Objects


Bits of Ancient Village Hide in Murk

divers
As diver Henry Shrefer returns to the chartered boat, fellow archaeology student Greg Porter, left, examines the items Shrefer has retrieved from the floor of the Atlantic.

A team of archaeologists in scuba gear combs what was once dry land for pre-Lenape artifacts




plastic coke bottle

What I know about antique glass bottles wouldn't cover both sides of a matchbook. But here are some excellent links on the subject, so you too can learn the difference between a pontil and a blob:

Miscellaneous Links:

Right: Plastic Coke bottle with screw top


deadeye
deadeye

Deadeyes (above and right) and blocks (below) were used in the rigging of old-time sailing ships. In either case, the purpose was to gain mechanical advantage through the use of compound pulleys. This was especially necessary in the days before powered winches, when the only working force onboard was literally manpower.


A Glittering Piece of History is Recovered From the Briny Deep

disco ball

ASSOCIATED PEST
July 25, 2004

Chatterbox

Deep Sea Defectives is proud to announce the recovery of the Andrea Doria's disco ball. World-famous deep-sea scuba diver John Chatterbox found the ball after mining hidden nuggets from blueprints and records of the vessel to determine its most likely location. He then did a hazardous penetration deep into the bowels of the wreck, which is lying on its side in crazy deep lotta water.

Right: Chatterbox "gets down" with some hot wreck-diving moves


Dump Sites

For most of mankind's history, the world's oceans have been used as refuse dumps. Everything from sewage to everyday trash to medical, industrial, and chemical waste has been disposed of in the ocean, or in rivers that flow out to the ocean. In the vicinity of a major urban area like New York, you can bet there has been a lot of waste and dredge dumping, and much of it at sites that are alarmingly close to shore. All ocean dumping was finally banned by the EPA in 1988 after some massive fish kills, but not before many seafloor habitats were contaminated if not outright destroyed. The two major ocean dumping sites that have served the New York area since the mid-1800s are the 12 Mile Dumping Ground and the Mud Dump. Old dump sites are marked on the charts as orange areas.