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Underwater activity is almost completed for the 1999 season, as we wrap up our
project in Alexandria. For the next few months, our work will continue on land
as we:
- study the material from our September/October mission in the East Port of
Alexandria, supported by our network of experts;
- work on the interesting results of the electronic survey we have performed
in the west part of the East Port of Alexandria;
- conduct archive research on potential future projects;
- continue working on our forthcoming scientific publications;
- discuss future archaeological plans with relevant governments; and,
- work with Discovery Communications in the U.S. and Canal+ in France on
television and other media projects for the coming year.
When
the new year begins, several exciting projects will lie before us.
First
on the agenda will be the evaluation of a potential site of an ancient
Chinese Junk in the Philippines. If we decide to go ahead with an
archaeological excavation, this will be the sixth Junk that our team would have
excavated.
From April through June, our team will return to the Bay of
Aboukir, Egypt. Here we will:
- resume our excavation on the Orient, flagship of site of Napoleon
Bonaparte's fleet; and,
- start excavating on a site where we have located submerged ruins during our
earlier electronic survey of the Bay.
During the same period, a
second team will continue the electronic survey and exploration at our Caribbean
location, where we are searching for a galleon of great historical
significance. An exhaustive scientific inventory of archaeological sites in the
area awaits our return. We cannot be more specific about this expedition now.
But we will certainly keep you posted.
Of course, we will continue our
work in the East Port of Alexandria. Precise goals and priorities will be
set for the fall exploration window once we have had the opportunity to fully
assess the discoveries of our 1999 mission.
And finally, we are looking
forward in 2000 to the broadcast of our third Discovery Channel Television
Special. This program will focus on a very deep archaeological excavation we
performed this past spring in the Far East. Our target was a ship that played a
key role in the 18th Century in the British East India Company's effort to
establish a post for trade with China. The program will feature state-of-the-art
underwater excavation, thanks to the most recent diving equipment and
technologies. This telecast will reveal an exciting discovery not yet made
public.
So, the year 2000 promises to bring exciting developments and
discoveries from Society expeditions and projects. Visit the Society site often
for the latest news.
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