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By Eti Bonn-Muller - Archaeology
Crete has seduced archaeologists for more than a century, luring them to its rocky shores with fantastic tales of legendary kings, cunning deities, and mythical creatures.
The largest of the Greek islands, Crete was the land of the Minoans (3100-1050 B.C.), a Bronze Age civilization named after its first ruler, King Minos, the "master of the seas" who is said to have rid the waters of pirates.
According to Thucydides, he also established the first thalassocracy, or maritime empire. The Minoans were renowned for their seafaring prowess, which opened trade routes with the powerful kingdoms of Egypt, Anatolia, and the Levant.
With the island of Pseira in the background, Hadjidaki proudly displays an intact, oval-mouth amphora she has just excavated at a depth of 131 feet. (Courtesy V. Mentoyannis)
Depictions of ships abound on Minoan seals and frescoes. They are detailed enough to show that the vessels were impressive: generally, they had 15 oars on each side and square sails, and were probably about 50 feet long.
But little more was known about actual Minoan seafaring--until Greek archaeologist Elpida Hadjidaki became the first to discover a Minoan shipwreck.
Hadjidaki, a self-described "harbor girl," was born and grew up in the Cretan seaside town of Chania.
An experienced and passionate diver trained in classical archaeology, she received funding from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory in 2003 to search for early ships near Crete.
"I always wanted to find a Minoan shipwreck," she says, "so I started looking for one."
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By Numismatic News
An appeal of a Dec. 22 Florida court ruling that would make treasure salvaged firm Odyssey Marine Explorations, Inc., return 500,000 Spanish Colonial gold and silver coins to Spain is expected.
“We will file our notice of appeal with the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals within the required time and look forward to presenting our case in that forum,” the company said.
The coins were recovered by the firm from what is believed to be the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish vessel which exploded in 1804. It sank 100 miles west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Spain claims the treasure on the basis that the ship was a warship of Spain and title to goods on such a ship are held by the state in perpetuity.
Odyssey disagrees and in fact launched the legal process originally to adjudicate the ownership issues once it had successfully retrieved the coins and brought them to the United States.
This past summer a court magistrate filed a report siding with Spain. The latest ruling by the district court judge was accompanied by his orders to allow Odyssey to retain the coins in its possession until the ownership question is decided.
Karen Schuler hopes Centaur may reveal truth of lost uncle
By Tuck Thompson - Courier Mail
The discovery of torpedoed hospital ship Centaur off Brisbane last month may have solved a longtime family mystery.
Sydney resident Karen Schuler said her uncle, John Frederick Schuler of Victoria, vanished during World War II, leaving behind a wife and two sons.
The deep-sea sonar discovery of the Centaur led Ms Schuler to online military archives showing a handwritten "Schuler" in the margin of the list of nearly 270 victims of the Japanese submarine attack.
"I really had been flying in the dark. All I had were family stories," she said. "I rang my sister at four in the morning I was so excited.."
The second phase of the AHS Centaur search begins today as the search vessel Seahorse Spirit returns to the shipwreck site to identify Centaur using a submersible video camera.
It will spend four or five days recording the wreck at 2000m and placing a memorial plaque from Centaur Association families.
John Schuler, who would have been about 25 at the time of the sinking, joined the Citizen Military Forces just before the war. Another military record showed he was given active service but did not show his unit.
Decades-old shipwreck discovered on Oregon Coast
By Kristina Nelson - KCBY News
Experts believe the last time anyone saw the Helen E was in 1951. After seven days at sea, the 107-foot fishing vessel ran aground on the North Spit of Coos Bay, during a fierce storm while looking for a port to pull into.
Its parts were scrapped, a portion was burned and it was left for dead, slowly being covered up by sand. But now, almost 60 years later, what's left of the wreck is coming back to life, so to speak.
"I first saw some ribs sticking up and they looked like they had to be part of a ship. I became more and more curious as to what it was, when it sank," said Coos Bay Resident Larry Plews.
He was the first to see a part of the Helen E sticking up out of the sand around Thanksgiving, and by mid-December, its remains were almost completely exposed.
Undersea robot to show Centaur shipwreck
By Tuck Thompson - Courier Mail
A submersible robot with crab-like arms has arrived in Brisbane to shed light on the wreck of the Centaur, discovered about 50km off Moreton Island.
The joystick-controlled camera will circle the Centaur and its debris field later this week at a depth of 2000m, transmitting the first images of the hospital ship since it was sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1943.
Then, using manipulative arms, it will place a commemorative plaque honouring the 268 non-combatants killed in Queensland's worst maritime disaster. It will feature personal messages in a CD from family members.
Search director David L. Mearns said he feared the badly damaged Centaur was resting on its side.
A large debris field was not expected, despite Centaur having a torpedo hole large enough to have sunk it in three minutes.
Swift currents at the wreck site will pose a challenge to the search crew, who will be lowering the Remora submersible using up to 7000m of steel cable.
Centaur plaque to mark seabed graves
By Tuck Thompson - Courier Mail
A plaque bearing personal messages from relatives, descendants and friends will be lowered to the seabed beside AHS Centaur, discovered last month off Moreton Island.
On Thursday or Friday, searchers will begin the second phase of their search for Centaur's resting place using a remote-controlled camera that will transmit the first pictures of the vessel in 66 years.
Shipwreck hunter David L. Mearns and the crew of the Seahorse Spirit discovered the Centaur on December 20 about 50km off the southern tip of Moreton Island.
When Mr Mearns returns to the site, the high-definition camera will video the wreck and the surrounding area.
The camera will not probe the interior of the ship, which rests at a depth of 2059m.
Centaur has already been declared a war grave for 268 non-combatants who died in May, 1943 when the Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.
Mr Mearns, pictured, has said the Centaur's markings, including large red crosses, a green stripe and 47 marking, should be clearly visible.
"Titanic" addition: Exhibit's new panels depict Kentuckians
By Diane Heilenman - Courier Journal
Panels added to the “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,” which will be on view through Feb. 15 at the Louisville Science Center, bring to the surface a new back story: that of three Kentuckians who made that fateful voyage in mid-April 1912.
There was Charles Hallace Romaine, a banker and/or confidence man and gambler raised in Georgetown, Ky., and Anderson, Ind., who was working for a trust company in London at the time he sailed. Romaine survived the sinking of the ship.
There was the inventive Louisville ophthalmologist, Dr. Ernest Moraweck, whose sideline was operating a rest home for wealthy older women at his farm in Brandenburg, Ky. He died at sea.
And, there was a former Courier-Journal reporter-turned-presidential military aide, Maj. Archibald Butt. He, too, died at sea.
Maj. Butt's first job after graduation in 1888 from the University of the South, where he founded the school newspaper, was as a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal, recruited by its founder, Henry Watterson.
Butt wrote for the Courier-Journal for three years before moving on to Washington, D.C., and reporting for The Atlanta Constitution and the Nashville Banner. He served as the military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum survives tough times
By Sarah Rohrs - Vallejo Times-Herald
Determined to preserve a corner of historic downtown Vallejo and its rich maritime history, community leaders came together 35 years ago to save the old City Hall from demolition.
In the process, they launched plans for a museum to preserve the city's rich maritime history and storied past.
The Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum's doors at 734 Marin St. remain open, surviving the city's financial troubles and lingering recession.
As the museum wraps up its milestone anniversary, an annual fund raising campaign is in full swing.
The campaign helps offset the effects of funding cuts that have reduced the museum's hours and staffing, and helps pay utility bills the city previously covered, museum Director Jim Kern said.
As for the potential of closing, "We are not going to let that happen," Kern said. "For 35 years, too many people have put too much work into this to let it go to waste. We're going to stay open."
Operating since July 7, 1979, the museum's origins can be traced to the early 1960s and 1970s when Vallejo's downtown and waterfront were in the midst of a massive urban renewal project that led to the razing of numerous historic buildings.
The former 1927 City Hall was in danger of being torn down and turned into a parking lot, Kern said. Through the urban renewal project, a new City Hall was built on Santa Clara Street.