- Institute of Nautical Archaeology
P.O. Drawer HG
College Station, Texas 77841 - 979-845-6694
Deborah Carlson
Texas A&M University, Nautical Archaeology Program, Department Member
- Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Administration, Department Memberadd
The Lake Nemi ships were two enormous, palatial houseboats built by the Roman emperor Caligula (r. 37–41ce). Lake Nemi is a small volcanic crater lake just 1.8 km (1.1 miles) wide and 35 m (115 feet) deep, situated in the Alban Hills 30... more
The Lake Nemi ships were two enormous, palatial houseboats built by the Roman emperor Caligula (r. 37–41ce). Lake Nemi is a small volcanic crater lake just 1.8 km (1.1 miles) wide and 35 m (115 feet) deep, situated in the Alban Hills 30 km (18 miles) southeast of Rome. Attempts to recover the Nemi ships drew the attention of key historical figures across five centuries, until in 1928–1929 Benito Mussolini ordered the water pumped from the lake to expose the two wooden hulls, which were in a superb state of preservation following immersion in fresh water for almost two millennia. At a length of more than 70 m (230 feet), the Nemi ships remain the largest ancient ships discovered to date. The ships’ complete destruction by fire at the close of World War II constitutes one of the great tragedies of nautical archaeology.
In the first century B.C., a stone carrier sank off the Aegean coast of Turkey at Kızılburun transporting all the elements of a monumental marble column, including a single Doric capital and eight drums. The 60-tonne cargo lay at a depth... more
In the first century B.C., a stone carrier sank off the Aegean coast of Turkey at Kızılburun transporting all the elements of a monumental marble column, including a single Doric capital and eight drums. The 60-tonne cargo lay at a depth of 45–48 m and was excavated in its entirety by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University between 2005 and 2011. Ongoing research has shown that the Doric column pieces in the Kızılburun cargo originated in the marble quarries on Proconnesus Island in the Sea of Marmara and were very likely heading for the Temple of Apollo at Claros when the ship sank just 50 km short of its destination. The complete recovery of the ship’s cargo posed a unique set of methodological challenges involving lifting the multi-tonne marble drums without disturbing the delicate waterlogged wooden hull remains preserved beneath. This report summarizes the solutions developed over five seasons in order to rig, hoist, move, and ultimately raise to the surface eight large ancient marble column drums (as well as all the other marble artifacts in the cargo) from a depth of almost 50 m under water.
Research Interests:
In 2007 a symposium was held at Texas A&M University to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Texas A&M University Press’s publication of the first volume reporting the Yassiada shipwreck site. Seventeen papers from that symposium... more
In 2007 a symposium was held at Texas A&M University to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Texas A&M University Press’s publication of the first volume reporting the Yassiada shipwreck site. Seventeen papers from that symposium featured in this book broadly illustrate such varied topics as ships and seafaring life, maritime trade, naval texts, commercial cargoes, and recent developments in the analysis of the Yassiada ship itself.