HISTORY
LESSON 4: UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGY “DIG”
GRADE: 5-8
Introduction
This lesson will show students how an underwater archeological dig is conducted and then have students deduce information about shipwrecks. In our “wreck”, we imagined that students are excavating an early 20th century merchant vessel that sunk due to bad weather, but you may adapt the ship and the circumstances to better fit in with your curriculum.
Objectives
Students will:
• simulate an underwater archeology dig.
• understand the method in which artifacts are recovered and some of the methods and tools involved.
• determine information about the sunken ship, its place and date of origin, and reason for sinking based on evaluating the wreck and objects therein.
• work together as a team to accomplish the task at hand.
Materials
• A large open space, masking tape, measuring tape, several newspapers
Below is a sampling of items that might be recovered and where they should be placed:
• Locks, flipper, old lamp (Fore Peak)
• Rope, canvas, and other ship-type things (Bosun’s locker)
• Items that might be found in Cargo hold, and cargo manifest (Cargo hold)
• Pay stub, personal notes, clothes, letters, etc.(Crew’s Quarters)
• Ship’s log, personal items, coins with dates indicating age of vessel (Captain’s Stateroom)
• Forks, plates, cans of food, utensils (Galley & Mess)
Procedure
1. Explain what underwater archeology is, some of the methods and tools that are used and what we can learn from it.
2. Debrief the group (8-10 people) on the exercise. Explain that they will looking to answer the following questions after their excavation:
a. What type of ship was this and what was it used for?
b. What was the ship’s name?
c. Where did it originate from?
d. Around what year did it sink?
e. Why did it sink?
f. Identify the different compartments in the ship.
3. In a large open space make the outline of a ship, including its compartments, to be represented by a masking tape outline. Items will be placed in the appropriate compartment and covered by newspaper. The group will first be given an opportunity to survey the site and create a grid according to the dimensions of the site. They will plot where each object is found in this site.
4. The group will have an opportunity to discuss their plan of action and select who will be responsible for being 1.) a recorder 2.) an artifact uncoverer 3.) a measurer (to be plotted on the grid). They may want to work in teams or divide the ship into different parts. Since they would be underwater, they will not be allowed to speak to each other (may use notes to communicate) and they will only have 15 minutes (or so) because that is how long their oxygen will last them. They also have to mindful not to remove the newspapers too quickly or there will be a silt out (newspaper= silt) from disturbing the silt too much. They will only be able to bring up whatever artifacts they find before the time fully elapses.
5. After the 15 minutes of recovering the objects, the group will have an additional 15 minutes to discuss what they have found, what these objects can tell them about the ship, and to try to answer the questions.
6. Group will share their findings and discuss how the exercise went, what went well and what the group did right and wrong.
In our simulation, we imagined that the ship was sunk due to bad weather. The following hints were included when constructing wreck site:
• An opening is left in the tape outline to indicate a rupture
• A wooden beam is used to indicate that the mast fell (due to bad weather)
• Descriptions of bad weather are included in the ship’s log
• Big clues are included -- such as the cargo manifest, a pay stub including the ship’s name (these items are ripped up into small pieces to be found by the students which need to be pieced together for information)
Other Notes:
• Draw a map of where everything is originally placed (use measurements) so that you can compare how much objects were shifted as they gathered the artifacts- possibly draw this map on a transparency so it can be laid on top of the map each group draws
• Simulate underwater conditions: no talking, use “slates” to communicate, give students a limited amount of time for the exercise before they “run out of air”, encourage students to carefully remove items so as not to create a silt out
• Our simulation had nine people and the “wreck” was approx 15’ long x 2’ wide- this size group seemed to work well in the given space, but you can do with a few more or a few less people
• You may choose to allow the group to survey the wreck site so they can better plan how they will work together in the excavation and how many people will be needed for each role
• Suggest that students work in pairs and/or divide the different compartments of the ship
• Allow the group to use the digital camera to take pictures of the wreck
