Belfast Area High School students in the Belfast Marine Institute class marine studies recently visited the foreshore shipwreck on the Passagassawakeag River in Belfast as part of their Maritime Archaeology unit. It was the first opportunity to make use of the BMI's new tool the JW Fisher SAR-1 underwater metal detector.

Students used it to locate metal ship spikes in the stringers and keel of the vessel. They also examined the wooden ship parts for signs of saw marks and other datable indications. Each had to form a hypothesis for the following questions and then provide evidence that they saw, collected, measured and recorded. What kind of vessel was it? What was it used for? How old was the vessel? What happened to it?

Students will complete a scale drawing of the site and collaborate on refining their hypotheses.