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Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline that studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of vessels, shore side facilities, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes. more...

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One speciality is underwater archaeology, which studies the past through any submerged remains. Another specialty within maritime archaeology is nautical archaeology, which studies vessel construction and use.

Maritime archaeology has three important differences from land archaeology. First structures and artefacts, even organic materials, are sometimes better preserved under water or in bottom sediments especially in freshwater anaerobic environments. A second difference lies in the fact that until recently, submerged sites such as shipwrecks were usually beyond the reach of human intervention or marine salvage, thereby preventing looters from destroying the site. A third difference comes from the fact that shipwrecks (and sites submerged by seismic catastrophes) represent a moment in time rather than a slow deposition of material accumulated over a period of years. This fact has lead to shipwrecks being described as time capsules.

There are those in the archaeology community who see maritime archaeology as a segregrated discipline with its own concerns (such as shipwrecks) and requiring the specialised skills of the underwater archaeologist. Others value an integrated approach, stressing that nautical activity has economic and social links to communities on land.

Integrating Land and Sea

Prior to the industrial era, travel by water was often easier than over land. As a result, marine channels, navigable rivers and sea crossings formed the trade routes of historic and ancient civilisations. For example, the mediterranean sea was known to the Romans as the inner sea because the Roman empire spread around its coasts. The historic record as well as the remains of harbours, ships and cargoes, testify to the volume of trade that crossed it. Later, nations with a strong maritime culture such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and Spain were able to establish colonies on other continents. Wars were fought at sea over the control of important resources. The material cultural remains that are discovered by maritime archaeologists along former trade routes can be combined with historic documents and material cultural remains found on land to understand the economic, social and political environment of the past.

Submerged sites

Pre-historic landscapes

Maritime archaeology studies prehistorical objects and sites that are, because of changes in climate and geology, now underwater.

Bodies of water, fresh and saline, have been important sources of food for people for as long as we have existed. It should be no surprise that ancient villages weree located at the water's edge. Since the last ice age sea level has risen as much as 250 feet (approximately 75 meters).

Read more at Wikipedia.org