For those of you who haven't heard, LAMP archaeologists yesterday raised a cauldron from an 18th century shipwreck off St. Augustine. It came up without any problems and is a fine artifact in great shape which promises to reveal many more secrets. We invited a lot of press to cover the event, and they all did a great job with some great stories. First Coast News (TV12) did a great story on the raising of the cauldron, to watch it click the link above.

Links to more news stories and videos are below . . .

Continue reading "Great Press Coverage for Cauldron Raising!" »

We've gotten lots of great press regarding our recent exciting discovery of a colonial period shipwreck, nicknamed the "Storm Wreck." The video above is by Jessica Clark of First Coast News.

Vic Micolucci WJXT 4 News4Jax also did a great story! In addition to video they have a slideshow at the same link.

Dee Registre of Action News Jax (TV 47) also ran a fabulous story on the Saturday evening newscast.

In print media, the St. Augustine Record ran the story as the as the front-page headline.

Daytona Beach News-Journal

The story was also picked up by AOL News and various other media groups.

We believe the Storm Wreck dates to the 1700s, based on the limited types of artifacts recovered by Lighthouse archaeologists to date. Stay tuned to hear more about our discoveries on this exciting wreck, which is only the second colonial-era shipwreck ever discovered in the waters of Northeast Florida, and possibly the oldest.

SMITHSONIAN, LIGHTHOUSE AFFILIATION A PERFECT MATCH
Posted on StAugustine.com: June 11, 2010 - 12:12am
St. Augustine Record Editorial

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum is a newly accepted partner of the Smithsonian. That simple statement leads a news release about the Lighthouse's newest affiliation.

Just saying Smithsonian and the Lighthouse Museum in the same sentence elevates our landmark attraction to almost rare air. For sure, it allows the Lighthouse access to Smithsonian museum artifacts and exhibit pieces that very few would see unless they traveled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Museum Director Kathy Fleming said the affiliation has been a museum goal for years. It's an honor to join such a prestigious group -- one of only 13 in Florida and one of 160-plus museums and cultural organizations in 40 states, Panama and Puerto Rico since its establishment in 1996. The benefit of access to the Smithsonian's collections is certainly enough of a draw but added to that is the opportunity for bringing Smithsonian educational programming to our community.

Continue reading "Smithsonian has a new Maritime Partner" »

SAD CHAPTER FOR GALVESTON BENEFITS HISTORY PROJECT
By Harvey Rice
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 8, 2010, 9:22PM

GALVESTON — Sam Turner had no idea where he was going to get enough live oak to supply Spanish shipwrights building a replica of the 1779 brig Galveztown, named after Galveston, Texas.

Then Hurricane Ike swamped the city Sept. 13, 2008, killing an estimated 40,000 trees with salt water.

“This project got kicked off in May 2008, and Ike hit in September, and the connection was made that there is a lot of wood there,” said Turner, archeology director for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum in St. Augustine, Fla.

Continue reading "International Partnership Gets Help from Galveston" »

Read the full story and view John Pemberton's great photos.

Kathleen McCormick, Director of Collections and Conservation and TV celebrity!

A week or two ago a production crew from Platforms, the Life-Lifting News Program for Women, came to visit the Lighthouse and conducted interviews with Chuck Meide, LAMP Director, and Kathleen McCormick, Director of Collections and Conservation. They're pretty good--check them out at the links below:

Platforms interview with Chuck Meide

Platforms interview with Kathleen McCormick

Thanks to Shivaun Palmer and the rest of the Platforms crew!

LAMP Boatworks chief boatbuilder Maury Keiser (right) and St. Augustine resident Roy Jaeger pose in front of the Galveztown's erect frames in Malaga, Spain.

One of our more exciting international partnerships is that with the Astilleros Nereo, a shipyard and maritime museum in Malaga, Spain. The shipyard is building a full-size replica of the Revolutionary War ship Galveztown, which played a critical role in the battle that switched Florida from British to Spanish control at the end of the Revolution. LAMP archaeologists provided archaeological data to inform the Malaga shipwrights as they designed the vessel, and our volunteers at LAMP Boatworks are just beginning to build one of two yawls, or ship's boats, to accompany the Galveztown on her goodwill American tour which is scheduled to begin with the trans-Atlantic voyage to St. Augustine.

LAMP's chief boatwright, Maury Keiser, headed to Spain on holiday this week and made it a point to visit the Astilleros Nereo shipyard. While there, he got a first-hand look at the Galveztown on the stocks, and got some great press as well.

Continue reading "LAMP Boatwright Visits Galveztown Under Construction in Malaga, Spain" »

The replica Nina after arrival to St. Augustine.

Remember the arrival of the Nina and Pinta here in St. Augustine on May 9th? Judyth Piazza and her radio show The American Perspective on the Student Operated Press (theSOP.com) interviewed LAMP's Brendan Burke that day and the interview has recently posted. Click the link below to follow to theSOP.com's website and listen!

CLICK HERE

Congratulations to our friend and colleague Carl Halbirt, the City Archaeologist of St. Augustine, for a successful dig in the Plaza!

Back on July 25, Kathy Fleming (Executive Director of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum) and myself woke up pretty early on a Saturday to join Matt Jeffs, a local radio celebrity on 1240 AM WFOY whose morning show Airborne with Matt Jeffs is really fun to listen to. He has all kinds of interesting speakers from the St. Augustine region, and at least once a month he has on a local archaeologist. Apparently Kathy and I have faces that were built for radio, because not only is this broadcast out on the airwaves, but via a webcam it is broadcast on the internet. We talked about all of the great programs at the Lighthouse and gave an update on the shipwreck LAMP was excavating over the summer months, complete with a bucket full of wet artifacts . . . you can watch the whole thing below!

Continue reading "Radio show highlights Lighthouse & LAMP!" »

SonarWiz.MAP + SBP software image showing one of the North Beach Railroad abutments along the Tolomato River and debris associated with its destruction during the mid-20th century.

LAMP archaeologist Brendan Burke just published an article in the July/August 2009 International Ocean Systems Magazine, "the Magazine for Ocean Professionals" (volume 13, number 4). The title of the article is Wreck Protection: Using Sonar Mosaics to Protect U.S. Cultural Heritage, and you can read it online by clicking here. Congratulations Brendan, for producing a great article that will spread news of LAMP's work here in St. Augustine to our colleagues in the broader marine science industry.

This photo was taken by St. Augustine Record reporter Daron Dean when he visited our excavation site on Friday. Also on hand were a film crew from Pepe Productions, including a Flagler College intern (with camera) and the film's director (helping steady her) working on an upcoming documentary.

We are always happy when our archaeological work gets local press attention, and last Sunday we were treated to a great front page story in the St. Augustine Record written by reporter Marcia Lane.

Continue reading "LAMP Field School in the News" »

Friday was an exciting day! LAMP archaeologists joined a team of St. Johns County scientists to recover a 20-ft long, 100-year old historic dugout canoe from the alligator pit at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. The boat had been sitting on the ground, exposed to the elements and to the activity of large alligators (one of which made her nest against the boat) for several years. We visited the boat the Monday before, and observed that it was clearly suffering heavy deterioration, which is why Alligator Farm officials were happy to trade it to the St. Augustine Lighthouse in return for another boat, a historic flatboat replica made by the volunteers at LAMP Boatworks.

Continue reading "LAMP Archaeologists Rescue 100-year old Alligator Farm Logboat" »

In September, I got a phone call from Dr. Roger Smith, Florida's state underwater archaeologist. He asked if we could go take a look at a recently reported wreck site, and put us in touch with retired meteorologist and avocational historian Dan Smith (no relation). Mr. Smith has conducted an immense amount of research related to a late 19th century steamboat called the Alligator, which indicates the sternwheeler was lost on the east side of Crescent Lake, south of us in Flagler County. A trip to the wreck site proved that it was a very interesting wreck, not only to us but to several news agencies.

Continue reading "Hunt for the Alligator Makes the News" »

Anastasia Park rangers and LAMP archaeologists carefully remove sand from around a shipwrecked keel timber before removing it from the beach for preservation in the laboratory. Photo courtesy of the St. Augustine Record

Last Thursday a great article appeared in the local paper, the St. Augustine Record.

The wooden keel of a 19th century merchant ship that wrecked on a St. Johns County beach nearly 200 years ago was recovered Wednesday, according to marine archaeologists.

Chuck Meide, director of the Lighthouse Archeological Maritime Program, said the heavily weathered keel was first recorded on Anastasia State Park in 2004, but Florida Park Service personnel reported recently that a piece of the keel had been sawn off by an unknown person.

LAMP stepped in to ensure there was no further damage to the relic.

Continue reading "In the News: LAMP Keelhauling gets Good Press!" »

The First Coast of Florida, in addition to being the first U.S. coast to be settled by Europeans, was the first coast to foster a commercial shrimping industry. Spreading from Fernandina to St. Augustine in the early 20th century, following the expansion of the railroad built by capitalist Henry Flagler, the nascent commercial shrimping and shrimpboat-building industries were dominated by a number of innovative families of Mediterranean descent--including the Versaggi, the Poli, the Salvadore, and the Xynides families.

1947 photograph of the shrimp boat Silent Night cruising before the 17th century Spanish fortification Castillo de San Marcos, taken during the annual blessing of the fleet celebration. Image courtesy of the Florida Photographic Collection, State Library and Archives of Florida.

Continue reading "St. Augustine Shrimping Heritage in the News" »

Since the start of this years fieldwork (July 1), LAMP archaeologists have been working hard to implement the inaugural season of the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project. This major program of research and public archaeology was made possible by a Special Category historical preservation grant from the State of Florida's Division of Historical Resources. Part of our mission is to spread the word about our work and the rich maritime history of Florida's First Coast, and one of the most effective ways to do this is through widespread media exposure. With the help of Beau, the Lighthouse's public relations expert, we have received some great press lately.

Continue reading "LAMP Research Gets Good Press!" »