Modelling Methodologies for Site Management and Preservation Assessment: A Post-WW2 Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Case Study in the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Modelling Methodologies for Site Management and Preservation Assessment: A Post-WW2 Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Case Study in the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Ships built in the modern era often have corresponding construction plans, available in various archival repositories. Using such plans, pre-survey site modeling in the CAD-based Rhinoceros software program offers researchers an opportunity to gain detailed knowledge of a vessel-of-interest before an archaeological site investigation commences. This may be particularly important where shipwreck site reconnaissance opportunities are limited or non-existent. The ECU Program in Maritime Studies 2019 Fall Field School aimed to record and assess the remains of a post-WW2 Landing Craft Utility (LCU-1466 class) wrecked in Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Using a 3D model developed from the builder’s plans for the vessel as a baseline to visualize the shipwreck, field school participants gathered supplemental data to track deterioration or modifications on the shipwreck in the form of photogrammetric field assessment (e.g., in Agisoft Metashape) and hand-drawn measurements uploaded to Adobe Illustrator. This presentation will discuss the various recording and modeling methodologies employed during the field school in relation to understanding manufacturing processes, quantifying design deviations during construction, determining if field-expedient modifications exist, charting use-life alterations, gauging the impacts of post-wrecking site formation processes, along with creating 3D and/or 2D visualizations to enhance continued site assessment and community outreach efforts.

Nathan Richards

Jeremy Borrelli

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology

November 2021

Richards, Nathan, and Jeremy Borrelli. 2021. “Modelling Methodologies for Site Management and Preservation
Assessment: A Post-WW2 Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Case Study in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.” Edited by
Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia Pacific
Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021. The
Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/685

Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage