| Project Description |
Rhode Island patriots attacked and burned HMS Gaspee in 1772 in response to increasing British interference in local trade. RIMAP began a study of this area in 2015, starting with two 19th-century vessels in the area. As part of its citizen scientist training program, the teams documented the current conditions and natural destruction of these sites. For the 250th anniversary of the burning of the Gaspee, local businesses and individuals supported RIMAP’s conclusive study of the spit where the vessel was known to have gone aground and was burned. RIMAP assembled experts to conduct the side scan sonar, sub bottom, and magnetometry surveys of the area in 2021-2. RIMAP volunteer divers ground-truthed the targets generated by those data in 2021-3 and the RIMAP land team volunteers established a research station on the nearby shore to manage the related shallow-water and land-side investigation. This effort was promoted as an opportunity for the public to observe the archaeological teams at work. Multiple presentations, publications, and a video document the various phases of this project, and RIMAP created an exhibit at the Warwick Public Library about its studies at Gaspee Point.
On the advice of the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) coordinates are redacted. |
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