Timelines of Underwater Archaeology

Abstract

The history of archaeology underwater is inextricably associated with the history of marine technology, for it is through the equipment and techniques of diving and underwater work that archaeology under water is made possible. The following timelines describe a few of the literally hundreds of milestones in the evolution of diving, marine technology, and deepwater archaeology. Undoubtedly, some readers will take issue with one or more of the entries in these timelines. Fortunately, the Historical Diving Society USA (HDS-USA) pointed significant errors in the draft, then helped put things to right. The discipline of underwater archaeology owes a debt of gratitude to the HDS, an international organization of loyal and scholarly volunteers who are preserving the history of the technology of diving. The timelines in this chapter will have served their purpose if they provide the reader with a better understanding of and appreciation for the remarkable inventors and their creations that allow us to confidently venture into the water, seeking evidence of our past that would otherwise never be revealed.

With significant contributions by Leslie Leaney and Peter Dick, Historical Diving Society USA, and Phil Nuytten, Historical Diving Society Canada. Leslie Leaney deserves particular thanks for recognizing numerous errors in the original draft and for pulling together this team of experts from the HDS to greatly improve the timeline.