The use of a high-resolution 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiler for the
reconstruction of the shallow water archaeological site
of the Grace Dieu (1439), River Hamble, UK
The use of a high-resolution 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiler for the
reconstruction of the shallow water archaeological site
of the Grace Dieu (1439), River Hamble, UK
The remains of Henry V’s flagship, the Grace Dieu, currently lie buried within the inter-tidal sediments of the River Hamble (S. England). Previous archaeological investigations have been hindered by difficult excavation conditions resulting in a poor understanding of the dimensions, shape and degradation state
of the hull’s deeper structure. This study therefore aimed to image, characterize and reconstruct the buried remains of this vessel using a high-resolution 3D acoustic sub-bottom Chirp system with RTK-GPS positioning capability. The accurate navigation and high-resolution data that were acquired enabled the construction of a full 3D image of the site that not only identified the remains of the wooden hull, but also features buried within it. In addition, the degradation state of these buried wooden remains were investigated by calculating reflection coefficients while a hypothetical larger reconstruction of the Grace Dieu’s hull was achieved, through the use of the ShipShape ship design software package. The results of this project demonstrate that (i) acoustic data can be used to successfully image buried wooden shipwrecks, (ii) artefacts are buried within the hull of the Grace Dieu, (iii) there is variation in the degradation state of the buried timbers, as calculated from the acoustic data, with the shell of the vessel
being moderately well preserved, and (iv) the Grace Dieu was a very large ship for its time (possibly over 60 m long and 16 m wide). The outcomes of this research not only have considerable implications for the management and monitoring
of submerged and buried archaeological sites but also for planning intrusive surveys, should they be required.
Science based archaeology, marine geophysics, Grace Dieu, 3D chirp, maritime archaeology, marine archaeology, ship wreck reconstruction
408-418
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
Bull, Jonathan M.
974037fd-544b-458f-98cc-ce8eca89e3c8
Henstock, Timothy J.
27c450a4-3e6b-41f8-97f9-4e0e181400bb
Gutowski, Martin
cd31d0d7-2bcc-4c54-8b33-610ce765d7e5
Best, Angus I.
cad03726-10f8-4f90-a3ba-5031665234c9
January 2009
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
Bull, Jonathan M.
974037fd-544b-458f-98cc-ce8eca89e3c8
Henstock, Timothy J.
27c450a4-3e6b-41f8-97f9-4e0e181400bb
Gutowski, Martin
cd31d0d7-2bcc-4c54-8b33-610ce765d7e5
Best, Angus I.
cad03726-10f8-4f90-a3ba-5031665234c9
Plets, Ruth M.K., Dix, Justin K., Adams, Jon R., Bull, Jonathan M., Henstock, Timothy J., Gutowski, Martin and Best, Angus I.
(2009)
The use of a high-resolution 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiler for the
reconstruction of the shallow water archaeological site
of the Grace Dieu (1439), River Hamble, UK.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 36 (2), .
(doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.09.026).
Abstract
The remains of Henry V’s flagship, the Grace Dieu, currently lie buried within the inter-tidal sediments of the River Hamble (S. England). Previous archaeological investigations have been hindered by difficult excavation conditions resulting in a poor understanding of the dimensions, shape and degradation state
of the hull’s deeper structure. This study therefore aimed to image, characterize and reconstruct the buried remains of this vessel using a high-resolution 3D acoustic sub-bottom Chirp system with RTK-GPS positioning capability. The accurate navigation and high-resolution data that were acquired enabled the construction of a full 3D image of the site that not only identified the remains of the wooden hull, but also features buried within it. In addition, the degradation state of these buried wooden remains were investigated by calculating reflection coefficients while a hypothetical larger reconstruction of the Grace Dieu’s hull was achieved, through the use of the ShipShape ship design software package. The results of this project demonstrate that (i) acoustic data can be used to successfully image buried wooden shipwrecks, (ii) artefacts are buried within the hull of the Grace Dieu, (iii) there is variation in the degradation state of the buried timbers, as calculated from the acoustic data, with the shell of the vessel
being moderately well preserved, and (iv) the Grace Dieu was a very large ship for its time (possibly over 60 m long and 16 m wide). The outcomes of this research not only have considerable implications for the management and monitoring
of submerged and buried archaeological sites but also for planning intrusive surveys, should they be required.
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More information
Submitted date: July 2008
Published date: January 2009
Keywords:
Science based archaeology, marine geophysics, Grace Dieu, 3D chirp, maritime archaeology, marine archaeology, ship wreck reconstruction
Organisations:
Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre,Southampton
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 65666
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65666
ISSN: 0305-4403
PURE UUID: ca89fda8-1617-4c51-8694-b351ced30398
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 05 Mar 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:44
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Contributors
Author:
Ruth M.K. Plets
Author:
Martin Gutowski
Author:
Angus I. Best
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