Current & Past Research Projects
Archaeological Guide for the UNESCO Scientific Advisory Board (STAB) – June 2015 – Guided the STAB Team in Madagascar to evaluate archaeological underwater cultural resources on Sainte-Marie Island, northeast of Madagascar, and to assess the claim that Capt. Kidd’s Adventure Galley had been found.
St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) – Summer 2014 – Teamed up with LAMP to conduct remote sensing surveys and search for the 1565 Ribault Fleet north of Cape Canaveral.
Université de La Rochelle & Musée du Nouveau Monde, La Rochelle (southwestern France) – May 2011 to January 2013 - Co-organizer of a landmark exhibition celebrating the 450th anniversary of the three French expeditions to Florida of 1562, 1564, and 1565, that opened in La Rochelle on 25 September 2012, Co-editor of a scholarly publication on the same above subject published on 18 September 2012.
Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc / Research Contract for United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – September 2008 to September 2010 – Carrying out archival research in repositories in Spain (September-October 2008), France (March-April 2009), for the Investigation for Potential Spanish Shipwrecks in Ultra-Deep Water (M08PC20030). Transcription, translation, and interpretation of relevant manuscript documents found in the abovementioned repositories. Report Archival Investigation for Potential Colonial-Era Shipwrecks in Ultra-Deepwater within the Gulf of Mexico, published in June 2011.
National Geographic Society & Arts and Exhibitions International – December 2006 to May 25, 2007 – “True Pirates” Exhibit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mission/real-pirates/ (Premiere/opening Friday, June 29, 2007); Consultant, in charge of supervising conservation, selection, assemblage, and archaeological description of all artifacts for the National Geographic Society’s traveling exhibit “Real Pirates.”
Texas Historical Commission, Austin, Texas – 1996-1998 - Historical archaeologist and principal archival investigator for the La Salle Shipwreck Project. In July 1995, a team of researchers led by the Texas Historical Commission made one of the most remarkable underwater archaeological discoveries in decades; a 300-year-old shipwreck, the Belle, once belonging to famous French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. Texas State Marine Archaeologist Barto Arnold has hailed this discovery as “the earliest and most significant French vessel found in this hemisphere.” The shipwreck located in Matagorda Bay, 110 miles north of Corpus Christi, Texas, has been fully excavated and dismantled (March 1997), and the hull remains and artifacts that underwent conservation and analysis at Texas A&M University, are now on display in the State Museum in Austin, Texas. Artifact identification and analysis and translation and interpretation of manuscript documents were conducted through 2007. Archival research took place in various French repositories.
Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University – July 2001 to present - (ongoing research project) Conducting archival research in Cuban archives, such as the Archivo Nacional de Cuba and the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, both in Havana, aimed at uncovering historical data pertaining to the blockade runner Denbigh (1865), sunk off Galveston, Texas, and excavated by a team of archaeologists from INA. Additional research was conducted in Spanish and French archival repositories.
Ships of Discovery, Corpus Christi Museum of Science & History, Corpus Christi, Texas –1993 to present - Discovery-period shipwreck site surveys and evaluation, artifact identification; Spanish colonial period shipwreck site assessment; Historical and archival research on ships of discovery (1492-1520); discovery period cartographic research; liaison with French maritime archaeologists, historians and archivists.
Turks and Caicos National Museum, Turks & Caicos Islands, B.W.I. – 1993 to 2002. Conducting archival research on behalf of the Turks & Caicos National Museum in French archival repositories since 1993. Wrote three major reports on the early history and cartography of those islands. Archival research was conducted at the Archives nationales de France, Paris, in April 2000.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida – 1995 to present - Research Associate, archaeological excavation of Taino Indian site on Ile-à-Rat, off the north coats of Haiti, under the direction of Professor William F. Keegan, Co-Chair, Anthropology Department, Florida Museum of Natural History. Projects funded by the Heinz Foundation (June 1997), and the American Philosophical society (February 1996, June 1996). Research Associate for archaeological reconnaissance on the north coast of Haiti, under the direction of Professor William F. Keegan, Chair, Anthropology Department, Florida Museum of Natural History. Project funded by the Center for Historical Archaeology (May 1995); on-going archaeological surveys of historic and pre-historic site, north coast of Haiti and the Bahamas.
Pan-American Consultants, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee – February 2002. Conducting archival research in Cuban archives, such as the Archivo Nacional de Cuba and the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, both in Havana, aimed at uncovering historical data pertaining to the steamer Manuela, a Cuban-owned ship that was sunk at the mouth of the harbor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1898, to prevent American ships from entering the harbor. Archaeologists from Panamerican Consultants, Inc. have excavated the wreck of the Manuela as well as the wreck of the Cristobal Colón, a Puerto Rican steamer scuttled alongside the Manuela.
Cayman Islands National Archive, Cayman Islands, B.W.I. – 1997 to 2003. Conducted archival research on behalf of the Cayman Islands National Archive in French repositories and Spanish Repositories. Located and identified the oldest known nautical chart (1530) bearing the name Cayman for those islands. Additional research was conducted in the Archivo General de Indias, Seville, Spain; Archivo General de Simancas, Valladolid, Spain; the archives of the port-city of Nantes (Archives Départementales de Loire-Atlantique), France; and in Archives nationales de France, Paris, yielding valuable historical data.
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Underwater Archaeology Unit – 1999, ongoing archival research in French archives on Site 0003BUI, suspected of being the wreck of Blackbeard’s (Howard Teach) Queen Anne’s Revenge (1718). The research is aimed at determining if the pirate ship Queen Anne’s Revenge was the French slaver la Concorde, from Nantes, Captain Pierre Dosset, captured by pirates near St. Vincent in November 1717.
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida – Identification of 18th -century cannon found on the wreck site of a suspected 18th-century English ship, in Kingstown Harbour, Island of St. Vincent, British West Indies, and conducted archival research aimed at identifying the wreck.
HAI/95/010 - «Route 2004» - 1998 to 2004 - Consulting and archaeological field work on the northeast coast of Haiti under the auspices of the Haitian Ministry of Culture, the United Nations Project Development (UNPD), and the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO). The Project was aimed at identifying, investigating, and protecting terrestrial and submerged archaeological sites. Among the goals of «Route 2004» Project are to resume partial excavation of the port town of Puerto Real (established in 1503), resume excavations at the En Bas Saline site to determine if it represents the village of Guacanagaric, the Taino cacique who greeted and provided shelter to Christopher Columbus and his men following the grounding of Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, attempt to locate the site of La Navidad and the wreck site of the Santa Maria, and establish an inventory of submerged cultural resources from the Baie de l’Acul, just west of Cape-Haitian, to the Dominican Republic border.
National Geographic Society – 1997 -Historical Consultant for National Geographic Magazine’s Editorial Staff on La Salle Last Voyage article in the May 1997 issue of the magazine. The article focused on the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle’s ill-fated expedition to the Gulf region, his failed attempt to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River and establish a colony there, and on the historic discovery and excavation of his ship in Matagorda Bay, Texas, the La Belle, by the Texas Historical Commission. Responsibilities included checking for accuracy in artwork depiction of time-period clothing, weapons and tools, and accuracy in historical facts, dates, and spelling of La Salle’s expedition members.
National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines – 1993-1995. Conducted research on behalf of the National Museum of the Philippines in French archival repositories, aimed at establishing the level of interest France had in the Philippines during the latter part of the XVIIIth-century, as well as arriving at a better understanding of French naval presence and maritime traffic in the region. Fieldwork: site evaluation and dating of shipwrecks on Panagatan Cays, Semirara Islands, Philippines.
Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de Venezuela – 1998-1999. Conducted and supervised underwater archaeological survey of the Aves Islands, 90 nautical miles off shore the coast of Venezuela, aimed at assessing the submerged cultural resources of the archipelago.
Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de Ecuador – March–May 1997 -Officially identified the wreck of the Jesús María de la Limpia Concepción, also known as la Capitana, which Left Callao, Peru, on 18 October 1654, subsequently lost off Chanduy Reef, Ecuador, on the 27th of October 1654. The sinking of the Capitana represented one of Spain’s biggest losses in the New World. The vast majority of the precious cargo was eventually salvaged by the Spanish Crown, and through subsequent salvage operations, both official and illicit. Identification process involved in situ recording and analysis of cultural material, and archival research at the Archivo General de Indias (AGI), in Seville, and Archivo General de Simancas (AGS), Valladolid, Spain.
ACCREDITED READER:
Archives Départementales de la Charente-Maritime, La Rochelle, France.
Archives Départementales de la Gironde, Bordeaux, France.
Archives Départementales de Loire-Atlantique, Nantes, France
Archives Diplomatiques, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Paris, France
Archives du Musée de la Marine, Paris, France
Archives Nationales, Paris, France
Archives de la ville de Paris, Paris, France
Archives du Port de Rochefort, Rochefort, France
Archivo General de Indias (AGI), Seville, Spain
Archivo General de Simancas (AGS), Simancas (Valladolid), Spain
Archivo Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba
Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, Havana, Cuba
Biblioteca del Instituto de Literatura y Lingüística, Havana, Cuba
Bibliothèque des Fontaines (Jesuit Archives), Chantilly, France
Bibliothèque Forney, Paris, France
Bibliothèque Mazarine, Paris, France
Bibliothèque du Musée Condé, Institut de France, Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, France
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), Paris, France
Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer, Aix-en-Provence, France
The British Library, London, United Kingdom
The British Naval Record Office, London, United Kingdom
The Imperial War Museum, London, United Kingdom
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
The New York Public Library, New York, NY
The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, NY
The Public Record Office (PRO)/National Archive, Kew, United Kingdom
Service Historique de la Marine, Vincennes, France
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member of the Florida Archaeological Council
Member of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Williamsburg, Virginia
Member of the Nautical Archaeology Society, Skipton, United Kingdom
Former Member of the Florida Department of State Reserve Area Task Force since February 1990. Appointed by the Secretary of State, advises the Secretary of State on State Policy and Procedures regarding the establishment and management of underwater archaeological reserves, and the management and protection of Florida’s offshore cultural resources..
Member of the Hakluyt Society, London, United Kingdom.
Member of the Ordnance Society, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Fellow of the New York Explorers Club of New York, New York (FN 1990).