Skip to Content

SC Institute for Archeology and Anthropology

Avocational Projects

South Carolina sport divers have often gone beyond their initial enjoyment of diving and collecting in South Carolina waterways to a more involved understanding of archaeological sites and artifacts. The Maritime Research Division encourages and assists sport divers in their endeavor to learn more about South Carolina cultural heritage.

Canoe Survey

Information on this project can be found on our Canoes page. 

Cooper River Survey

Information on this project can be found on our Cooper River page under Regional Surveys.

Lithic Analysis

Sport diver Doug Boehme analyses the Native American lithics of a Cooper River dive site and discovers a prehistoric site now submerged.

Georgia Avocational Project

The Division worked with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and a group of sport divers to map a mile-long stretch of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia as part of the first combined advocational/professional underwater archaeology project in the state.

Mepkin Wreck

Please visit our Cooper River Heritage Trail page for information on the Mepkin Wreck.

Plantation Waterfront Artifact Analysis

An anaylisis of the historic ceramics from a plantation in the Combahee River leads to conclusions about the lifestyle of the people that lived there throughout history.

Rudder

Several avocationals and the Division worked together to conserve a 3000 pound rudder brought up by shimpers off Charleston.

Wando River Wreck

Division Archaeologists worked with a few members of the public to investigate a beached wreck on the Wando River.

Willtown Bluff

South Carolina sport divers Drew Ruddy, Steve Howard, and Jim Batey conduct investigations at Willtown Bluff in the Edisto River, South Carolina.

SC Institute for Archeology and Anthropology

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©