A warm saltwater inland spring
Water temps in the 87 F /31 C range
Max depth of site in excess of 150 fsw
Max depth of the project work 80-100 fsw
Location is south of Tampa Florida
Visibility - averages 50 to 70 feet
Dates: We will commence diving operations in early Sept and continue until phase 1 is completed.
Operational details - This site has previously given up Paleo Indian and other pre-historic remains (dated at 10 - 11,000 yrs old) and it is believed to contain additional items of potential historical importance including significant fossilized remains. We are seeking volunteer divers to assist with the sub-surface removal of overburden at the site. We will be removing build up that has covered the wall over the last 20 plus years (since last dive operations were concluded). This a strictly volunteer opportunity and we anticipate that it will be limited to a maximum of 12 to 14 volunteer divers. Training will be provided, divers will be recognized for their contributions and divers are free to discuss/post their experiences while on the site, with minimal limitations.
Dive Qualifications Required - We will consider any diver with an advanced open water certification that includes training as a deep diver and nitrox diver. Although vis at the site is generally good, some operations may cause limited visibility, so a night/limited visibility or cave/technical wreck certification is recommended but not required. All participants will receive training in underwater archeological technique and c-cards will be available upon request.
To apply please send your diving qualifications and any other pertinent qualifications to volunteerdiver@seaduction.com . We will get back to you as soon as possible.
WE HAVE ADDED THE APPLICATION TO THIS POST - PLEASE DOWNLOAD IT AND RETURN IT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS ABOVE.
Hello All, Please note that all schedules and communications for this project will be posted at the seaduction.com forum under events/archeological project (this location)
That is also a great location to communicate with the project coordinators for anything that can be said publicly. Private comms should come through this email. You will need to sign on and get an ID in order to post – it is free.
If you are on the volunteer list you should have received this email with an attached application today. If you did not receive it and you believe you have requested to particiapte, please check your spam box and/or resend us you email.
Thanks, Mike A
Hello All,
I am attaching an application that I need to get everyone to fill out for the project. It is in a word document and saved as word 2003 so everyone should be able to open it. Please fill out the form and return it to this email address with APPLICATION in the subject line. The form can be typed in word or printed NEATLY, scanned and emailed as a pdf. If there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact Mike Ange at this address or via phone at XXX XXX XXXX.
We will start diving operations on 16 Sept. The dive schedule will be as follows:
Afternoons - underwater work
Dive set up at 1500 hrs daily
Divers in the water when the park closes at exactly 1700 hrs
3 to 4 hours of dive time
Closing operations daily shortly after dark.
Mornings - photos and videos of the work completion:
0700 on site
0800 divers in the water
1000 U/W photo/video work completed and files downloaded for upload to internet.
Posting as soon as possible.
The project site is warm mineral springs in North Port Florida
The closest hotel is Warm Mineral Springs hotel - a throw back to the 1950's roadside hotels but clean and kind of a neat place to stay.
The project site is open to swimmers/waders daily and our work schedules are set to work around those folks - esp video schedules. We will shoot before they silt up the water.
We can only accomodate about 8 divers per day and smaller numbers are better. Please send us the specific dates that you are available and would like to participate.
confirmation of skeletons on protected sites we located on 3 & 4 Sept
During the dives on Labor Day Weekend we identified a number of target sites that had been protected by plastic sheeting and other precautions. I spoke with a diver this morning who had direct knowledge of the previous projects that took place at the site 20 + years ago. He confirms that each of these sites contains skeletal remains and that in the past these included some human remains. Gives that mystical fog like swirling we saw in the water a whole new feel!!
We are modifying the method of removal due to the amount of silt covering these targets. I hope to have the new plan and potentially a new schedule by Wednesday. We will update the forum as new developments occur.
Hello All,
We are trying to move all updates to here with a few snippets on face book to let people know we have posted.
We have been diving the site and surveying the scope of work where we found a few surprises.
We had fairly good estimates of what to expect with sediments and siltation over the specific sites within the spring that had been previously identified during the projects in the 70's - early 90's. However, that was based upon a natural development and errosion estimation. Now for reality, in a move of astounding - well something not politically correct - the previous owner dumped multiple truck loads of sand into the spring in order to provide a soft bottom wading area for swimmers. This process was repeated a number of times over the years and naturally the sand migrated toward the bottom with the underwater shelves that contain the artifacts catching most of the sediment. So the overburden on the site is magnitudes deeper than anticipated and it would be irresponsible to simply brush it to deeper depths as originally discussed. Enter plan B - we plan to utilize air lift devices reminiscent of what you have seen treasure hunters using on TV to remove the sediment from the spring. In an effort to be as enviromentally conscious as possible we have identified some errosion areas on the propery and we plan, upon approval, to use the sediments to try and refill/reclaim these areas.
We will be fitting the air lifts with suction end strainers and running the sediments through a catch device (sluice box) to provide multiple layers of insurance towards preventing the loss of any important artifacts. This will also have the effect of leaving the rocks in the spring and moving only sedimentation.
Schedule - We want to schedule an orientation meeting for potential volunteers ASAP. Towards that goal I need to know how many of you would be available on 18 Sept 2010 at around 3 to 5 pm. The meeting will be held in Warm Mineral Springs. We would like to have as many people as possible attend but realize that some of the volunteers will not be able to make it. We will work with those that cannot. Please RSVP by posting a reply to this post. Once you have your free ID you can also subscribe to the thread so that post get sent directly to your email. If there are any issues you can contact me via PM, email or phone. All that info is on my user profile except phone which you received with your application package. I cannot post the phone number here on the open forum for the obvious reasons - but if you do not have my number and need it PM me and I will send it to you.
I'll make myself available as necessary.. just not available 9/21-23. Sat 9/18 is fine.
Other than that, my parents live nearby in Punta Gorda. I'd prefer it if we can maximize my days working 'full-time' during my visits there... Perhaps 4-7 days at a time, but again, I'll make myself available as needed for day and evening dives.
Volunteer Divers for Archaeological Project
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