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Cleopatra's Underwater Kingdom
By Edward Rothstein - The New York Times
It may be best to dispel any illusions immediately. The only certain images we seem to have of the last queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, have no discernible resemblance to the painted faces of Elizabeth Taylor or Claudette Colbert or Sarah Bernhardt. Those visages can be contemplated with far more sensuous contentment than the Egyptian queen’s bulbous, knotty and eroded features stamped on gold coins from the first century B.C.
But by the time we see the cinematic, romanticized faces of Cleopatra from films and paintings in the final gallery of the new exhibition “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt,” opening Saturday at the Franklin Institute here, we are prepared to acknowledge the virtue of at least some idealization.
The wonder we feel is not at Cleopatra’s beauty (which Plutarch reports was “in itself not altogether incomparable”) but at the extraordinary cultural universe that preceded her and surrounded her before Egypt submitted to the Romans in 30 B.C. and Cleopatra — Egypt’s last pharaoh and the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty — committed suicide.
The exhibition is powerful. But that is not really because of Cleopatra; it is because a lost world is resurrected here. There are some 150 artifacts on display, and the vast majority were found buried in the silt and clay of the Bay of Aboukir, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. Since 1992 those waters have been explored by Franck Goddio and his European Institute of Underwater Archaeology.
Using a nuclear magnetic resonance magnetometer, Mr. Goddio mapped the geographic fault lines beneath the clouded waters and has brought to the surface a small fraction of what lies below.
He has identified the relics and ruins as remnants of the ancient cities of Canopus and Heracleion, submerged by tidal waves, earthquakes and wars; he has also discovered palaces and temples of the nearby eastern port of Alexandria, the city that the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great made his capital, and that Cleopatra imagined could rival Rome.
The first half of the exhibition shimmers in atmospheric blue light, the artifacts accompanied by videos of their excavation by red-suited divers maneuvering through opaque waters.
N.C. shipwreck deemed older than originally estimated
By Jeff Hampton - The Virginian Pilot
A shipwreck exposed in December by winter storms could date back to shipping between England and Jamestown in the early 1600s.
Possibly the oldest known wreck on the North Carolina coast, the timbers and construction of the ship are very similar to the Sea Venture, the 1609 flagship of a set of vessels carrying people and supplies to Jamestown, said Bradley A. Rodgers, a professor of archaeology and conservation in the maritime studies program at East Carolina University.
Remains of the Sea Venture rest off the Bermuda coast.
North Carolina underwater archaeologists and maritime history experts and students from ECU have documented, sampled and measured the 12-ton remains since they were towed from the surf to rest on a lot near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
Plans are to transport them 90 miles down N.C. 12 to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras for long term display.
Additional "Black Swan" Briefs
From Market Watch
Several additional appellate briefs and amicus briefs have been filed with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Odyssey Marine Exploration's "Black Swan" case.
The filings support Odyssey's argument that the trial court erred in dismissing the case because the recovered coins did not belong to Spain and therefore do not qualify for sovereign immunity, Spain did not have possession of the coins, and sovereign immunity only applies to vessels exclusively on a non-commercial mission.
Among the briefs were two separate filings by groups of descendants whose ancestors owned the cargo shipped aboard the Mercedes. The trial court actually missed the basis of their claims calling them "descendants of those aboard the Mercedes." The trial court, the descendants argue, also missed the fact that no vessel was found at the site and that in any event, property rights to cargo are distinct from the rights to the vessel.
An amicus brief (a filing by a "friend of the court" not a party to the case) was also filed by a congressional delegation led by Congressman Gus Bilirakis. That filing clarifies relevant legislation in the case and asserts that if the Mercedes was on a commercial mission at the time of its demise, as all evidence proves, that vessel should indeed be subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts.
"We are very pleased that Congressman Bilirakis and the other members of Congress who submitted this brief understand the dangerous implications of the district court's decision here," said Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey's Vice President and General Counsel. "If any foreign vessel is allowed to escape the jurisdiction of our courts regardless of its mission or the cargo it carries, there could be grave environmental consequences and national security ramifications.
It is very clear that only warships on strictly non-commercial missions are meant to enjoy sovereign immunity, and we feel confident that the Eleventh Circuit will confirm that."
Additional signatories to the brief include: Congressman Bill Young, ranking Republican Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Congressman Connie Mack, Congressman Vern Buchannan, Congressman Thomas J. Rooney, and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter.
Victoria Launches shipwrecks website with over 2000 images
From GovMonitor
Visiting the Heritage Victoria Conservation and Research Centre where shipwreck relics are restored and catalogued, Mr Madden said the new online catalogue was a never-before-seen glimpse at some of Victoria’s most famous and protected shipwrecks.
“Many shipwrecks are no-go zones due to their location, public safety and heritage preservation but this catalogue lets people take a virtual tour of this hidden, underwater world,” Mr Madden said.
“Victoria has an incredibly rich store of underwater heritage from the early days of exploration and settlement.
“More than 600 ships are known to have foundered in Victorian waters since 1835 but only 239 wrecks have actually been found and surveyed.
“Eight highly significant wrecks such as the City of Launceston have been given protected zone status which means they are off-limits to diving, fishing and boating without a permit.
“The photographs available from today are a wonderful door to our past and this is the first time anyone other than a select few can see this unique part of Victorian history.”
Mr Madden said Heritage Victoria’s maritime archaeologists had been working to catalogue and protect these sites including the City of Launceston, which sank in 1865 and was found in 1980.
“These images document more than 30 years work by maritime archaeologists and volunteers and provide a fascinating insight into these wrecks and their historic contents,” Mr Madden said.
Mr Madden said the photos include pictures of Victoria’s most significant shipwrecks including the Clonmell, City of Launceston and the Clarence.
“These photographs from historic shipwrecks provide an important record of the state’s underwater heritage,” he said.
Falklands celebrates 40th anniversary of SS Great Britain salvage
From Merco Press
An exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the salvage of the SS Great Britain and featuring film footage and original items as well as a wide range of photographs is now open at the Britannia House Museum in the Falkland Islands capital, Stanley.
Launched in 1843, the SS Great Britain was designed by celebrated Bristol engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company’s transatlantic service between Liverpool and New York.
She was the largest vessel afloat when launched, and the first ocean-going ship to be made of iron and equipped with a screw propeller. From 1852 until 1876, the SS Great Britain carried immigrants to Australia.
In 1882 she was sold again and refitted as a cargo ship, carrying Welsh coal to San Francisco and returning with wheat.
The SS Great Britain was condemned in the Falklands in 1886 and purchased by the Falkland Islands Company for use as a storage hulk. After 50 years of service in Stanley Harbour, the hulk was deemed unfit for further use, towed out to Sparrow Cove, beached and holed, there to see out the rest of her days – or so it was believed.
However, in the mid-1960s interest in the old ship was renewed and a plan to return her to Britain for restoration began to gather momentum. The massive operation to return the ship to her home port began in January 1970 with the arrival in the Falkland Islands of a salvage expert who judged there to be an 80% chance of success.
The salvage operation that followed in April of the same year achieved what few thought was possible – the hulk was patched up, pumped out and refloated, then towed on to the submersible pontoon that would carry her 8,000 miles home to Bristol.
A number of Islanders were involved in the famous operation –either providing carpentry skills, working on the small boats and launches that helped to tow the hulk into position, or as part of the dive team.
Explore Victoria's shipwrecks without getting wet
By Margaret Burin - ABC
A virtual tour of south west Victoria's underwater treasures can now be taken with the click of a finger.
Heritage Victoria has posted more than 2000 images of Victorian shipwrecks, giving people the opportunity to see sites that are usually only accessible to experienced divers, or in some case, no one.
The photos have been taken from maritime archaeologists and volunteers over thirty years.
Heritage Victoria executive director Jim Gardner says a permit is required to dive around any shipwreck.
"We'll obviously consider permits for any ship. However, there are protected zones around certain vessels such as HMVS Cerberus, which mean that boats aren't even allowed to go within the vicinity of them for the risk of damage to those vessels."
He says this collection of images is being used to study and monitor the ships.
"We can look and see whether things have deteriorated, whether there are changes in currents or silt build ups or whether there's been damage for instance by the illegal mooring of other vessels and things like that.
WWII plane in lake could rise again
From Wavy
Salvagers have won permission to recover a World War II Navy dive bomber that has rested on the bottom of a San Diego reservoir for more than six decades.
City and state permits have been obtained for a $125,000 operation to bring up the SB2C-4 Helldiver from Lower Otay Reservoir, said Nelson Manville, a city assistant lakes manager.
The work could begin within a few weeks, with the goal of eventually displaying the plane in the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida.
"We're just waiting for the recovery team and museum to give us a date," Manville told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "This is drinking water, so a lot is going into this because we're going to have to shut the lake down from the system."
Divers with Chicago-based salvage firm A&T Recovery examined the plane last year and will have to dredge silt from around the aircraft to see whether it can be recovered.
The Helldiver had taken off from an aircraft carrier and was on a training run when its engine failed and the pilot ditched on May 28, 1945. The pilot and gunner swam to shore, and the Navy decided to leave the bomber at the bottom of the lake.
It was forgotten until March 2009, when a bass fisherman using an electronic fish finder spotted its outline in 85 feet of water.
There are only a half-dozen or less Helldivers left in existence, retired Capt. Robert L. Rasmussen, the museum's director, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
"No matter how you cut it, they are very rare and we don't have one in our collection," he said. "We've got nearly everything else that's significant to Naval aviation."
From Big Blue Tech
Shortly after the outbreak of war in the Pacific on 8 December 1941, the HMS Repulse left Singapore in company with the other major element of the Eastern Fleet, including HMS Prince of Wales, and 4 destroyers, to try and intercept Japanese invasion force heading towards Malaya (Malaysia).
On December 10, 1941, after failing to find any Japanese invasion forces, and turning south, Japanese aircraft were spotted.
The fleet was attacked by 86 Japanese aircraft from the 22nd Air Flotilla based in Saigon, which attacked both HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.
The HMS Repulse survived a bomb hit and managed to dodge 14 torpedoes before being sunk in 20 minutes after receiving 5 torpedo hits. 327 crew members died in the sinking. Including a young electrician Arthur Frederick Cavell.
On April 30th 2010 technical diving instructor, for Big Blue Tech, Andrew Frederick Cavell joined an expedition to dive on the HMS Repulse.
During his expedition he noticed a similar name and matching surname in the list of sailors who died on during the sinking.
Returning home to Thailand Andrew researched and discovered his great uncle was a serving member of the HMS Repulse and in fact is the same sailor who’s name he saw on the expedition. Andrew had no idea he had been diving on a wreck that was resting place for someone related.