The Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project: Overview of Methods and Tools

Abstract

The Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project was not intended to be a full recovery and documentation of an historical shipwreck 1220 m (4,000 ft.) below the surface, rather, it was a mitigation of impacts in order to comply with federal law. The principal goal was to reduce the surface visibility of the site while documenting the archaeological provenience of the artifacts and determining, as much as possible, the age, cultural affiliation, function, and historical significance of the site. This goal dictated the method of data recovery and the tools selected to meet the objective. In an extreme environment, where such a project had never been attempted before, methods and tools had to be adapted to meet the challenge. Some of the methods were successful and others were not. Ultimately, the project succeeded in its mission, and both successes and failures have informed subsequent archaeological recovery work in very deep water.