The SOA
Database
The creation of a CD-Rom database
of the underwater sites of Turkey was one of the main goals of the
'Shipwrecks of Anatolia' project approved and supported by INA's
Archaeological committee in May 2000. At that time, the results of 30 years
of INA surveys around the Turkish coast were disbursed through a variety
of Turkish and English publications and hand-written
notebooks. The original raison d'ętre of the database was
therefore to consolidate all this information into a computer-based
archive that would be easy to search and update.
The utility of such a compact and versatile research resource to an INA researcher or field survey director was obvious, but since we began putting the database together we have
realized that its potential is far greater still. For a start, we discovered that Turkey, the place where modern underwater archaeology began, has now fallen behind many other European and Mediterranean countries in publicly documenting its underwater sites. Online shipwreck catalogues are so numerous as to require ‘databases of databases,’ and now provide such a quantity of wreck information that it is possible to study the history of seafaring in ways unimaginable just a few decades ago. At once we began to consider how the SOA database could eventually be published online, and redesigned it accordingly.
The
'Shipwrecks of Anatolia' recording system combines several different
databases interrelated through the SOA software created by FileMaker® Pro
Professional Edition. It is designed to be both user-friendly and yet
extremely comprehensive, incorporating shipwrecks, submerged structures,
and isolated finds (loci), as well as information about the SOA project
(dive log and team members). It is our hope that parts of this
database will eventually be available online.
At the moment the SOA software includes the following
databases:
The Shipwreck Database
compiles detailed information about shipwrecks 
discovered during the last three decades of INA archaeological surveys.
Over time, we will add all the shipwrecks found off the Anatolian coast by other
researchers and institutions, with a view to creating the definitive shipwrecks
database for Turkey.
The
fields included in the shipwreck database anticipate the need to record
many different types of information from the shipwrecks of many different
historical periods. While designing the format we visited and compared many
other on-line shipwreck databases in order to provide the most
comprehensive range of data fields possible.
Apart from pictures and videos of the
wrecks in each database entry, we include fields for details such as name, identifier,
date found, depth, cultural context, type of ship, type of cargo,
dating method, location, description, environmental report, historical
comments, references to publications, research diary of work done at the
sight, artifacts recovered, artifact drawings, depositary institution for the artifacts, archive,
etc...
For a complete list of the fields included in the
shipwrecks database click HERE
The Architectural
Structures database in the SOA System is still in the early
stages of development. This part of the database system will record information
about submerged architectural features such as harbor structures, as well
as structures that may have originally been built above sea level but are
now submerged through subsidence.
The
Locus database
will be used for recording information about small isolated sites and
artifacts found during INA surveys. Many
times anchors or amphoras are found without any obvious connection to a shipwreck or archaeological site.
Such isolated finds will simply be recorded as a locus (literally
"place") - a category that can include just about anything that
does not fit into the other databases. The position of each locus
will be recorded with as much accuracy as possible, and a digital picture of the
site/artifact will be taken
underwater with an identification card.
The screen shot on the left is an
example of how an entry in the locus database will look.
The Dive
Log database is maintained by the Diving Safety Officer
(DSO) and includes information about all the individual dives made during the project. The
DSO is also responsible for overseeing the time-keeping and
planning of every dive in conjunction with the Director.
Each diver is responsible for filling in a dive log entry for all of
their dives, recording the profile of the dive and the work accomplished.
At the end of the season, the SOA Dive Log will help us to determine
how safely and effectively we were able to use our time underwater.
The Team Members database
contains basic information about people working on or visiting the SOA project,
including e-mail, address, telephone numbers, etc. For
those with an active role in the project (archaeologist, divers, etc) contact and medical information and other details are also included.
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