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Harta karun di Laut Subang (Treasures from the sea of Subang)
Dari Suara Karya
Harta karun barang muatan kapal tenggelam (BMKT| peninggalan era dinasti China ditemukan lagi di Laut Jawa, tepatnya di perairan Belanakan-Subang, Jawa Barat. Sejak awal 2010, pengangkatan BMKT berupa benda antik yang dibuat tahun 1600-an ini sudah mulai dilakukan PT Comexsindo.
"Diperkirakan, penemuan BMKT kali ini lebih besar dibanding di Laut Cirebon. Selain keramik, memang belum dapat diketahui jenis dan jumlah persis barang muatan yang ada di kapal karam tersebut," kata Dirjen Pengawasan Kelautan dan Perikanan (PSDKP) Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan (KKP) Aji Su-larso saat melakukan tinjauan ke kapal tongkang (submarine service) pengangkat BMKT di Subang, Rabu (5/5).
BMKT peninggalan Dinasti Ming tahun 1600-an telah diangkat pihak Co-mexsindo berupa keramik berjumlah 12.415 unit. Dalam satu hari, diturunkan 22 penyelam untuk mengangkat BMKT tersebut.
"Mungkin pengangkatan baru selesai dalam kurun waktu beberapa bulan ke depan. Ini mengingat faktor cuaca yang sangat menentukan kece-patan waktu pengangkatannya," kata Aji lagi.
Lokasi penemuan BMKT terletak pada $ derajat 28-768 lintang selatan dan 107 derajat 53-275 bujur timur dengan kedalaman 50 hingga 54 meter di bawah laut. Pengangkatan BMKT mengusung tema Project Belanakan I.
Seperti diketahui, ada sekitar 100 lebih pekerja yang berada dalam kapal tongkang, di. mana sekitar 50 persen merupakan operator dan eksekutor pengangkatan BMKT. Sedangkan sisanya merupakan anak buah kapal (ABK) serta petugas pengawas pengangkatan BMKT dari TNI, Polri, KKP, serta Ke-menterian Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata.
Ketika ditanya mengenai sejauh mana pengawasan yang dilakukan instansi terkait dalam proses pengangkatan BMKT, menurut Aji, semua instansi terkait berada dalam satu kapal dan terus mengawasi kegiatan yang dilakukan para kru pengangkatan BMKT itu.
Dengan demikian, sangat minim terjadi penyelewengan oleh perusahaan atau oknum pekerja terhadap harta karun BMKT.
Ini karena semua kegiatan yang dilakukan selalu berada dalam pengawasan ketat, termasuk pada saat penyelaman.
Titanic to be sunk during a show at Carlisle Castle
From News & Star
The heart of Carlisle is to be transformed into an outdoor theatre for a spectacular re-enactment of the sinking of the Titanic.
Carlisle Castle will provide a dramatic backdrop for Theatre Titanick’s dazzling 70-minute performance that will set sparks flying, fireworks shooting into the sky and water cascading across the stage.
A huge open-air set with seats will be constructed in the grounds of the English Heritage site and the stage will be dominated by the bow of the great ocean liner.
Set to an orchestra, the drama will begin with engineers constructing the Titanic and end with its legendary sinking. This remarkable production has proved a major hit around the world, including New York, Berlin and Sydney.
The story of the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in April 1912, has a particular resonance in Cumbria. Thomas Henry Ismay, who founded the White Star Line – the company that built the doomed liner – was brought up in Maryport and started his seafaring career there.
The event is one of Lakes Alive’s outdoor arts events taking place across Cumbria during the summer. It is Cumbria’s contribution to the Legacy Trust UK programme which was set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Julie Tait, the director of Kendal Arts International, which creates and directs Lakes Alive along with Manchester International Arts, said: “The atmospheric Carlisle Castle will offer a stunning setting for this epic performance that has amazed audiences across the globe.
“It is a mammoth show with pyrotechnics, fire, water and music by one of Europe’s leading outdoor performance companies. The scale, sheer drama and quality of the production has to be seen to be believed.”
The play begins with a symphony of clanging and screeching as engineers rush around to complete the Titanic on time.
Ancient ship replica helps fund Java dig
From The Japan Times
The Indonesian government and a Japanese academic group have recently reconstructed an ancient ship to raise money for an archaeological study on historic ruins in and around Java.
According to the Japan Majapahit Association, the ship has been making port calls in Asian countries since late last month, asking for financial and technical support to excavate the ruins of the Majapahit kingdom, which existed in the area from the 13th to the 16th century.
The ship was built in Madura, part of Indonesia's Java Province, and left there on June 27 for a six-month, 9,000-km journey, before heading back to Jakarta.
It will reach Japan around the middle of July, making its first stop in Kudaka Island, Okinawa Prefecture. The island served as a trading post of the Ryukyu kingdom, which used to govern Okinawa.
The ship will then sail to Naha. The crew will pay Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima a courtesy call before continuing on their journey to Kagoshima, Yokohama, Tokyo and Fukuoka.
The 20-meter ship was reconstructed based on an ancient painting that was on a relief in Java's Borobudur ruins dating back to the eighth century. It is made entirely of wood using materials such as teak and bamboo, and does not use a single nail, according to the group.
The majority of the 15-person crew is Indonesian. Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, a Japanese explorer who canoed across the Indian Ocean, is on board as a project leader.
By Andrea Asuaje - The St. Augustine Record
Archaeologists from the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program have found a potential colonial shipwreck buried under the sand about a mile off the coast and north of the St. Augustine Beach pier.
The scientists found a cauldron, thousands of lead shot, a glass base and a second cooking vessel about 400 meters from the site of where the ship the "Industry" sank in 1764.
The newly discovered ship could be older than the "Industry," said Chuck Meide, director of the archaeological program. If that's so, the shipwreck would be the oldest known one off the waters of St. Johns County, Meide said.
Scientists found the shipwreck in August, but only announced the discovery Friday. The site is about a mile offshore, south of the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and north of the St. Augustine Beach pier.
Meide calls the wreck a "true time capsule."
"This is the first completely buried shipwreck that has ever been found off of St. Augustine," he said. "It's pretty unique."
Because the new shipwreck is completely covered by sand, items from the ship may be better preserved than the wreck of the "Industry," he said.
He also said there could be other ships not yet discovered in the area.
"There could be a hundred shipwrecks out there," Meide said.
Archeologists found the area in August by using sophisticated technology to find buried objects. Using that they were able to locate the general area of the wreck. Then they used unsophisticated methods -- feeling with their hands in the sand -- to find buried objects. Meide calls it "archeology by braille."
That's how they found the first cauldron along with wooden planks and other items from the wreck.
In June, the group returned to the area and began working on the site. They found glass, lead shot and a second cauldron last week.
Meide said he and those working on the site are thrilled about the discovery and want to find out basic information about the ship: its function, where it sailed from and how old it is.
After that, it's about piecing together the history of the ship itself.
The 'Other' Silk Road: China peers into maritime past
By Anthony Kuhn - NPR
In China, it is hard to imagine just how much history lies right under your feet. The country has long been a goldmine for archaeologists.
Until recently, they have been confined to digging on land. But in recent years, China has grown into a powerhouse of nautical archaeology, combing its vast coastline for undersea shipwrecks, treasure, and traces of a trade route known as the "Maritime Silk Road," a less-known parallel to the fabled overland passage.
About 1,000 visitors a day flock to one of China's newest museums, in Guangdong province's Yangjiang city. It is called the Maritime Silk Road Museum, and it is on the beach, facing the South China Sea.
The museum houses one of the world's oldest known merchant ships, dating from the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century. It's been dubbed the South China Sea No. 1.
Museum guide Liu Jinxiu explains that Chinese and British explorers discovered the ship by accident in 1987 while looking for a sunken vessel belonging to the British East India Company.
"The explorers used a claw to fish out more than 200 pieces of fine Chinese porcelain," she says. "From this, they deduced that the ship was Chinese, and not British, and the two sides ended their cooperation."
At the time, China lacked the means to salvage the ship. Archaeologist Zhang Wei of the National Museum of China remembers how he went about setting up the field of nautical archaeology for his country.
Roman shipwreck discovered near Aeolian Islands
From Ansa Med
The wreck of a Roman ship from the first century AD which is still whole and has over 500 wide-mouthed amphorae on board has been discovered to the south of the island of Panarea.
The discovery, which was made by the Sea Superintendence together with the American Foundation "Aurora Trust" and the support of the Environment Ministry, was illustrated in a press conference this morning in Palermo by the Regional Councillor for Cultural Heritage, Gaetano Armao, and by the Superintendent, Sebastiano Tusa.
"From the first surveys, we can establish that it is a merchant shipping measuring around 25 meters, in perfect condition, which transported fruit and vegetables from Sicily to the markets in the north." said Tusa.
The style of the amphorae is in fact typical of the 'workshops' of the island and of southern Italy. The merchant ship was identified with the use of a wire-controlled ROV video camera.
Now the campaign in the Aeolian islands will proceed with research carried out, with particularly sophisticated robots which will allow us to better contextualize the wreck in time and space." said Tusa.
"The ship might not be the only one: on the seabed of Panarea there is believed to be another ship.
"Traces have been found of a second wreck that has not yet been identified. Research will be carried out in this direction" concluded Tusa.
The amphorae are the Dressel 21-22 type, datable to the first century AD, made in Lazio and used for the transport of Garum (a popular sauce in Roman times), fresh and dried fruit, as well as various types of cereals.
The amphorae were found placed in a slightly different position to their original one on the ship. They are in fact lying on one side. This would indicate that the ship, sliding along the seabed, came to rest leaning on one side.
Researchers uncover origin of cannons found on beach at Arch Cape
By Lori Tobias - The Oregonian
Researchers are one step closer to identifying the origin of two historic cannons found more than two years ago near Arch Cape. They also can now say conclusively where the remarkably well-preserved cannons were made.
Tualatin beachcomber Miranda Petrone spotted a part of one of the cannons while walking on the beach with her dad, Michael Petrone, in February 2008.
They didn't know what they'd stumbled upon until they dug deeper and recognized the emerging shape. The second cannon was soon discovered nearby.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department removed the antique weapons from the beach and stored them first in water tanks, then moved them to the Center for Marine Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University.
Now, researchers said, after months of working to delicately remove the hard layer of sand and rock coating the cannons, they have uncovered the symbol of a broad arrow engraved on the surface of one of the cannons.
"That broad-headed arrow mark indicates the cannon originated with the British Royal Navy," said Chris Havel, parks spokesman. "That's conclusive as to the maker of the cannon."
It also leads researchers to believe that, as suspected, the cannons likely came from the USS Shark, a Navy vessel that sank on the Columbia River bar. Three of the Shark's cannons broke away from the wreck. One was found in 1898 in the Arch Cape area, but the other two remained missing.
"The Shark was built in 1821," Havel said. "It was in that period that the U.S. Navy was buying a lot of its armaments from the British Royal Navy. Those two pieces of the puzzle fit together pretty well."
But that still doesn't prove that the cannons came from the Shark. To do that, researchers will need to uncover more evidence.
Shipwreck: outdoor laboratory for learning
By Bob Janiskee - National Park Traveler
The remains of the shipwrecked schooner Laura Barnes will eventually end up in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Meanwhile, the excavation and preservation processes provide important learning opportunities for a group of budding archaeologists.
North Carolina's Outer Banks region has been dubbed "the Graveyard of the Atlantic" because thousands of ships have wrecked there, falling victim to the treacherous shoals, tricky currents, and powerful storms that make this one of the most dangerous coasts in the world. Not surprisingly, shipwrecks are among the visitor attractions at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
To see some of these wrecks, you don't have to don scuba gear or even get in a boat. In the surf off Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, for example, you can see the exposed boiler and smokestack of the steamship Oriental, a Federal transport that ran aground in 1862.
On the north side of Oregon Inlet, low tide exposes the remains of the Lois Joyce, a 100-foot trawler that foundered during a December 1981 storm.
On the beach 14 miles south of the Oregon Inlet Campground and about 25 miles north of Buxton is a keel-up wooden shipwreck, all that remains of the Margaret A. Spencer (wreck date unknown). There are plenty of other wrecks along the beach and in the surf, some of them exposed only briefly during unusually low tides or after storms have heavily eroded the beaches.
One of the best known of the Cape Hatteras shipwrecks is the Laura A. Barnes, a four-masted schooner that foundered when it came ashore on Bodie Island during a heavy fog on the night of June 1, 1921.
After being pushed around by wind and waves, the wreck settled into the sand of Coquina Beach (about a mile south of its original location) during the 1970s.