Trolling for sunken history
MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. -- On the deck of a boat, nautical archaeologist Coz Cozzi concentrates on the sonogram-like image of the bottom of the Manatee River displayed on his laptop.
On the end of a towline 50 feet behind, a torpedo-like device duct-taped to a pair of toy foam tubes glides through the water.
The Mote Marine Laboratory scientist has turned to underwater technology to search for the remnants of sunken boats or other evidence that could prove the existence of Angola, an early 1800s community of former slaves, free blacks and Seminoles.
Read entire article at Sarasota Herald-Tribune
On the end of a towline 50 feet behind, a torpedo-like device duct-taped to a pair of toy foam tubes glides through the water.
The Mote Marine Laboratory scientist has turned to underwater technology to search for the remnants of sunken boats or other evidence that could prove the existence of Angola, an early 1800s community of former slaves, free blacks and Seminoles.
Some historians believe the settlement was located on the south bank of the Manatee River about two miles west of Interstate 75.
If they are right, then most of Angola's artifacts are buried beneath almost 200 years of riverfront development in Bradenton.
But some proof of Angola's existence could be in nearby waterways -- in the Manatee or the Braden rivers.
Scientists this week began a search of a four-mile stretch of the rivers using magnetic and sonar devices. It is believed to be the first archaeological study of the Manatee River.