Ship Reconstruction, Documentation, and In Situ Recording

The objective of recording the excavated shipwreck is to provide a basis for reconstructing the ship from the archaeological findings. This article describes two projects, carried out between 1985 and 2009, that demonstrate shallow-water excavation methods and the treatment of shipwrecks, employed in Ma'agan Mikhael ship and the shipwrecks in Dor lagoon. The process of excavating, documenting, analyzing, and reconstructing the original form and construction of a shipwreck is different in each case, although the general principles are common. Proper archaeology-delicate excavation, recording, measuring, and photographing-becomes tricky and complicated and must be done fast, professionally, and efficiently. The shipwreck provides details about construction, trading route, place of wreck, and the cargo gives information on trading of the period.