History Beneath the Waters
Thursday, Nov. 5 | 5:30pm
https://cbmm.org/tag/maritime-archaeology
Take a dive into the Chesapeake’s past and discover what lies beneath its waters.
Join CBMM in the Van Lennep Auditorium or virtually on Thursday, Nov. 5, for a Speaker Event featuring maritime historian and underwater archaeologist Donald Grady Shomette, who will explore how five decades of tidewater archaeology have revealed the Bay’s deep and varied history—from prehistoric canoe fleets and War of 1812 shipwrecks to Mallows Bay’s Ghost Fleet and World War II submarines.
This event is generously sponsored by the Upper Shore Regional Folklife Center.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Donald Shomette is an acclaimed maritime historian, marine archaeologist, and author whose work has illuminated the Chesapeake Bay’s submerged cultural heritage for decades. A native of Washington, D.C., and longtime resident of Dunkirk, Maryland, he studied art and art history at Pratt Institute and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Baltimore.
Shomette served for nearly 20 years on the staff of the Library of Congress while directing Nautical Archaeological Associates, Inc., a nonprofit research organization that conducted the first underwater cultural-resource surveys in Maryland, New Jersey, and Arkansas. He later served as CEO of Cultural Resources Management and currently is Honorary President and an Executive Board Member of the 1779 Research Group Ltd. in North Yorkshire, England.
Over an international career spanning the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, Shomette has consulted for government agencies, museums, universities, and nonprofit organizations and conducted marine archaeological work with support from institutions including the National Geographic Society, National Park Service, and U.S. Navy. He is the author of 20 books and a contributor to international encyclopedias, anthologies, and publications including National Geographic, History and Technology, and Sea History. A three time recipient of the John Lyman Book Award and two-time winner of the Marion V. Brewington Book Award, he has also received Maryland’s Calvert Prize for historic preservation. His newest work, “Siege: The Canadian Campaign in the American Revolution, 1775–1776,” is a two-volume history of the first American invasion of Canada.
History Beneath the Waters
Date/Time: Thursday, Nov. 5, 5:30pm
Location: Van Lennep Auditorium & available virtually
Cost: Suggested ticket price of $8 per participant