Underwater Archaeology continued

In 1952 a French Naval underwater research vessel called the Calypso was commissioned. On board was Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Using the new "SCUBA" (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) gear he and a fellow associate invented, Cousteau began sailing the seas searching for underwater life and archaeological finds. This method of underwater search was very versatile, simpler to use than previous suits and cost less money.

Cousteau used an air-lift in his expeditions. This consisted of a large tube which reached from the platform to the wreck filled with compressed air. It created a vacuum at the tube's mouth and water and mud were sucked up and came out at the platform aboard the ship. Strainers aboard the ship caught artifacts sucked up accidentally. This solved the problem of moving large amounts of sand and mud underwater to unearth sites. This tool became an essential one of subsequent underwater excavations. Cousteau also pioneered the use of underwater telephones and closed-circuit television to observe the excavation and communicate instructions to divers in the water from above.

Cousteau had underwater pictures taken of the sites by divers, but noticed a continuing problem. Underwater currents made staying the same distance above the wreck or site difficult, so the scale and perspective of each picture were not constant. This made putting the pictures together to form one large picture virtually impossible.

Also in the 1950's, Nino Lamboglia developed his own underwater recording method. He drove iron pegs into the sea floor and attached yellow canvas tape to form a grid of 2-meter squares. Then, he photographed each square to make a plan of all of the objects. He had problems maintaining constant depth.

(continued)

Written by Amy Stafford, 1999