The Batavia shipwreck

Batavia, a Dutch East Indiaman, sank in 1629 on its maiden voyage to the Indies in the Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. The ship gained notoriety for the mutiny and horrific massacre that engulfed the survivors after the wreck, but the vessel itself was lost for centuries. The remains of the ship were discovered in 1963, and excavated between 1971 and 1980 by a team of archaeologists from the Western Australian Museum. The surviving hull timbers, raised from the seabed by archaeologists, represent approximately 3.5 percent of the original hull. They include part of the transom and aft port quarter of the ship. To date, Batavia represents the only excavated remains of an early seventeenth–century Dutch East Indiaman that have been raised and conserved in a way that permits detailed study. This is of great significance as there are no lines drawings or construction plans for any Dutch ships from this period. The study and comparison of the Batavia hull timbers with those of other Dutch shipwrecks and historic documentation contributes to the understanding of Dutch shipbuilding techniques at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries

Attempting to Name the Nameless: Copper Alloy Analysis of Artefacts from Unidentified Shipwreck Sites on Greater Detached Reef, Great Barrier Reef

The Queensland Museum (QM) houses the state maritime archaeology collection, including artefacts collected from various shipwrecks within the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. This paper analyses collection material from an unidentified shipwreck (Greater Detached Reef 1) on Greater Detached Reef in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Six copper alloy fastener artefacts are selected and sampled for elemental analyses using a Scanning Electron Microscope to reveal the composition of each. Additionally, the results combined with archaeological analysis of the wreck site and historical records are used to address claims that the unidentified site is the wreck site of Aert van Nes, which wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef in 1854

Shipping metal: Characterisation and provenance study of the copper ingots from the Rochelongue underwater site (Seventh–Sixth century BC), West Languedoc, France

The copper ingots from the underwater site off Rochelongue, near Cap d’Agde, on the coast of West Languedoc, offer an exciting means to investigate coastal mobility and cultural interaction between southern France and the broader western Mediterranean basin in the Early Iron Age. This paper presents the results of elemental and lead isotope analyses of a selection of copper ingots from the Rochelongue site, along with several ingots from the Iberian Peninsula, and for the first time demonstrates that their composition is consistent with Iberian and Alpine metalliferous mineral sources, and possibly some Mediterranean sources as well. The Rochelongue site also speaks to the likely role of indigenous societies of Languedoc in the movement of metals between Atlantic, Continental and Mediterranean circuits. The Rochelongue ingot metal thus provides a window into expansive networks of trade contacts that must be evaluated alongside typological and cultural data.Peer reviewe

Provenance Tracing Using Mother-of-Pearl and the Impact of Button Processing on the Material's Trace Elemental and Isotopic Compositions

International audienc

'They call 'im Crowie': an investigation of the Aboriginal significance attributed to a wrecked River Murray barge in South Australia

The Indigenous intangible heritage related to wrecked vessels has been poorly studied and documented. This article provides a counter to dominant maritime archaeology discourses via the investigation of the Aboriginal significance attributed to a wrecked and submerged RiverMurray barge (Crowie) in South Australia. There are numerous layers of Aboriginal significance that may be attributed to Crowie including the relationship of the community with their 'underwater country', Indigenous contributions to the riverboat industry, and the use of Aboriginal terms in vessel-naming practices. Geophysical data from multibeam and sidescan sonar surveys allowed for confirmation of the proposed location of the wreck and through comparison with historical descriptions and photographs provided evidence to substantiate the assignation of the wreck as the Crowie barge

Van Delft before Cook: the earliest record of substantial culture contact between Indigenous Australians and the Dutch East India Company prior to 1770

This article details the importance of the 1705 Van Delft expedition for the early European history and culture contacts of northern Australia. The expedition sailed from Batavia with three ships under the command of Maarten van Delft and spent nearly three and half months exploring along the north coast of Australia—Tiwi Islands, Cobourg Peninsula and Croker Island. Along the way, they interacted with different groups of Indigenous peoples and possibly collected the cultural material now held in the Dutch National Museum of World Cultures—the earliest known existing cultural material collected from Australia. This article provides a detailed synthesis of Indigenous interactions with the Dutch prior to 1770 and accords the Van Delft expedition its proper significance in terms of the extent and detail of its survey and its importance in ending Dutch colonial interest in Australia. Through detailed analysis of the primary sources for the Van Delft expedition, including cartography, this study demonstrates that the expedition covered parts of the Australian mainland and Croker Island, and that Van Delft’s crews interacted with mainland Indigenous groups as well as Tiwi Islanders

Van Delft Before Cook:The Earliest Record of Substantial Culture Contact Between Indigenous Australians and the Dutch East India Company Prior to 1770

This article details the importance of the 1705 Van Delft expedition for the early European history and culture contacts of northern Australia. The expedition sailed from Batavia with three ships under the command of Maarten van Delft and spent nearly three and half months exploring along the north coast of Australia—Tiwi Islands, Cobourg Peninsula and Croker Island. Along the way, they interacted with different groups of Indigenous peoples and possibly collected the cultural material now held in the Dutch National Museum of World Cultures—the earliest known existing cultural material collected from Australia. This article provides a detailed synthesis of Indigenous interactions with the Dutch prior to 1770 and accords the Van Delft expedition its proper significance in terms of the extent and detail of its survey and its importance in ending Dutch colonial interest in Australia. Through detailed analysis of the primary sources for the Van Delft expedition, including cartography, this study demonstrates that the expedition covered parts of the Australian mainland and Croker Island, and that Van Delft’s crews interacted with mainland Indigenous groups as well as Tiwi Islanders