The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

High resolution acoustic imagery from a shallow archaeological site: The Grace Dieu - a case study

High resolution acoustic imagery from a shallow archaeological site: The Grace Dieu - a case study
High resolution acoustic imagery from a shallow archaeological site: The Grace Dieu - a case study
Shallow water (< 5 m) archaeological shipwreck sites present unique challenges to geophysical investigation. Retrieval of reliable data is very difficult due to issues of water column bubble turbulence and the restricted acoustic geometry of the system. This paper will present an acquisition method that tackles these problems through the combination of a high resolution sub-bottom system, DGPS navigation and a non-motorised deployment method.
The test site for this system was the Grace Dieu (1418), the ‘great ship’ of Henry V’s fleet, which was scuttled at its berth in the Hamble River (UK). The site is typically covered by 2-5 m of water, and is partially buried within muddy inter-tidal sediments. At exceptionally low tides, during the spring equinox, a few of the marginal timbers are exposed. Close survey line spacing (< 2.5 m), accurate navigation and decimetre resolution acoustic data enable a full 2D and pseudo-3D interpretation, including amplitude analysis, of the site to be undertaken. This data has identified the true plan form and dimensions of the remaining segments of this historic vessel supporting the assertion that it was the most significant naval design for over two centuries. It has also been possible to identify the presence of a horizon of incoherent timbers associated with the scuttling of the vessel. Through an archaeological case study the potential of imaging buried objects in extremely shallow environments has been effectively demonstrated.
chirp, maritime archaeology, shipwreck sites, shallow water, geophysics
Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas
Plets, Ruth M.K.
7a110ee7-3dab-47e5-b2d1-4249e3cf115a
Dix, Justin K.
efbb0b6e-7dfd-47e1-ae96-92412bd45628
Adams, Jon R.
184a058c-d4b1-44fc-9bff-cadee3882bc8
Best, Angus I.
cad03726-10f8-4f90-a3ba-5031665234c9
Mindell, David A.
0adc2fea-b4c0-452d-94d1-7a9db97b9b2f
Papadakis, J.
Bjorno, L.
Plets, Ruth M.K.
7a110ee7-3dab-47e5-b2d1-4249e3cf115a
Dix, Justin K.
efbb0b6e-7dfd-47e1-ae96-92412bd45628
Adams, Jon R.
184a058c-d4b1-44fc-9bff-cadee3882bc8
Best, Angus I.
cad03726-10f8-4f90-a3ba-5031665234c9
Mindell, David A.
0adc2fea-b4c0-452d-94d1-7a9db97b9b2f
Papadakis, J.
Bjorno, L.

Plets, Ruth M.K., Dix, Justin K., Adams, Jon R., Best, Angus I. and Mindell, David A. (2005) High resolution acoustic imagery from a shallow archaeological site: The Grace Dieu - a case study. Papadakis, J. and Bjorno, L. (eds.) In Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Underwater Acoustics, 12-15 Jun 2006. Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas..

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Shallow water (< 5 m) archaeological shipwreck sites present unique challenges to geophysical investigation. Retrieval of reliable data is very difficult due to issues of water column bubble turbulence and the restricted acoustic geometry of the system. This paper will present an acquisition method that tackles these problems through the combination of a high resolution sub-bottom system, DGPS navigation and a non-motorised deployment method.
The test site for this system was the Grace Dieu (1418), the ‘great ship’ of Henry V’s fleet, which was scuttled at its berth in the Hamble River (UK). The site is typically covered by 2-5 m of water, and is partially buried within muddy inter-tidal sediments. At exceptionally low tides, during the spring equinox, a few of the marginal timbers are exposed. Close survey line spacing (< 2.5 m), accurate navigation and decimetre resolution acoustic data enable a full 2D and pseudo-3D interpretation, including amplitude analysis, of the site to be undertaken. This data has identified the true plan form and dimensions of the remaining segments of this historic vessel supporting the assertion that it was the most significant naval design for over two centuries. It has also been possible to identify the presence of a horizon of incoherent timbers associated with the scuttling of the vessel. Through an archaeological case study the potential of imaging buried objects in extremely shallow environments has been effectively demonstrated.

Text
proceedings.pdf - Other
Download (1MB)

More information

Published date: June 2005
Venue - Dates: 1st International Conference on Underwater Acoustic Measurements: Technologies and Results, Heraklion, Greece, 2005-06-28 - 2005-07-01
Keywords: chirp, maritime archaeology, shipwreck sites, shallow water, geophysics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 40834
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/40834
PURE UUID: 875d6b0c-1d17-4e0a-81ee-21f8d123862c
ORCID for Justin K. Dix: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2905-5403

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Jul 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:45

Export record

Contributors

Author: Ruth M.K. Plets
Author: Justin K. Dix ORCID iD
Author: Jon R. Adams
Author: Angus I. Best
Author: David A. Mindell
Editor: J. Papadakis
Editor: L. Bjorno

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×