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Underwater Archaeology

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 411 Accesses

Synonyms

Continental shelf archaeology; maritime archaeology; nautical archaeology; shipwreck archaeology; submerged landscape archaeology

Definition

Underwater archaeology is the systematic recovery, study, and interpretation of the material remains of human activity that are now located below present sea-level on or under the seabed or below water in inland water bodies such as lakes and rivers.

Introduction

Underwater archaeology covers a wide range of objectives and interests, which fall into two main categories. The first, and the one most commonly recognized, is the study of shipwrecks and other remains of maritime activity, such as harbor walls and port facilities partially or wholly submerged by minor changes of relative sea-level. Here the focus is on recent millennia, from the expansion of seafaring activity in the Bronze Age as much as 5,000 years ago up to the modern era, and on maritime history, particularly the development of seafaring technology and its social and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University of York, YO1 7EP, York, UK

    Geoffrey N. Bailey

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  1. Geoffrey N. Bailey
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Correspondence to Geoffrey N. Bailey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Institute of Earth Science, KÖPPEN-Laboratory, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    JÖrn Thiede

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Bailey, G.N. (2016). Underwater Archaeology. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_144

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