2024 Nautical Archaeology Training Workshop and MAST Annual Dinner

Join NMGL and MAST as we discuss underwater archaeology techniques and tools. Become a citizen scientist and help preserve cultural heritage.

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/maritime-archaeological-survey-team-12746914142

Shipwrecks have always been sources of wonder and fascination. The documentation of these important pieces of history has been a priority for the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Maritime Archaeological Survey Team. Over the 20-year collaboration, these two organizations have developed a methodical process to survey Ohio shipwrecks in low-visibility situations. Come be a part of our team; take our three-day training workshop.

Over three days, our Basic Workshop will teach students the basics of surveying a shipwreck. We will cover Ship Terms, Laws and Ethics, Research, Survey Tools, and Trilateration (the technique we use to measure shipwrecks) as well as much more. After two days of classroom work, the training concludes on May 18 &19 at White Star Quarry with in-water training. The workshop is designed for divers and non-divers (non-divers assist on land with data interpretation.) The work is also appropriate for novice divers. At the completion of the class, all students will become members of MAST and be invited to take part in ongoing fieldwork in Lake Erie during the summer. The cost of the class is $140 and covers all materials needed, breakfast, and lunch in April. Please note: this is a three-day class – a full weekend in April with classroom and dry run practicals. Then one of two days in May for in-water practice (May 18 or 19).

We are happy to bring back the MAST annual meeting and dinner this year- for the first time since 2019. Join us for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Toledo (42 S Superior St, Toledo, OH 43604) for an evening of food, learning, and fun. (Please note that access to the dining room is only via stairs – there is no elevator or lift) Caitlin Zant, a maritime archaeologist, will be joining us to talk about the Adriatic, one of the earliest self-unloaders and the archaeological project she led to study its remains.

Unloading History: The History, Documentation, and Recovery of the Self-Unloading Schooner Barge, Adriatic

Maritime Archeologist, Caitlin Zant will discuss the history of the Great Lakes first converted self-unloading schooner barge, Adriatic. Explore the shipwreck through underwater archaeology, and subsequent excavation, and removal of the resource from Sturgeon Bay. Hear what was learned about Adriatic’s construction features and adaptation for use, and the process of the vessel’s recovery from the bottom of Sturgeon Bay.”

Caitlin Zant is the Research and Communications Specialist of NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Prior to this, Caitlin worked as a Maritime Archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program for over 8 years, after attending graduate school for Maritime Studies at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Caitlin has been involved in numerous Great Lakes archaeological projects, public presentations, workshops, and outreach events, and has assisted in nominating over twenty-five Wisconsin shipwrecks to the National and State Register of Historic Places. Prior to becoming a maritime archaeologist, Caitlin studied History, Geography, and GIS at Carthage College, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.”