Famous and Forgotten Shipwrecks of the Jersey Shore: An Archaeological Odyssey

The treacherous Jersey shore has been the untimely grave of thousands of seafaring vessels. 

This well-illustrated presentation examines a select group of New Jersey ships and shipwrecks reflecting the importance of maritime transportation to the history of the state.  An eclectic range of vessels is examined, from Native American dugout canoes, to colonial privateers, a Durham boat, Civil War submarine, and 20th-century ocean liners.  Shipwrecks and the artifacts found in them are time capsules of history that reveal important themes that have shaped our state and nation’s history.

Presenter Richard Veit is Associate Dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at Monmouth University. His research focuses on historical archaeology in the Middle Atlantic region from the late 17 th through 19th centuries. He has published widely on gravemarkers and commemoration, military sites archaeology, and Native Americans in the Northeast.

He has conducted fieldwork at several significant historic sites including Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze, the Philadelphia Lazaretto, Raritan Landing, Sandy Hook Lighthouse, and Morristown National Historical Park. He has also participated in fieldwork in Puerto Rico, India, Ireland, and Jamaica. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and reviews and seven scholarly books. Two of his books, Digging New Jersey’s Past and New Jersey: A History of the Garden State are listed on the New Jersey State library’s 101 Great New Jersey books list. He is President Elect of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Chair of the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology, and serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the New Jersey Historical Commission. His research has been featured in PBS documentaries, on NPR’s academic minute, and in Archaeology Magazine and he has been a TED speaker.

No registration is required to attend this program, and it is made possible with the support of The Friends of the Livingston Public Library.