What: Blacksmithing demonstration with a traditional forge. Items to be made include boat fasteners (spikes, nails, etc.), chain, oyster knives, etc.
Where: St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, by the LAMP Boatworks boatbuilding station
When: Thursday and Friday, November 13-14, 2008, 10 am - 4 pm
Who: Sam Turner, LAMP Director of Archaeology, and Brendan Burke, LAMP Archaeologist & Logistical Coordinator
For more information click here

Continue reading "11/13-14/2008 Blacksmithing Demonstration at the Lighthouse" »

The Xynides Boat House. (Photo courtesy of Lowell Beyer)

Standing on top of a pile of broken timbers, exposed nails, torn electrical wiring, and a healthy dose of tetanus-in-the-wings can be a normal day for a maritime archaeologist. We recently had some of those days and I report on them here.

Continue reading "Un-breaking the Mold" »

Lecture Title: Maritime History of St. Augustine
Presented by: Brendan Burke, LAMP Archaeologist and Logistical Coordinator
When: Saturday, November 8th, 2008, at 2:00 pm
Where: Anastasia Island Branch Library, in the Large Meeting Room (click here for map)
For further information call: 904-209-3730
Click here to download a flier promoting this event.

Lecture Title: Amphoras: Silent Observers of Ancient Maritime History
Speaker: Dr. David Switzer, Plymouth State University
Where: St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Keeper's House Gallry
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 7:00 pm
RSVP: Please contact Sara Hansen by email or phone at 904-829-0745
Download flier promoting this event

Continue reading "10/29/08 Lecture: Amphoras: Silent Observers of Ancient Maritime History " »

UPDATED with new information, please see schedule below . . .

The second annual meeting of the Florida Maritime Heritage Association will be held in America's Oldest Port at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, sponsored by the Museum and its research institution, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), on October 17-18, 2008. Anyone associated with a Florida maritime museum, university anthropology/history department or maritime studies program, consulting company, preservation group, government agency, or any other maritime heritage organization is welcome to attend. This blog posting will serve as the official online source of information about the upcoming conference.

Continue reading "10/17-18/08 Florida Maritime Heritage Association Meeting" »

Lecture Title: The Caribbean World of Ponce de León and the Discovery of Florida
Speaker: Dr. Sam Turner, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program
When: Thursday, September 18, 2008, 7:00 pm
Where: Flagler Room, Flagler College, 74 King Street, St. Augustine, Florida
Sponsored by: St. Augustine Historical Society
For more info call: 904-824-2872

When: 14-28 June 2008
Where: St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum
Instructors: Dr. David Switzer, professor emeritus PSU; Chuck Meide, Director, LAMP; Dr. Sam Turner, Director of Archaeology, LAMP

LAMP, in conjunction with Plymouth State University, will be hosting a maritime archaeological field school practicum from 15-28 June 2008. Three undergraduate-level credit hours are available through PSU. Fieldwork will focus on a 19th century shipwreck offshore St. Augustine but will also include a variety of research activities above and below the water.

For more information click here.

UPDATED: Click here to read the blog entry describing the 2008 Field School!

Victory III at the dock before the cruise.

What: Boat Cruise and Side Scan Sonar Demonstration for the "Unearthing First America" Symposium
When: 29 May 2008, 5:45-8:00 pm
Join symposium speakers and LAMP archaeological staff for a sunset cruise on the Victory III, and witness a demonstration of LAMP's new side scan sonar technology!

Free and open to the public! This river cruise is part of the Unearthing First America Symposium hosted by Flagler College, the Florida Public Archaeology Network, LAMP and the Lighthouse, and the Florida Humanities Council.

Continue reading "05/29/08 Boat Cruise and Sonar Demonstration onboard Victory III" »

Lecturer: LAMP Director Chuck Meide
Lecture Title: Shipwreck Archaeology in America's Oldest Port
Program: One of many lectures making up the "Unearthing First America" Symposium
When: 29 May 2008, 2:00-3:00 pm
Where: Ringhaver Student Center Auditorium, Flagler College campus, St. Augustine

Free and open to the public! The Unearthing First America Symposium (28-30 May 2008) is hosted by Flagler College, the Florida Public Archaeology Network, LAMP and the Lighthouse, and the Florida Humanities Council.

A local diver on the anchor of the Urca de Lima, a Spanish galleon lost in 1715 off Fort Pierce, Florida.

UPDATED: Read the 22 May 08 blog entry about this great event!

LAMP will be staging a training event for members of our volunteer dive team on May 19 and 20th, 2008, in conjunction with the Florida Public Archaeology Network's East Central and Southeast Regional Centers.

Continue reading "05/19-20/08 LAMP Dive training event: the 1715 wreck of the Urca de Lima" »

National Maritime Heritage Area Workshop

HOSTS
GUANA TOLOMATO MATANZAS NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE
ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE & MUSEUM, INC.
LIGHTHOUSE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MARITIME PROGRAM
SEA GRANT ASSOCIATION
ST. JOHNS COUNTY/PLANNING DIVISION/HISTORIC RESOURCES

Please join us for a National Heritage Area Feasibility Workshop
(Feel free to bring a brown bag lunch.)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 12:30 pm until 5:00 pm
GTM NERR Environmental Education Center
505 Guana River Road
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 32080

RSVP requested by April 11, 2008
Contact Pam Troll at 904-829-0745, ext 224 or
ptroll@staugustinelighthouse.com

What: 2008 Northeast Florida Symposium on Maritime Archaeology
When: 12 to 15 March 2008
Where: St. Augustine, Florida, at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM-NERR) Education Center, also at the St. Augustine Lighthouse on 15 March
Click here to visit the 2008 Symposium webpage, with more info including full program

The Symposium includes three days of presentations at the GTM-NERR Education Center by invited speakers covering a host of topics including prehistoric underwater archaeology, conservation of artifacts from underwater sites, the archaeology of shipwreck sites in Florida and around the world, management of submerged cultural resources, and graduate student archaeological research projects. The final day of the Symposium coincides with the St. Augustine Lighthouse's Maritime Festival, a family-oriented event held at the Lighthouse and expected to draw thousands for a day of fun, food, music, maritime-oriented games and activities, and three encore presentations.

Continue reading "03/12-15/08 Northeast Florida Symposium on Maritime Archaeology" »

The first of the First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project lecture series for 2008 will take place at the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum on Thursday, March 6, at 6 pm. LAMP Director of Archaeology Dr. Sam Turner will present a slideshow lecture titled "Maritime Archaeology in Portarlington, Australia."

Continue reading "03/06/08 Lecture: Maritime Archaeology in Portarlington, Australia" »

UPDATED with pictures from the event included below . . .

Dr. Switzer, a pioneer in the field of nautical archaeology, will be talking about three early projects he was closely involved with. The techniques developed on these sites in the 1960s and 1970s led directly to the methods used today by LAMP archaeologists exploring shipwrecks off St. Augustine, our nation's oldest port.

(UPDATED with pictures from the talk below)

Continue reading "10/25/07 Lecture: The Early Days of Nautical Archaeology" »

Lecture Title: "Perpetually Boyling: Sugar Production in the West Indies and the Archaeological Investigation of the Sugar Mill on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands”
Speaker: Chuck Meide, LAMP Director
Program: "Sweet Digs: Archaeology of Sugar Mills" (three lectures and a tour of Dunlawton Sugar Mill) organized by the Florida Public Archaeology Network, Museum of Arts and Sciences, and Volusia County
When: 31 March 2007, 11 am
Where: Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach

For more information click here.

Northeast Florida Symposium on Underwater Archaeology
Various speakers. This three-day symposium is jointly sponsored by the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas Research Reserve and LAMP. Located at the auditorium in the GTM Reserve Educational Center. Special Rates available at local hotel in Vilano Beach for out of town guests.

When: 20-22 March 2007, 9 to 5 each day
Click here to visit the 2007 Symposium webpage with more information including full program

17 March 2007
Lighthouse Festival
Fun for the whole family, the festival includes everything from pony rides to archaeological exhibits and a maritime archaeology lecture series.
St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, all day event

Lighthouse Festival Lecture Series
(all lectures will take place in the Salt Run Community Center/ St. Augustine Yacht Club, across from the Lighthouse on the water)

Continue reading "03/17/07 Lighthouse Maritime Festival & Lecture Series" »

Sinkhole Dive Demonstration

Sorry, this event has been CANCELLED.

LAMP Divers will stage an underwater archaeology demonstration at Sheeler Lake, a 20,000 year old sinkhole site with the potential to yield prehistoric archaeological sites. Divers will explain the equipment and techniques used for a preliminary reconnaissance dive. This event will take place at the Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park in Clay County. Call Christy Pritchard at 904-819-6420 for more information.

Boat Tour with LAMP Maritime Archaeologists
On board the Victory III, the premiere tourboat docked at the City Marina, downtown St. Augustine. This event is a fund-raiser for the St. Augustine Archaeological Association. LAMP archaeologists Chuck Meide and Sam Turner will be presenting a personalized custom tour of St. Augustine's maritime landscape as it was meant to be seen, from the sea. The Victory III departs the City Marina dock at 8:45 am. The City Marina dock is just south of the downtown side of the Bridge of Lions. Call Bob Stephens to reserve your space on the boat at 808-7211.

When: 10 March 2007, 8:30 am

Traveling Exhibit: S.S. United States
Traveling exhibit on display at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, focusing on the 1950s Atlantic liner, a maritime engineering marvel for its time. For more information, email Kathleen Hill at khill@stagustinelighthouse.com.

When: 02 March - 27 April 2007, regular operating hours (9am - 6 pm)
Where: St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Keeper's House upstairs gallery

CPR/First Aid Training for LAMP volunteers
When: 26-27 February 2007
Where: Red Cross Office, U.S. Highway 1, St. Augustine
Instructor: Rick Cain

Underwater archaeologist Joseph W. Zarzynski will present a program on the flagship of "The Sunken Fleet of 1758," a British fleet from the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). He will history, discovery, and underwater archaeological study of the "The Lost Radeau," a strange seven-sided floating gun battery, a type of floating fortress, that was discovered by archaeologists in Lake George in 1990. The British warship, lying in 107 ft. of water, is often called "North America's oldest 'intact' warship" because of its incredible structural integrity, preserved by the cold freshwater of the Adirondack Mountains waterway.

Continue reading "02/24/07 Lecture: Lake George, New York's 1758 LAND TORTOISE Shipwreck: The History and Archaeology of "The Lost Radeau"" »

What: Archaeology of St. Augustine and Northeast Florida, Short Course offered through the First Coast Technical Institute
When: 21 February - 24 March 2007
Price: $79

This course is sponsored by the St. Augustine Archaeological Association, LAMP, the Florida Public Archaeology Network, and the City of St. Augustine. It consists of four lectures on successive Wednesday nights, plus two days of field work with archaeologists, and is geared towards members of the public interested in learning more about archaeology, especially if they are interested in volunteering to dig on archaeological sites. One of the four lectures is on underwater archaeology and will be presented by LAMP staff. The cost for this course is $79 and those interested in enrolling should call 904-241-0034 for more information.

LAMP Lecture:
7 March 2007
Lecture "Underwater Site Types"
Speaker: Chuck Meide, LAMP Director
An overview of the methodology used and the types of sites encountered by underwater archaeologists. One of four lectures offered through the First Coast Technical Institute (see course description above). The lecture open only to those enrolled in the class.

Presentation: "Update on LAMP's recent and upcoming research activities"
Speaker: Chuck Meide
Program: St. Augustine Archaeological Association meeting
Where: Salt Run Community Center (near Lighthouse Boatramp), St. Augustine
When: 9 January 2007, 7 pm