Down to the Wreck: Revising a Report on Underwater Archaeology

Mireille's Draft: The Scientist Who Works Underwater

1Dr. Anouk Brandt visited our class on Tuesday. She is an underwater archaeologist. She studies old shipwrecks. Her job is to learn about the past from the things people left behind on the seafloor. Her eyes lit up when she talked about her work. She showed us photos, maps, and a diving mask with a scratched glass front.

2Before a dive, the team often lays a grid over the wreck. The grid is made of plastic pipes. The grid divides the wreck into squares. Divers can then record exactly which square each object came from. Later, the squares help the team put together a map of the whole ship.

3Divers do not just grab things. In my opinion I think that the most important part of the job is the careful measuring and the careful drawing that the divers do. Each diver carries a slate and a special pencil that can write underwater. They sketch what they see before anything is moved.

4Some objects come up to the surface. Dr. Brandt showed us a photo of a wooden pulley from the ship's ropes. The pulley was dark brown and soft, almost like a wet sponge. It had been under the sea for a very long time. When a wooden object comes out of the sea, it can crack if it dries too fast. So the team soaks it in fresh water for weeks or even months, and it is soaked to slowly wash the salt away.

5Not everything leaves the seafloor. Dr. Brandt said a wreck is like a page from a history book that only divers can read. Taking every piece away would tear the page apart. That is why her team often leaves a wreck where it is and works to protect it. Many wrecks also become homes for fish and crabs.

6I want to be an archaeologist. I want to explore wrecks. I would study them carefully, just like Dr. Brandt.