Synthetic ap erture sonar image ofthe collided coal schooners Frank A. Palmer and Lo uise B. C rary.
burned and sank after leaving port on Friday the 13'h, 19 13; the eastern rig dragger fis hing vessels Jojfre and Edna G, and the granite schooner Lamartine. The san ctuary's shipwrecks are tangible links to o ur pas t and provide a glimpse into our ancesto rs' lives through the vessels and smaller artifac ts that n ow reside o n th e sea floo r. At the time of th e sanctuary's designation, the number and signifi can ce of historic shipwrecks in the area was no t fully understood or recognized. It was not until 2000 that NOAA staff began to actively inves tigate the h isto ric reso urces residing in the Stellwage n Bank National Marine Sanctuary. For the pas t rwelve yea rs, N OAA m ari time archaeologists h ave used side scan and synthetic aperture sonar, m agn etometers, rem o tely o perated and auton om ous vehicles, and SCUBA divers to catalog and interpret the region's maritime landscape. Researchers have located fi fty shipwrecks to date, ranging from nineteenth-century schooners to m odern fi shing vessels. Archival sources indicate that at least ano ther rwo hundred await discovery. The sanctuary affords historical reso urces protection unavailable in other federal waters off Massachusetts. Sanctuary regulations pro hibit
An archaeologist explores the wreck ofthe fishing vessel No rth Star, one ofseveral vessels resting on the bottom ofStellwagen Bank in water shallow enough fo r divers to explore.
m oving, rem oving, or injuring- including even any attempts to m ove- any sanctuary historical reso urce, including artifacts and pieces fro m shipwrecks. The Stellwagen Bank National M arine Sanctuary's collection of m ari time heritage stories represents a vibrant part of o ur natio n's connection to the ocean . Acco unts of War of 181 2 sea battles in Massachusetts Bay and rum runners anchored on Stellwagen Bank during Prohibition are examples of how m aritime heritage has shaped o ur pas t and to uched millions of lives . Members of the public can discover their connection to the sanctuary's m aritime heritage by visiting its waters firsthand to watch wh ales, fis h , or SCUBA dive on a shipwreck. Visitors can also experience the san ctuary while rem aining o n dry land, th ro ugh interactive exhibits at Maritime G loucester or the New England Aquarium. Virtual visitors can learn abo ut the sanctuary by brows ing its website at http: //s tellwage n.noaa.gov, and stay in to uch by "friending" the sanctuary on Face book. ,t D eborah E. Marx is a maritime archaeologist with NOAAs Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate, M assachusetts. She is a graduate of East Carolina Universitys Program in M aritime Studies. For more about our National Marine Sanctuaries, see http:!! sanctuaries. noaa.gov/.
(above) SS Portland in 1891; (right) dishware from the Portland's galley is a haunting reminder of the nearly 2 00 lives lost when the ship sank in 1898.
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