STS.467 | Spring 2002 | Graduate

Research Seminar in Deep Sea Archaeology

Course Description

STS.467 examines the intellectual foundations of archaeology in the deep sea. The course explores the current convergence of oceanography, archaeology, and engineering which allows scientists to discover, survey, and excavate shipwrecks in deep water with robots and submarines. The course seeks to address the following …
STS.467 examines the intellectual foundations of archaeology in the deep sea. The course explores the current convergence of oceanography, archaeology, and engineering which allows scientists to discover, survey, and excavate shipwrecks in deep water with robots and submarines. The course seeks to address the following questions: How are new devices best employed for archaeological work? How do new capabilities (e.g. higher frequencies, higher resolution, all digital data output) change operations plans and research designs? What new technologies will be required? Area studies focus on the Aegean in Minoan times and western Sicily during Phoenician, Greek, and Roman hegemony.
A small submarine-type vehicle being lowered into the water from a large ship at sunset near a rocky coast.
Deployment of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during an expedition to the Aegean Sea in 2001 by the MIT Deepwater Archaeology Research Group. (Photo by David Mindell.)