Exciting news! It sounds like one of my really good friends, who happens to be my favorite diving buddy, and I are going to go on an Australia SCUBA trip early next fall! We are referred to by our favorite divemaster as Pinky and the Brain because I wore pink tanks during our first weekend of open water diving, and she actually read the book and knows what is going on (and thus keeps me alive).

Anyways, I will be relying on her brain power, because we will be diving a wreck for the first time, and who knows what kind of trouble I will get in while swimming in and around a shipwreck 60′ below the surface.

This niche subfield of archaeology (nautical or maritime archaeology) has captivated me since I first started taking archaeology courses, and though I don’t plan on continuing on in archaeology, I really hope to take a field school at some point.

Recently maritime archaeologists made headlines when they made claims to have found Christopher Columbus’ flagship the Santa Maria. They were able to use a combination of unique ship identifiers and journal entries from Columbus himself to narrow down the location. Like what?!? So cool. I have a feeling maritime archaeologists are just getting warmed up, and have a few more amazing finds coming soon to a journal article near you.