MMT Contributes to Wreck Mapping and Research
MMT is participating in and sponsoring the investigation on the 530-year-old wreck Gribshunden outside Ronneby, Sweden. MMT and MARIS (the Maritime Archaeological Research Institute) at Södertörn University have evaluated different techniques to map archaeological remains. MMTs former survey vessel Triad mapped the wreck site of Gribshunden with multibeam echo sounders and used a Blue View 3D sonar scanner on a stand next to the wreckage.
This method provides a high resolution 3D model and an excellent overview of the wreck and surrounding area. Photographic material has now been gathered in order to build photogrammetry of the wreck site. The data will be processed by MMT and the different techniques will be combined to create an accurate and high resolution image of the wreck site.
The Gribshunden project was similar to other wreck investigations such as the Baltic Sea on Mars, Lost Landscapes and Traveling Man.
The commercial version of this kind of survey, using the still imagery for photogrammetry, was introduced with the new Survey ROV – Surveyor Interceptor (SROV). MMT developed this high speed Survey ROV together with their Norwegian partners Reach Subsea. The combination of the SROV and the photogrammetry delivers amazing results in commercial contexts. All data collected on Gribshunden will serve as a foundation for planning future excavations.
This year, the research vessel Svanen was used. This is a 10m long catamaran, equipped with the mapping technology and expertise from MMT, and the vessel is financed by the main owner of MMT (Carl Douglas) in order to support coastal archeology and technology development.
The regional museums, Blekinge museum and Kalmar läns museum, are local partners in the Gribshunden excavations.
Image: Johan Rönnby from MARIS takes a picture of Professor Jonathan Adams when he signs the galeons figure. Image courtesy: MARIS.
