Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project
© RIMAP 2023
RIMAP Divers preparing to dive in Newport Harbor.
The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) was created in 1992 to include members of the diving and non-diving public in a professionally organized and directed effort to study Rhode Island's maritime history and marine archaeology. RIMAP is a federally approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with an interest in the maritime history and marine archaeology of Narragansett Bay, the Sounds, the state's rivers and other inland waters, and how all of these connect Rhode Island to the wider world.
We are very proud of our work, and each year our fundraising efforts are reinvested into ongoing research, marine archaeology and delivering and developing education and outreach programs to help inform the public about this rich area of cultural heritage.
What is Marine Archaeology?
Marine archaeology is the study of the history and material remains of people and their activities on, under, near or associated with the sea. This includes shipwrecks, submerged settlements and buildings in and around coastal areas.
Rhode Island has more shipwrecks per square mile than any other state. The "Ocean State" shipwrecks include pre-historic Native American craft (and submerged terrestrial sites), Colonial vessels, steamships and industrial barges, the 19th century gilded age of yachting, small craft, and many vessels lost in the modern era. There are Naval ships (and aircraft) of all periods and from a number of countries. Rhode Island also has a large number of vessels lost in the Revolutionary War. The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) has found and studied many of these historic sites.
Many of these sites of archaeological significance are in danger of destruction due to erosion, commercial activity or exploitation. This is why RIMAP is dedicated to researching, recording, preserving and promoting awareness of our maritime heritage before it is lost forever.
NEW - MARCH 2022.
In 2015 the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) started training local volunteers and organized a professionally directed archaeological and historical study of two shipwrecks in Warwick, Rhode Island's Occupessatuxet Cove. The team then studied both ships' structures, and this video follows their story over 7 years.
March 2022