Thursday, June 2, 2011

Back to the Revolution: The Hunt for the Bonhomme Richard...Part 2: US Navy Underwater Archaeological Branch

Continued from May 17th.

In the last four years, three expeditions have been mounted to find the wreck of John Paul Jones' ship. TV shows "Deep Sea Detectives" on the History Channel" and "Treasure Quest" on the Disney Channel have paid for them.

Locating sunken ships has always been something people have been involved in. In 1995, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was found. The wreck of the CSS Alabama has been found and cannons as well as a toilet bowl raised from it.

One downside to all this interest in shipwrecks is the threat to preservation. People dive on the accessible ones and steal items. Plus, it can be dangerous.

Once an artifact has been preserved, Bob Neyland and the Underwater Archaeology Branch try to find a home for it either in a museum or research facility. Of 9,000 objects owned by the Navy, 7,000 are on loan to museums and universities.

The Underwater Branch also monitors auction sites like eBay.

In September Neyland went on a Navy Survey ship to look for a blockade-runner. They spent ten days using underwater robots and sonar. A british group recently claimed they'd found it, but Neyland has studied dates and the location and doesn't believe they have found it.

I Would Even Be Willing to Come Out of Retirement to Do Something Like This. --DaCoot

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