Video: Bermuda Shipwreck Study
A coral encrusted shipwreck discovered during construction of the cruise ship wharf in 2007 led to a research team led by East Carolina University (ECU) Maritime Studies professors traveling to Bermuda to help Government determine the origin and history of the vessel.
While the main aim of the archeological survey was to determine the environmental impact of the new cruise ship terminal off Ireland Island, ECU’s Professor Edward Richards said the shipwreck was useful to his growing body of research about iron ships and shipbuilding traditions.
“There is an ‘applied’ aspect to this project,” Prof. Richards said, “but this is a part of our ongoing research, and is sort of a follow up to the work we’d done in Hawaii.” Prof. Richards and colleague Prof. Bradley Rodgers led a group of graduate students to the Hawaiian island of Kauai to conduct fieldwork on the shipwreck “Ivanhoe”.
Professors Richards and Rodgers and two students conducted the work in Bermuda using underwater cameras and surveillance tools to document the 65-foot long iron vessel, believed to be one of the original tugboats used to build parts of the Royal Naval Dockyard in the late-19th century. Richards noted that the group field tested a new tool in Bermuda enabling them to build –- underwater -– a three-dimensional model of the site. The three-dimensional virtual model would allow non-divers to view and study the site, he said.
Prof. Richards said the material ECU produced could be included in exhibits in the Bermuda Maritime Museum or on the Internet, and could lead to future ECU field schools being held in Bermuda.
Read More About
Category: All, Environment, Videos
