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Shifting Sand: A Model for Facilitating Public Assistance in Coastal Archaeology

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Part of the book series: When the Land Meets the Sea ((ACUA,volume 5))

Abstract

Coastal areas are rich archaeological landscapes imbued with material records that reflect high concentrations of diverse human activity over a wide swath of time. In the field of maritime cultural resource management, outreach and educational efforts traditionally concentrate on reaching the recreational diving community, missing the wider public audience. The Shoreline Heritage Identification Partnerships Strategy program, SHIPS, was developed by the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources to capitalize on the need to respond to casual reporting of coincidental shoreline discoveries and the ongoing need to inventory shoreline cultural resources. The SHIPS program is geared toward people who essentially “walk the beaches” and who may have an interest in local maritime history. This approach provides an opportunity and training for public involvement at the discovery level in the archaeological process, through a local organization in partnership with the state cultural resource management agency. This approach has broader application outside Massachusetts.

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Correspondence to Justin J. Bensley .

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Bensley, J.J., Mastone, V.T. (2014). Shifting Sand: A Model for Facilitating Public Assistance in Coastal Archaeology. In: Scott-Ireton, D. (eds) Between the Devil and the Deep. When the Land Meets the Sea, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8178-2_6

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