Over the last century, underwater archaeology has opened an incredible new frontier for archaeological discovery. This course takes you to the most remarkable underwater sites as you visit entire sunken cities; encounter fabulous shipwrecks; visit submerged prehistoric villages; recover religious artifacts; track major work locating submerged aircraft, landing craft, and ships from World War II; and much more.
Underwater Archaeology: Mysteries of the Deep
Dive into the thrilling world of underwater archaeology in this globe-spanning course and explore sunken cities, fabulous shipwrecks, and other astonishing treasures of history beneath the oceans and waterways of our planet.
Overview Course No. 30730
About
Ashley Lemke is an archaeologist and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan. An expert on submerged ancient sites in the Americas, she has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Her books include Anthropological Archaeology Underwater and The Architecture of Hunting. She previously taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Outstanding Teaching Award for Tenure Track Faculty and was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. She is also a Fellow of The Explorers Club and a past chair of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology.
Trailer
01: How Underwater Archaeology Works
Begin the course with an overview of this exciting field. Learn about key areas of study, such as maritime, nautical, and submerged site archaeology. Preview the great range of underwater archaeology sites and learn how the field itself developed. Look at the cutting-edge technology underwater archaeologists use, such as sonar and robotics, and how underwater research is conducted.
31 min
02: Sunken Cities of the Ancient Mediterranean
Discover Pavlopetri (Greece), an ancient city submerged by earthquakes, and find evidence of its great textile industry and trade. Continue with Apollonia (Libya), with its structures and port remarkably preserved underwater. Then, visit Baiae, a sunken Roman resort town with richly decorated villas, and end with Egypt’s Thonis-Heracleion and Antirhodos, revealing temples, palaces, and statuary.
27 min
03: Submerged Traces of Early Human Migration
See what underwater archaeology can tell us about prehistoric humanity. Learn how coastlines have changed markedly over the millennia and how many early humans lived in areas that are now underwater. Explore underwater sites revealing artifacts, settlements, and human remains in South Africa, Australia, and the Americas, shedding new light on the amazing story of ancient migration.
28 min
04: Pirates, Plunderers, and Mutineers
Visit the sunken city of Port Royal in Jamaica, submerged by an earthquake in 1692, and encounter the many artifacts that portray life in a historic haven for both privateers and pirates. Then, uncover the shipwreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge and learn about the day-to-day life of the fearsome Blackbeard and his pirates. Finish at the Australian wreck of the Batavia, the site of a tragic mutiny.
28 min
05: Viking Ships and Stone Age Danes
The history of early Scandinavian peoples is vividly preserved underwater. Explore the remarkable Danish site of the Skuldelev ships, five Viking era ships of different types that were recovered and preserved using cutting-edge methods. Then, view the Mesolithic site of Tybrind Vig, a submerged prehistoric village, and extraordinary finds on Doggerland, a sunken continent that connected Britain to Europe.
29 min
06: Cold Water Archaeology
Investigate how archaeological work is done in cold and deep water. In arctic waters, find the Erebus and the Terror, two submerged ships lost in the 1840s with artifacts amazingly preserved by the cold and depth. Then, locate the Endurance in the Antarctic, the intact lost ship of the 1914 Shackleton expedition, and the remains of an Ice Age caribou hunting culture in Lake Huron.
27 min
07: Ritual Sites and Votive Offerings
Travel to underwater sites containing “ritual deposits,” symbolic or religious offerings placed in water. Study Lake Titicaca in the Andes mountains, revealing religious offerings of the Inca and pre-Inca peoples. Uncover lavish votive objects in cenotes (sinkholes) in Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as in peat bogs in Europe, and find evidence of an ancient mortuary cult in Florida.
29 min
08: Shipwrecks and Nautical Archaeology
Encounter the Uluburun, an elite Bronze Age ship found near Turkey, and the ancient Antikythera (Greece), then track the techniques used in their excavations and the astonishing artifacts and history recovered. Then, uncover the warship Vasa (Sweden), renowned for its incredible state of preservation, and the French La Belle (Gulf of Mexico), fascinating time capsules of 17th century life.
31 min
09: Sunken Warships: Treasure Troves of History
Assess the remarkable legacy of lost warships in examples from the American Civil War and World War II. Study the fate and recovery of the Monitor, the Union Navy’s first ironclad ship, and the Hunley, the Confederates’ groundbreaking submarine. In World War II, trace historic wrecks from the Battle of the Atlantic and major archaeological work focusing on the Pacific’s Battle of Saipan.
29 min
10: Sea Level Rise and Submerged Villages
Chart the phenomenon of changing sea levels and rich underwater finds of human prehistory. Visit Atlit Yam in Israel, a sunken village whose incredible artifacts vividly portray Neolithic life, and the fascinating Mesolithic Bouldnor Cliff site in England. In Europe and Scotland, encounter “pile dwellings” (stilt houses) and crannogs, sophisticated early human settlements on inland waterways.
28 min
11: In Search of Ancient Seafarers
Who were the first seafarers? Investigate this question by looking first at indirect evidence—prehistoric land sites in the Mediterranean, East Timor, and Japan that show clear evidence of boating technology. Then, uncover the oldest boats ever found, dating from Mesolithic and Neolithic times, and locate the world’s oldest shipwreck—a remarkably intact 2400-year-old Greek trading vessel.
27 min
12: The Future of the Underwater Past
Conclude with a look at underwater archaeological work focusing on peoples whose stories have been marginalized or underrepresented. Follow the work of organizations excavating shipwrecks such as the São José Paquete d’Africa, an 18th century vessel carrying enslaved Africans, and work in Wisconsin with Native American groups on recovering ancient canoes linked to their oral history traditions.
35 min
