George F. Bass Underwater Archaeology papers

George Fletcher Bass, a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1932. The son and grandson of English Professors, he planned a similar career when he enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in 1950. A trip to Italy and the sight of the Roman ruins altered his plans and his life. After returning to Johns Hopkins, Bass spent two years at the School of Classical Studies in Athens followed by enrollment at Penn for his Ph.D. studies in classical archaeology.

Bass assisted on the archaelogical studies at Lerna, Greece through the School of Classical Studies and the Gordion Excavation in Turkey conducted by the University Museum in 1957. He completed his military service in 1959 attaining the rank of first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Security Agency.

Returning to his graduate studies after his military service, Bass was chosen in 1960 by Rodney Young to direct the underwater excavation of a Bronze-Age shipwreck in Cape Gelidonya, Turkey. This event marked the beginnings of underwater archaeology as a discipline and as Bass' life work. Bass returned to the area in 1961 to excavate the Byzantine shipwreck at Yassi Ada, continuing until 1964 with a return during the years 1967 and 1969. Bass directed or supervised the Thera Excavations sponsored by the Greek Department of Antiquities and the Bronze-Age site near Gravina, Italy, among others.

In 1973, George Bass left the University of Pennsylvania to establish the Institute of Nautical Archaeology(AINA). That year, AINA sponsored an underwater archaeological survey between Bodrum and Antolya, Turkey. Bass moved the Institute to College Station Texas in 1976 and joined the faculty of Texas A&M University where a Ph.D.program to train future nautical archaeologists is part of AINA's work. Bass is now Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Texas A&M University.

In addition to his field work, Bass held positions as Assistant for Underwater Archaeology at the University Museum from 1960 to 1964 and Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. He was active in the Council of Underwater Archaeology established by John Huston and, along with Robert C. Wheeler, Bass founded and edited the newsletter with contributions from correspondents around the world.

Bass published extensively in National Geographic, American Journal of Archaeology, Scientific American and other scholarly publications. He is the author of published in 1966 and edited published in 1972. Bass experienced an extensive number of requests for speaking engagements to schools, professional associations and lay groups all over the United States.

George Fletcher Bass, a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1932. The son and grandson of English Professors, he planned a similar career when he enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in 1950. A trip to Italy and the sight of the Roman ruins altered his plans and his life. After returning to Johns Hopkins, Bass spent two years at the School of Classical Studies in Athens and, following his military service, enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Pennsylvania in classical archaeology. While a Ph.D. student, Bass was selected by Rodney Young, Professor and Chairman of Classical Archaeology at Penn and the Curator of the Mediterranean Section of the Penn Museum to direct the underwater excavation of a Bronze-Age shipwreck in Cape Gelidonya, Turkey in 1960. This event marked the beginnings of Underwater Archaeology as a discipline and as Bass'life's work. Bass returned to the area in 1961 to excavate the Byzantine shipwreck at Yassi Ada, working until 1964, with other trips during the years 1967 and 1969. Bass directed or supervised the Thera Excavations sponsored by the Greek Department of Antiquities in 1968 and land work at a neolithic and Bronze-Age site near Gravina, Italy in 1971, among others.

In 1973, Bass founded the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology(AINA)which sponsored excavations in Bodrum and Yassi Ada under Bass'supervision. In 1976, Bass moved the Institute to Texas A&M University where he is now Distinguished Professor of Anthropology.

The George F. Bass Underwater Archaeology papers span the underwater expeditions conducted by Bass in Greece, Turkey and Italy between 1959 and 1973, and also include his creation of the Underwater Archaeology Newsletter, the publishing of his expedition findings, and the founding of the American Institute of Nautical Archaelogy. The collection consists of twenty-seven archival boxes of data, mostly correspondence. However, it also includes expedition records from Cape Gelidonya and Yassi Ada, photographs and drawings. The correspondence is divided into subseries; administrative, expedition, Council of Underwater Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology Newsletter, AINA, Bass publications, and speaking engagements, to reflect Dr. Bass' career and interests while at Penn.

The original order was maintained for the expedition correspondence. This reflects the organization system developed by Bass for these letters. There are folders devoted to "Bass correspondence", equipment, shipping, a name file and an alphabetical file. Also, Bass filed related correspondence with his expedition records for most locations. These letters were not moved into the general correspondence designations. All letters are in chronological order.

The correspondence series is divided into seven subseries reflecting the diverse nature of the letters in the collection. The administrative subseries contains letters mainly to Froelich Rainey and Rodney Young, Director of the Museum and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Classical Archaeology at Penn respectively. Also represented in this group are letters to Lloyd P. Wells, Director of Marine Operations at the museum. Correspondence from the expeditions is divided into general letters from George Bass, those to Turkish government agencies, equipment related materials and letters, shipping directions and receipts, specific name correspondence with colleagues and grant-related letters. Communications with General Dynamics Corporation and letters with the Perry Submarine Company and U.S. Divers Company dealing with submarines and support vessels are of interest.

Bass' correspondence with retired San Francisco businessman, John Huston, founder of the Council of Underwater Archaeology forms another subseries and is a precursor to Bass' and Michael C. Wheeler's development of the newsletter Underwater Archaeology, boasting correspondents from around the world. Additional letters relate to Dr. Bass' founding of the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology(AINA) now based at Texas A&M University.

The publishing correspondence relates to Bass' contacts with National Geographic magazine as well as the companies that published his own books. There are numerous letters to the colleagues who authored chapters in Bass' . The correpondence related to speaking engagements include requests, responses from Dr. Bass and thank you notes.

The expedition series relates mostly to the Cape Gelidonya and Yassi Ada expeditions but there is also some information from Bodrum, Gravina, Muskebi and Taranto. Correspondence forms the largest part of the series with some notebooks, a diving time book, object cards, catalogues, daily log and photograph lists scattered in the data. The materials are arranged chronologically.

The expedition records are completed with two smaller boxes of five-by-eight object cards. Box 6a holds object cards from Gravina, Italy filed by "CSP", area and lot. Many have a drawing or photograph attached. Box 6b holds data from Cape Gelidonya indexed by object type. The types include hoes, beads, awls, knives, spears, as well as lead, copper and bronze, to name a few.

The photograph series begins with Cape Gelidonya with pictures of various sizes; most are marked with a roll and frame number. There are object photos, photos of objects in situ, and a few shots of diving personnel and the surrounding land area. The photos are curled and brittle. The Yassi Ada group features ballast stone and keel photographs, inner wale and planking shots, grids, and a series of traverse contact sheets. There are a group of press photographs related to the expeditions reflecting "techniques and operations," people, and of "workers above ground." Vehicle photographs include the ship, "Virazon" and the submarines "Asherah" and the "Star II."

The drawings, from Yassi Ada, are held in seven folders in an archival box with additional drawings in the oversize case. The drawings are mostly dated and labelled for location. They feature objects in situ.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, 3/14/11

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions:

Additional material related to the Gravina expedition is located in the Director's Files/Alpha Correspondence/Italian research.

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Drawings (visual works)
• Photographs

Personal Name(s)

• Bass, George Fletcher, 1932-
• Katzev, Michael, 1939-2001
• Rainey, Froelich, Director of the University Museum
• Throckmorton, Peter, 1928-1990
• Young, Rodney S. (Rodney Stuart), 1907-1974

Subject(s)

• Archaeology--History
• Greece--Antiquities
• Underwater archaeology