A&M Library Email Anthropology CMAC NAP INA Directory Vita I Teaching I Students I Publications I Ship Lab Reports I Schedule I CMAC Lecture Series Giving to the ShipLab Sponsors I J. Richard Steffy Scholarship Portuguese Naus / Iberian Ships / NADL / Italian Seafaring / Treatises / Puerto Rico / Small Craft / Portugal / Other Director: Filipe Vieira de Castro, Frederick R. Mayer Faculty Professor II of Nautical Archaeology Nautical Archaeology Program, 105 Anthropology Building, College Station, TX 77843-4352, USA. Telephone: (979) 845-6220. Fax: (979) 845-4070. Email: fvcastro@tamu.edu The ShipLab was created by J. Richard Steffy in 1976 and today is one of the laboratories of the Centre for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation of the Anthropology Department at Texas A&M University. Its mission is to acquire and disseminate knowledge about shipbuilding through time. As a classroom its main objective is to provide an effective learning environment. In other words, as Carl Sagan wrote, education is not a narrow path to a profession: "At the university of Chicago I was lucky enough to go through a general education program devised by Robert M. Hutchins, where science was presented as an integral part of the gorgeous tapestry of human knowledge. It was considered unthinkable for an aspiring physicist not to know Plato, Aristotle, Bach, Shakespeare, Gibbon, Malinowski, and Freud - among many others." Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, New York: Balantine Books, 1997:xiv-xv. As research laboratory its objective is to facilitate investigation, seek public and private research funds, and recruit and retain quality students for its projects. As an outreach institution it aims at providing information, education, and guidance about the discipline of nautical archaeology and the importance of the world's submerged cultural heritage, perhaps more than ever threatened by treasure hunting. The Pepper Wreck Project A Portuguese Indiaman sunk at the mouth of the Tagus River in September 1606, on its way back from Cochin, India. Video production: D&D Audiovisuais SA, for the Portuguese Pavillion at Expo'98, Lisbon, Portugal. The Pepper Wreck was found on the Tagus River mouth, Lisbon, Portugal, in 1993, during an archaeological survey promoted by the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, directed by Francisco Alves. From 1996 to 1998 it was excavated by the Instituto Português de Arqueologia / Centro Nacional de Arqueologia Náutica e Subaquática as part of the program of the Portuguese Pavilion at the 1998 World Exhibition EXPO'98. In 1999 and 2000 the remains of its hull were excavated by the Centro Nacional de Arqueologia Náutica e Subaquática, with the support of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology / Texas A&M University. Its excavation yielded a large collection of artifacts dated from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and lead to the tentative identification of this shipwreck as the nau Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, wrecked on September 15 1606 on its way back from Cochin, India. In cooperation with the Secção Autónoma de Engenharia Naval at the Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal, the Departments of Computer Science and Visualization Sciences at Texas A&M University, and Faculdade de Letras of Lisbon University, we are reconstructing the ship's shape, rigging, interior space, structure, and sailing capabilities. We expect our study to provide a better understanding of these formidable vessels, which carried over 400 people from Lisbon to India every year. Portuguese Indiamen on the Web: Visit the website Nau Portugal, about the ongoing experimental archaeology project developed by the Portuguese Centro de Engenharia e Tecnologia Naval at Instituto Superior Técnico. Hard Science @ IST: launching the N.S. Mártires model on National TV. And not-so-hard science on Youtube: lauching of nau Portugal in 1940... Ongoing Projects: Iconography: CMAC is working on the iconography of the ships of the European expansion of the 16th Century. Iberian Ships: One of the ShipLAB main interests is the study of Iberian Shipbuilding in the period of the European expansion. Although most shipwrecks have been destroyed by treasure hunters and all the information they contained has been destroyed forever, recent studies combining archaeology and documental evidence have significantly advanced our understanding of these formidable machines. Dutch Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age: Texas A&M University Press is working on the publication of an English version of Ab Hoving and G.A. de Weerdt's seminal work, Nicolaes Witsens scheeps-bouw-konst open gestelt. In the Field: Studying Puerto Rico's maritime history and submerged cultural heritage: The Nautical Archaeology of Puerto Rico Nautical Archaeology Digital Library: Treasure hunters' corner: Always shallow, no matter how low they manage to sink. About treasure hunting; The difference between antiquarians and archaeologists. Italian Shipbuilding in the Renaissace: Another main interest of the ShipLAB is the study of Italian Ships of the Renaissance, which have influenced shipbuilding allover Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. A number of shipbuilding treatises from this period have survived and are being studied at the ShipLAB. Shipbuilding c. 1570: CMAC is working on the study, for publication, of two texts on shipbuilding, by Nicolo Sagri and Fernando Oliveira, both dating to c. 1570. CMAC News & Reports: No. 1 is out (April 09). CMAC Lecture Series Shipwreck Weekend Liberal Arts Sitemap Search Location Privacy Contact Us © 2007 Texas A&M Department of Anthropology. All rights reserved Last Updated: 10/14/09