research agendas and questions through developer-funded projects and data,” explained Michael.

Much of the demand for COARS work lies within the planning process, with assessments of the cultural heritage forming a key part of any large infrastructure or proposed development’s Environmental Impact Assessment.

Assessment of the historic environment is one key part of the planning process, sitting alongside other disciplines, such as landscape, hydrology, geomorphology, ecology and noise. Coastal change has also been a prominent area of focus in recent years, in light of evolving shoreline management and climate change demands.

“Evaluation of coastal heritage vulnerabilities is very important, and through the national Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey programme we have undertaken extensive surveys and assessments on behalf of Historic England, for North Devon, Cornwall and the Inner Humber Estuary,” said Michael.

LOOKING BACK TO LOOK AHEAD

Helen concludes: “We know that an increase in offshore development worldwide will form a key component in our attempts to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to reach net zero by 2050. Maritime archaeologists, trained to undertake environmental impact assessments and recognise the heritage resources that already exist in the offshore zone will therefore be in high demand. The teaching we do here within the Centre for Maritime Archaeology, our research, collaborations, and our interdisciplinary work is central to addressing this, implementing the actions of the Ocean Decade and working together to get the ocean we want for our future.”

Acknowledgement of Country

ACROSS acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the seas and lands on which we undertake our Australian research. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.