EXCAVATIONS

OK Steamboat Project In 1999 the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) investigated the remains of a steamboat eroding from the north bank of the Red River a short distance from the state historic site of Fort Towson.  Subsequent investigations showed that the well-preserved wreck had machinery and hull characteristics dating to the 1830s or 1840s, and is the earliest example of a "western river steamer" to be archaeologically investigated.  The proposed 2004 project will initiate a multi-year INA-OHS effort to excavated, record, and analyze the steamer and its contents.

SURVEYS

Turkey Ancient Shipwreck Survey Faith Hentschel and Mark Polzer will take INA's research fleet and crew out to sea again to survey the southern Aegean coast of Turkey, from Marmaris to Knidos, in search of the next shipwreck that INA will excavate in Turkey. They plan to revisit the Aslan Burnu classical shipwreck that yielded a beautiful red-figure krator, as well as the 7th-century B.C. shipwreck at Kekova, south of Uluburun, to reassess their potentials for excavation. Jeremy Green, curator of the Western Australian Maritime Museum, will join the team for the first half of the survey to assist in the remote sensing search for the elusive "Demeter wreck" in the vicinity of Çiftlik, north of Marmaris. The survey will be the subject of a documentory film by Australia's Propero Films that will air as an episode of the "Shipwreck Detectives" television series.

Episkopi Bay Survey As an island uniquely situated between the Aegean world and that of the Near East, Cyprus is an ideal place to explore the archaeological remains of millennia of heavy maritime commerce. This survey is investigating the extent of Cypriot contacts during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages in the area of the Greco-Roman site of Kourion, off the island's southern coast. The project is conducted in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati excavations at the Late Bronze Age site of Episkopi-Bamboula, under the direction of Dr. Gisela Walberg. Survey Director: Justin Leidwanger (jleidwa@hotmail.com)

POST EXCAVATION RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, AND PUBLICATION

Pabuç Burnu Shipwreck Research and Conservation Following the Ancient Shipwreck Survey, Mark Polzer will spend the rest of the summer in Bodrum at INA's research center studying the hull remains from the sixth-century B.C. Pabuç Burnu shipwreck, which he finished excavating last year. The remains are scant, but are providing a great deal of information about archaic Greek shipbuilding. He will also work with Robin Piercy to design the wood treatment tank and trays which will be used to conserve the hull fragments with polyethylene glycol (PEG).