A Methodology for Accurate and Quick Photogrammetric Recording of Underwater Cultural Heritage
In the past seven years, photogrammetry has become one of the main recording methods in maritime and underwater archaeology. The application of photogrammetry allows archaeologists to re-create underwater cultural heritage sites in 3D digital formats, and extract from these 3D digital models data and information required for subsequent scholarly research. The author has been using photogrammetry since 2014 and has successfully created nearly 40 underwater cultural heritage models on more than 10 archaeological projects. The projects have ranged in size, accessibility, and water clarity, introducing a number of variables to the photogrammetry of the artifacts. The variety of experiences gained on these projects have enabled the author to construct his own methodology and workflow for photogrammetric recording. In this paper, the author shares examples of his methodology and workflow for photogrammetric recording of various projects in different countries.
Kotaro Yamafune
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Kotaro Yamafune
Seamanship and Navigation: Seafarers on Board Daily Skills in Chinese Junk
Chinese sailing traditions changed a little through time; sailors inherited their onboard skills, expertise, and experience by orally imparting others with physical instruction. But these daily skills were rarely recorded or studied in the past. For seafarers, how to operate and maneuver a Chinese junk was their daily work; and apart from sparse historical documents such as Phing-Chou Kho Than (Yu, 1117), Shi Liu-Qiu Lu (Xiao and Xia, 1580) (Fig. 1), and preliminarily observations by G.R.G. Worcester, Joseph Needham, Thomas Hoppe, and others, seamanship and navigation were kept in the minds of surviving successions of living sailors. In 2004, the author had an opportunity to sail on a nearly 100 year old Jin Hua Xin as an apprentice sailor for her last voyage. Several months of onboard experiences provided a rare field investigation to approach the complex mechanism of crew, their organization and their daily work. This experience led the authors to raise a marine ethnographic field investigation project along Fujian coast. Experimental archaeology creates effective scenes for realistic performance of past systems. A small full-size replica LanTay II was built for a series of archaeological voyages; the data gathered from the traces of past sailing routes will verify and add some knowledge for understanding the real daily work of Chinese seafarers onboard. In this paper, the authors shall present combined researches on historical documents, past observations with lively oral materials achieved by marine ethnographic field investigation on traditional sailing ports along South Fujian coast; throughout this research, the authors approach the knowledge about seafarers onboard daily skills and try to present the research about the sailors methods to maneuver the junk and its navigation system by means of a combination of instinct, eyesight, memory, and skill.
Xu Lu
Yu Long Fa
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Xu Lu
Yu Long Fa
Uraga Port between Manila and Acapulco
Uraga Port at the southern end of the Miura Peninsula, located at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, is formed as a deep cove from the Pacific Ocean; it is less susceptible to weather conditions and is suitable for the natural environment. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Japan opened three international trade ports. Holland and England is Hirado, Portugal is Nagasaki, Spain is Uraga. Ieyasu Tokugawa begins dispatching shipbuilding engineers and miners from Spain and as a result of negotiating with the Philippine Governor General, the Spaniards of Manila visited Uraga Port every year since 1604 and the Franciscan Monastery in the town was built. Ieyasu Tokugawa also sent British William Adams to Manila and negotiated to continue dealing with Spain However, contrary to the intention of Ieyasu Tokugawa, Spain did not convey shipbuilding technology and mining technology. In 1611, Mexican envoy Sebastián VizcaÃno came to Uraga, but only the east coast of Japan was investigated. At the beginning of the Edo period Christianity was forbidden in 1613. Just before the death of Ieyasu Tokugawa, Diego de Santa Catalina came to Uraga, Ieyasu Tokugawa questioned Spain's attitude, banished him to Spain, and the transaction with Spain was completely completed. Japan took an isolation policy and only Uraga Port quietly disappeared as a trade port.
Kahoru Suzuki
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Kahoru Suzuki
Who Were the Africans in Eastern Asia? : The Christian European Period 1500-1900 AD
Seaways, especially monsoonal ones, allow movement on two directions. However Eurocentric approaches have tended to create hierarchies of cultures which have biased movements in particular directions to the historical exclusion of some narratives. This is a fresh look at a cultural connection from a perspective that has evaded investigation and seeks to balance the research on Chinese interactions with Africans in Africa. Africans have been trading with Asia for hundreds of years, yet their history and presence in East Asia has been barely suggested or investigated. The role of African crewmen is an important part of this narrative and one that brings a new dimension (if not challenges) to ethnographic studies of maritime cultural landscapes and seascapes.
Clifford Pereira
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Clifford Pereira
Legal Status of Sunken State Vessels and Sovereign Immunity
The entry into force in 2009 of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (hereinafter referred to as ‘UCH Convention’) adopted in 2001 could be regarded as a welcome development to elaborate or clarify any ambiguity of only two marginal provisions as Article 149 and 303 with regard to underwater cultural heritage in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 (hereinafter referred to as ‘UNCLOS’). Some texts of the UCH Convention, however, give controversy in fact to the comprehensive international order of the seas in relation to the other provisions of UNCLOS and customary international law, e.g., the definition of underwater cultural heritage, the ‘creeping’ expansion of coastal states’ jurisdiction especially in the EEZ and on the continental shelf, and the sovereign immunity of sunken state vessels [The paper primarily follows to the terminology of the UCH Convention which uses ‘state vessels’. It is defined as ‘warships, and other vessels…that were owned or operated by a State and used, at the time of sinking, only for government noncommercial purposes’ in Article 1(8).] This presentation will especially focus on the issue of sovereign immunity of sunken state vessels amongst them. International law in relation to warships is complex and uncertain and the issue has high political sensitivity as Article 2(8) of the UCH Convention reflects such a circumstance. The purpose of the presentation, therefore, is to explore the legal status of sunken state vessels. It examines the related provisions and their drafting process of the UCH Convention, the legal status of warships which UNCLOS provides and in the rules of customary international law. It will also observe some cases including notable States practices.
Kaè Oyama
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Kaè Oyama
The Iron Grapnel Supposed to Belong to the Sinan Shipwreck and Other Anchors in East Asia
In 2016 an iron grapnel was shown in some special exhibitions marking the 40th anniversary of the Sinan shipwreck excavation in Korea. The grapnel 2.3m length has four arms, and it had been raised by a fisherman’s net in 1972 before the wreck was discovered. Around
the Song Dynasty of China, stone anchor stocks composed of wooden shanks were generally used; their distributions ranged from the Primorsky region of Russia in the north to the south in Vietnam and the Philippines. In Korea and in Japan, crude stone anchor stocks modelled after Chinese anchors were widely used at that time. From the Takashima underwater site associated with the Mongolian invasion of Japan in the 13th century or during the early Yuan Dynasty, stone anchor stocks of separate type were frequently discovered. After the Ming Dynasty, iron grapnels started to be used in large, but at the same time wooden anchors were also kept in use on different styles from region to region. In Japan, iron four-armed grapnels were appeared in some art pictures after the Muromachi Period, and then during the Edo Period those grapnels became popular as the mainstream of Japanese anchors. The iron four-armed grapnel, which is considered to have belonged to the Sinan shipwreck, seems to have equipped on a Japanese vessel dated from the Edo period to early modern times as its characters are found among Japanese grapnels. However, the possibility that it still belonged to the Sinan shipwreck could not be denied completely, because the actual origin of Japanese grapnels is unknown; Chinese manufacturing technology of grapnels, which is known for the time being, was different from Japanese one, but another technology, which would have an impact upon both Japanese and the Sinan shipwreck’s grapnels, might have existed in China.
Mitsuhiko Ogawa
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Mitsuhiko Ogawa
Developing the Foundation for Sustainable Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage Starting from Local Involvement: Case Studies in Okinawa
The Ryukyu Archipelago is well known for its beautiful ocean and coral reefs; and thanks to these beautiful oceans, scuba diving and snorkeling and have become one of the most important activities for its tourist industry of the archipelago. Around the islands, 230 underwater cultural heritage sites were found and identified. In this presentation, the authors shall introduce their attempts and case studies regarding the public engagement of local communities with management of underwater cultural heritage, including providing guidelines for sustainable valorization of the site with local marine sports industry. For Yarabuoki underwater site of Ishigaki Island, there are seven iron grapnel anchors and a cluster of Early Modern Ryukyuwan ceramic jars (tsuboya-yaki). To establish a connection/relationship between the site and the local professional divers, who actually go into the sea and see the site most frequently, the authors provided workshops about UCH and a place where
archaeologists and the local professional divers can exchange their opinions. The goal of these activities is to ask professional divers of local communities help to monitor UCH after scientific evaluations led by archaeologists are completed. The Ohajima underwater site is located off the Coast of Kume Island in Okinawa. This site contains a dense distribution of medieval Chinese pottery. Public open-houses were experimentally organized twice for local communities. The Board of education from local communities (for instance, Kumejima Museum) and local diving communities were heavily involved and helped underwater archaeologists and the research team to organize this event.
After continuous attempts of public outreach, public awareness and interests for UCH among the local diving communities has increased. More divers have started visiting the sites. However, an increase in public awareness creates another concerns that it exposes the UCH sites into social media such as blogs by visitors, articles on diving magazines, and so on. Henceforth, the next challenge confronting the authors and the local communities regarding these sites are plans to properly monitor those sites and a proposal for a reliable long-term management plans. More importantly, these monitoring and management plans have to involve wide varieties and different type of local communities.
Yumiko Nakanishi
Rintaro Ono
Norimitsu Sakagami
Hironobu Kan
Chiaki
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Yumiko Nakanishi
Rintaro Ono
Norimitsu Sakagami
Hironobu Kan
Chiaki
The Historical Transition of Lakefront Environment and Use in Lake Biwa, Japan
Lake Biwa is the largest and oldest lake in Japan. It has approximately 4,000,000 years of history, and many people have lived on this lake. More than 90 underwater archaeological sites exist here, and we are able to understand the subtleties of history. As an example, the Awazu-bottom site,is dated to the middle of the Jomon period approximately 5,000 years ago, and is the largest freshwater shell mound in Japan. It was formed near the lakefront at first, but now submerged on the bottom of lake. The Shiozu-port site is a late Heian period dated to 800 years ago, and is one of the oldest harbor sites in Japan. It was constructed to reclaim the lake, and prospered as water transport area. Many important remains, not only port facilities but also shrines and more, have been excavated, but it disappeared in the 12th century. The causes of this sites’ submergence is closely related an environmental transition of the lakefront. The water balance is particularly important problem. Approximately 460 rivers flow into this lake, but the discharge is only through the Seta-River. Therefore, the water level is greatly fluctuated by the sedimentation situation of the riverbed. According to the old historical documents, many floods have occurred. Therefore, sometimes dredging is carried out by the government to this day. Not only are water levels problematic, but ground sedimentation is as well. The lakefront is convenient for fishery and water transportation, but on the other hand, the land is soft. In a certain study, the ground water level is slightly 20cm higher than water level of lake. As a result of this, serious damage to the settlements have occurred by earthquakes. The extreme effect of this has settlements bring submerged to the bottom of lake by lateral Flow; landslide by the soil liquefaction. In this paper, I would like to study a historical transition of the lakefront environment and its use.
Hisashi Nakagawa
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Hisashi Nakagawa
A Preliminary Study on the Barrier of the Sino-French War of 1884 at Tamsui Estuary, Taiwan
During the Sino-French War of 1884, the Qing military intentionally sank a number of wrecks filled with rocks under the Tamsui River and surrounded them with naval mines and many railings to form a barrier against the French invasion. In 2014, one hundred and thirty years later, the government planned to construct a bridge across the river estuary; and, in accordance with the law concerning environmental impact assessments and archaeological impact assessments, the author conducted an investigation to find potential underwater archaeological remains. The survey tools for this project included a side scan sonar, a multi-beam sonar, a magnetometer, and a sub-bottom profiler. A total of 31 anomalies were detected by these sonars; most of them were lain on the surface of the river bed, and these were believed to be modern debris. However, some anomalies were covered by the sand or under the river bed; therefore, the team could not identifiy these targets further without underwater operations. First, In order to verify the anomalies lying on the surface of the river bed, the team used an underwater camera and diverbased investigation. As a result of the investigation, no specific archaeological remains were found on the surface of the river bed; also the team found out that the sediments of the riverbed had accumulated repeatedly by erosion and floods since 1884. It seems that a strong power of natural dynamics on this region may had destroyed the barrier. In conclusion, the underwater investigation could not confirm archaeological remains of the barrier. Further investigation is required to find archaeological remains. In this paper, the author shall share historical contexts related to the Tamsui Estuary that were found during his historical literature reviews. Also the author shall share his hypothesis of where to find, or what might have happened to, the potential archaeological remains from Sino-French War of 1884.
Tai-Lung
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Tai-Lung
The 17th Century Wooden Shipwreck off Hatsushima Island, Japan
The Asian Research Institute of Underwater Archaeology (ARIUA) at Fukuoka and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, which is a member institution of the UNESCO Underwater Archaeology Unitwin Network, have researched upon the 17th century wooden shipwreck off Hatsushima Island in front of Atami city, Shizuoka Prefecture, since 2011. The shipwreck lies on the seabed at the depth of 20 metres, 200 metres from the western shore. It consists mainly of a cargo of roof tiles or grinding bowls and some parts of the wooden hull. Judging from them, the original vessel seems to have been a 17th or 18th century wooden freighter or kaisen ( 廻船 ), which left a port of western part of Japan for the capital town of Edo; most of well made roof tiles were not made in eastern part at that time. Because most of the roof tiles are high-quality and one of them is marked by the wild ginger trefoil coat of arms of the Shogunate family, they might mean to have been used for the Edo Shogunate castle. In 2011 and 2012, archaeologists with financial assistance from the Nippon Foundation, did the submersible survey upon this wreck site, about which local fishermen had already known to identify its exact position. In 2013, then, its bathymetry was made with a multibeam sonar. In order to make a precisely measured drawing of the 5 metre square wreck site, an AUV in 2013 and a ROV in 2015, both of which were developed uniquely by Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, and divers in 2016 were deployed to collect numerous underwater photos to generate 3D photogrammetric models with photogrammetry software Agisoft ‘PhotoScan’.
Hayato Kondo
Akifumi Iwabuchi
Toshiaki Hayashibara
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Hayato Kondo
Akifumi Iwabuchi
Toshiaki Hayashibara
Basic Studies on the Western Shipwrecks Discovered in the Ryukyu Archipelago and Their Influence on Modern Society
Extensive distributional survey of the underwater cultural heritage revealed the disposition of 230 underwater cultural heritage sites in the Ryukyu Archipelago, and 23 sites out of 230 are identified as the wreck sites. Dates of these wrecks vary from the 12th to 20th centuries; nevertheless, all the Western shipwrecks found at six sites are dated to within about 100 years between the latter half of the 18th century to the 19th century. This presentation is about the Western shipwrecks left in the sea area of the Ryukyu Kingdom. From the late 18th century, the ships from the Western powers stared to appear frequently. Historical documents describes that those ships had not intended to come to the kingdom, but were wrecked due to maritime accidents. Such incidents brought opportunities for local population to come into contact with the Westerners though rescuing the wrecks and their crews. Historical documents and local lore, confirmed by the material evidence retrieved from the seabed, show that those contacts in some cases developed to the cultural interaction between local governments, or even nation-tonation. Moreover, the stories of the accidents and rescue efforts by the local have long been handed down from generation to generation as moving tales. In fact, there are some cases that those tales were materialised, for instance in forms of a reconstructed Western ship
facilitated as play equipment in a local park near the wreck site, as well as an amusement park themed under the country of the wreck’s nationality. This research aims to present how the archaeological evidence confirm historical records related to the Western shipwrecks though the result of investigation of underwater cultural heritage, as well as to analyse how those initial contacts with the Westerners though the wreck accidents developed into the cultural interaction which can be influential even now.
Chiaki Katagiri
Yumiko Nakanishi
Rintaro Ono
Hiroki Miyagi
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Chiaki Katagiri
Yumiko Nakanishi
Rintaro Ono
Hiroki Miyagi
Development of the Sledge-Type Underwater Metal Detection System for Underwater Cultural Heritage Exploration
The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage (NRIMCH) in Republic of Korea has promoted the 4-years ‘Development Project of Underwater Cultural Heritage Exploration Techniques’ from 2013 through 2016. During the project, the metallic cultural heritage made of bronze could not be detected with the magnetometer, but NRIMCH has developed the sledge-type underwater metal detection system suitable for exploring metallic material underwater cultural heritage including bronze.
A magnetometer or metal detectors are used to detect metallic objects exposed or buried in the seabed. In case of magnetometer, the depth of exploration is deep and exploration work is fast, but there is a disadvantage that non-ferrous metals except iron is not reacted. When using a metal detector, which is a type of electromagnetic exploration, there is a method using a portable metal detector and a method of towing an antenna in a vessel. In the case of a portable metal detector, since the diver is directly using it underwater, there is a time limitation and a disadvantage that it is difficult to know the position. In addition, when the antenna is towed at the vessel, the antenna is spaced at a considerable distance from the seabed, so that the buried metal cultural heritage may not be detected. To overcome these drawbacks, this system aims to develop an antenna platform as a method for bringing the antenna of the metal detector closer to the seabed. The antenna platform is made of metal-free PVC and designed as a caterpillar. The caterpillar shape allows easy passage of obstacles in the sea floor and allows the antenna to be wrapped and protected. In addition, software was developed to verify and store location information obtained using DGPS and response values for underwater metal cultural heritage obtained through the antenna platform in real time.
Yong-Hwa Jung
Young-Hyun Lee
Jin-Hoo Kim
Sang-Hee Lee
Hyun-Do Kim
Yeong-Hyun Kim
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Yong-Hwa Jung
Young-Hyun Lee
Jin-Hoo Kim
Sang-Hee Lee
Hyun-Do Kim
Yeong-Hyun Kim
The Shared Underwater Cultural Heritage of Japan and the Netherlands: the Kanrin-maru
In 2014, a non-exhaustive inventory of the shared cultural heritage of the Netherlands and Japan was made by the Dutch government in the context of what the Netherlands calls its ‘Shared Cultural Heritage Policy’. This inventory resulted in an overview of shared cultural heritage grouped into the categories ‘maritime heritage’, ‘built heritage’, ‘museum collections’ and ‘archives’. Spread over seven different themes and linking to an equal number of time periods, the inventory provided insights into where opportunities for cultural collaboration would lie. One of the opportunities of collaboration found revolved around the potentially preserved Dutch shipwrecks in Japanese waters. This sparked the incentive to propose a project-based partnership through a collaborative research project between the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, to locate and research the shipwreck of the Kanrin-maru. The project, which commenced in 2017, includes the involvement of Dutch and Japanese researchers to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, as well as the involvement of trainees in order to ensure capacity building. The Kanrin-maru was a warship specially built in the Netherlands in 1856 on order of the Tokugawa Shogunate Navy. It was brought to Japan in 1857, but in 1869 during the Boshin War between Shogunate and Imperial forces it was taken over by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and remained in the service of the Imperial Meiji government until it foundered in the Tsugaru Strait in 1871. Although an anchor thought to belong to the Kanrin-maru was found near where it was said to have foundered, no wreck has been found to date. In November 2017, fieldwork in Hokkaido, including material analysis upon its anchor, as well as library or archival research is to be done by Dutch and Japanese archaeologists.
Leon Derksen
Akifumi Iwabuchi
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
11/24/2017
Leon Derksen
Akifumi Iwabuchi