Intertidal Shipwrecks

Management of a Historic Resource in an Unmanageable Environment

Jennifer E. Jones, Calvin H. Mires, Daniel Zwick

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9780813079325
• eBook ISBN: 9780813073743
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: Social Sciences

A global array of case studies demonstrating practices for preserving the maritime cultural heritage of vulnerable shipwrecks  

Shipwreck sites in intertidal zones—the parts of shorelines that are exposed at low tide and covered at high tide—are located within dynamic environments. Periodically uncovered and reburied, these stranded vessels are affected by surf and currents that accelerate the decay of their remains, and their materials are often salvaged. This volume presents 17 case studies from 9 countries on the management of intertidal shipwrecks and strategies for conservation, archaeological research, and public outreach focused on such sites.



These case studies explore topics such as legislation protecting shipwrecks along the Pacific coast of New Zealand, the ways wreck sites in Germany’s North Sea coastline are safeguarded and studied, local community participation in the preservation of shipwrecks along the Patagonian Atlantic coast, and the effects of climate change on sites along the Potomac River in Maryland. Pioneering intertidal resource managers discuss innovative strategies for preventing damage to ships and losses to local maritime heritage. The first volume to examine these sites at varying scales across the globe, Intertidal Shipwrecks is an important resource as climate impacts increase and the role of citizen science programs becomes more significant.  



A volume in the series Society and Ecology in Island and Coastal Archaeology, edited by Victor D. Thompson and Scott M. Fitzpatrick



Contributors: Edward Pollard | Jose Manuel Mates Luque | Bev Parslow | Susan B.M. Langley | Karl Brady | Monica Grosso | Linda Shine | Hefin Meara | Guillermo Gutiérrez | Christian Murray | James P. Delgado | Mark Harrison | Anthony Corn | Sandra Henry | Athena Trakadas | Nathan Richards | Carlo Beltrame | Maria Paula Bunicontro | Stephen B. Atkinson | Kurt Bennett | Stefan Claesson | Brad Duncan | Taylor Picard | Andy Sherman | Amy A. Borgens | Chuck Meide | Mariam Pousa 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Skeletons in the Sand: National Park Service Work on Intertidal Shipwrecks, 1982–1990
• 3. Between Two Tides: Managing Intertidal Shipwrecks as an Archaeological Resource in Aotearoa New Zealand
• 4. Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Management of the Intertidal Historic Shipwreck Buster
• 5. The Management of Intertidal Shipwrecks in Germany
• 6. Investigating Intertidal Shipwrecks on North Bull Island, Dublin Bay, Ireland
• 7. The Sea Scout Wreck: 3D Models as Heritage Management Tools in the Intertidal Potomac River, Maryland
• 8. The Impact of Coastal Erosion and Vandalism on a Maine Shipwreck: Strategies for the Study, Management, and Protection of Intertidal Shipwrecks
• 9. Discussing the Problems Affecting the Recording of Wrecks in the Intertidal Zone in the Province of Bizkaia (Basque Country, Spain)
• 10. Tides, Sand, and Timbers: A Threatened Mid-Nineteenth-Century Wreck Site on the Coast of Patagonia
• 11. Community Archaeology in the Intertidal Zone: A Case Study from North Kent, United Kingdom
• 12. CITiZAN: Volunteer-Focused Rapid Recording around England’s Coast
• 13. Driven Ashore and Gone to Pieces: The Beach Wrecks of North Carolina
• 14. “Skeletons of Foundered Ships”: Beached Shipwrecks of St. Augustine, Florida, America’s Oldest Port
• 15. Managing the Mallows Bay World War I Emergency Fleet
• 16. Don’t Come and Take It: Chronicling Environmental and Anthropogenic Impacts on Historic Shipwrecks in the Texas Coastal Zone
• 17. Investigating Processes of Wreck Formation: Shipwrecks on the Beach Environment in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea
• Epilogue: Intertidal Shipwrecks, Climate Change, and Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management
• List of Contributors
• Index