Piotr Bojakowski

Research Interests

Specialty:

Dr. Bojakowski earned his PhD in Anthropology in 2012 and joined Texas A&M University’s Anthropology Department in 2022. He specializes in early modern nautical and underwater archaeology, shipbuilding and hull reconstruction, material culture studies through artifacts, and the maritime history of the Atlantic World from the 16th to 18th centuries. His research incorporates GIS and remote sensing technologies, laser scanning, 3D modeling and data visualization, satellite and aerial imagery, and geophysical data acquired with drones and AUVs.

Dr. Bojakowski also focuses on historical and conflict archaeology related to battlefields, both underwater and terrestrial, particularly those associated with unaccounted-for US service members. He has participated in over thirty surveys, excavations, and field research projects across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, North America, and Southeast Asia. He directs the J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory, a premier research facility within Texas A&M’s Nautical Archaeology Program.

Current Research Projects:

Survey of the Cape Ratac Wreck, Koločep Channel, Croatia (17th-cetury)

This recent research project is a survey of an early 17th-century shipwreck in the shallow Koločep Channel, just outside the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Originally discovered in 1997, this ordinary merchantman sank with a precious cargo of Venetian glass from the Murano workshops destined for the Ottoman markets. The survey identified only the most exposed areas of the site, where the glass, ceramics, cannon, shipboard items, and ship timbers were still well-preserved under a thin layer of sand and silt of the bottom sediment. Collectively, this diverse assemblage of luxury stemware, flasks, vases, tubular lamps, and an assortment of windowpanes tells a fascinating story of the interconnectivity of the Christian and Islamic worlds and the mutual influence on ideas, art, and social and political life. The goal of this initial pre-disturbance survey was not only to map the site at its current state and evaluate the extent and range of the visible cultural material, but also to formulate detailed plans for potential future full-scale systematic excavation effort. The overarching aim of this project is to excavate and study the structure of the shipwreck and its historically and artistically significant collection of cargo, and shed new light on the fascinating world of Renaissance glass production, transportation, and consumption.

Zanzibar Ship Ethnography Project (19th to 20th century)

Dhows are the quintessential watercraft of the Indian Ocean and are constructed in a variety of ways along its littoral. This new interdisciplinary collaborative project aims at recording how dhows are designed and built in the present in Zanzibar. This involves not merely recording the construction process from start to finish, but also an examination of the rigging, ship’s hardware, and supply networks that circulate shipbuilding materials across this region of the Western Indian Ocean. In particular, the manufacture of nails used to fasten planks, the production of coir rope for rigging, and fabric for the sail is recorded, as these have remained relatively unchanged over centuries. The study of artisanal shipbuilding practices has relevance for the study of shipwrecks and historic shipbuilding in the region. This project also has anthropological significance in its study of supply networks and in its recording of the gendered divisions of labor involved in the construction of different components of vessels.

Equator Project (later 19th century)

The small schooner Equator, which is the focus of this research, was built by one of the most prolific California shipwright Matthew Turner in 1888. Throughout its extensive career, it was first chartered by Robert L. Stevenson for his voyage to the South Pacific. Stevenson’s party sailed for the Gilbert Islands, including Butaritari, Marakei, Abaiang, and Abemama, and later for Samoan Islands and the port of Apia. It was subtle of the author to use events from the Equator cruise in his book In the South Seas as well as in many letters, articles, and short stories from the voyage. It was also during the party’s stay on Abemama that Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne started writing The Wrecker, published in 1892. The life of the Equator did not stop there. The ship remained a Pacific trader until the end of the 19^th century. It returned to the West Coast of the United States and was employed as a copra trader to South America, a steam tender for the Alaskan salmon canneries, a diesel survey vessel for NOAA, and finally as a tugboat in the Puget Sound, Washington where it was eventually discarded in 1956. Today, the many lives of the Equator demonstrate how traditionally built wooden hulls were often rebuilt and adapted to new purposes as economic forces transformed the maritime trading environment in the Pacific at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Although the vessel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is dry-docked in the Port of Everett, Washington and has never been systematically recorded or analyzed. Through the lens of Stevenson’s novels and his flamboyant travel stories, the Equator must be seen as one of many unique but largely unexplored wrecks of the Pacific Northwest that have the potential to be rediscovered and to connect local communities with their rich maritime heritage. The project also represents a continuation of our previous interests in American shipbuilding tradition but moves into important new direction by exploring this well-preserved shipwreck, its construction details and craftsmanship, wood used, and hull characteristics to create educational programming, a long-term stewardship plan, and innovative museum exhibit.

Warwick Project (early 17th century)

The Warwick Project, a collaborative effort between the National Museum of Bermuda (NMB), the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), Texas A&M University, and the University of Southampton (UK), stands as one of my most significant research endeavors. Initially, the project focused on excavating the hull remains and artifacts from the Warwick, a ship that sank in Castle Harbour, Bermuda, during the hurricane of 1619. Although the site was excavated between 2010 and 2012, the final field season revealed evidence of artifacts scattered further into the bay.

Upon completing the Warwick Project, the aim is to continue my research on post-medieval seafaring in the Atlantic World, concentrating on Northern Europe, Bermuda, and the eastern shores of North and South America. This research program will delve into themes of technological change, geographic expansion, mercantilism, and hegemony during the Early Modern era. I plan to analyze wood samples from three 17th-century English shipwrecks: Warwick, Sea Venture, and Eagle. This project will offer a unique perspective on English ships used for trans-Atlantic trade and the colonization of North America.

Western Ledge Reef Wreck Project (late 16th century)

The Western Ledge Reef Wreck Project, which formed the basis of my dissertation, involved the post-excavation analysis of a late 16th-century Iberian shipwreck and its associated artifacts in Bermuda. My research into the vessel’s design methods revealed a connection between the unempirical, intuitive style of late medieval shipwrights and the geometrically and scientifically grounded Renaissance philosophy. This work illustrated how Spanish ships were designed, built, and utilized as powerful vehicles linking both sides of the Atlantic. With the manuscript now complete, I am currently expanding my research to include an in-depth analysis of the 16th- and 17th-century cultural materials excavated from the site, which collectively tell the story of the people who embarked on this ill-fated voyage.

Emerald Bay Project (19th century)

The Emerald Bay Project was a collaboration between the University of California, San Diego and the Center for Interdisciplinary Science of Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3), and California State Parks. This multi-disciplinary project aimed at post-excavation assessment of two 19^th-century submerged barges located in Emerald Bay along the south-west shore of Lake Tahoe. The goal of the project was to support cultural monitoring, testing, and development of digital technologies, 3D recording methods, and Structure from Motion (SfM) for historic preservation as applied to the underwater environment. Today, these barges are part of an interpreted shipwreck trail within the California State Parks system. While SfM, the process of turning two dimensional digital images into a three-dimensional digital model, has emerged as a widely used tool for underwater archaeological research. The Emerald Bay Project was featured in a peer-reviewed article comparing the efficacy of Direct Survey Measurement (DSM) and Structure from Motion (SfM) in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology in July 2015. As cultural monitoring of shipwrecks via digital means is becoming ever more important, I want to take this project a step further. My goal is to take what I have learned and apply it to cultural monitoring of the entire underwater battlefield at places like Pearl Harbor Memorial.