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Chuuk (Truk)
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The first deployment of SRC personnel in Truk (formerly known as Chuuk) was in 1981 in association with operations conducted in Kosrae and Pohnpei. Archeologists Lenihan, Murphy and Carrell familiarized themselves with the wrecks and management processes as put into effect by the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) during the transition process of Truk to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The wrecks of Truk Lagoon were the earliest designated underwater properties in the National Historic Landmark program.
In May 1992, a contingent of the SRC traveled to Chuuk as part of a three month Western and Pacific operation designed to address a host of historic preservation objectives. Due to the vastness of the region, a strategy was implemented to simultaneously deploy small teams of SRC archeologists and technicians to different islands throughout the project. Although taxing in logistics, this provided a cost effective use of personnel. |
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| Located about 625 miles southeast of Guam, Chuuk, consists of 11 high mangrove-fringed islands in a lagoon, and a series of 14 outlying atolls and low islands. The lagoon, still usually referred to as Truk Lagoon, is one of the largest enclosed lagoons in the world, reaching a depth of 300 ft and enclosed by 140 miles of barrier reef, covering an area of nearly 1300 square miles. Aside from the sheer beauty of the undersea coral reef beneath the clear water, at the bottom of Truk lagoon rest more than 45 shipwrecks, aircraft and other war material in submerged dumping grounds--the legacy of a fierce World War II attack against the Japanese by Allied fast-carrier attack planes. |
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During the weeklong project several sites were examined (including Shinkoku Maru and Fujikawa Maru) to assess concerns raised by the Chuuk Historic Preservation Officer regarding damage to submerged cultural resources caused by increased visitation, improper anchorage and dynamite fishing. In addition, the Nippo Maru was visited to document mines in the forward hold where homemade lift bags and commercial net bags had been left by dynamite fishers to recover the ordnance for use in dynamite fishing.
After examination of the sites at Chuuk a recommendation was made by the SRC to develop a submerged resources management plan. In addition, it was recommended that the oral histories of local people present before, and during, the Japanese occupation, be documented as an important and diminishing resource. Other recommendations included: establishing a mechanism in which live-aboard vessels are permitted to generate revenues for the Chuukese people, which could be directed towards cultural resource management, interpretation and protection; and emphasizing law enforcement with regard to dynamite fishing and the development of educational materials such as brochures, videos and school curriculums to apprise local people and visitors of the significant resources underwater. Also SRC recommended consideration of wreck moorings to minimize anchor damage to sites due to increasing pressure from recreational diving.
- 1992 - During a major sweep through Micronesia, SRC personnel conducted field operations for a week on wrecks in the lagoon in association with individuals from the Chuuk Historic Preservation Office. Recommendations for wreck management were delivered to the National Register Office of the National Park Service and to the governments of Chuuk and Federated States of Micronesia. Larry Murphy was team leader.
- 1981 - Brief reconnaissance of the wrecks conducted by SRC over a three day period between more extensive projects in Kosrae and Guam. Dan Lenihan was team leader.
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Reference:
- Carrell, Toni L., Editor, 1991, Submerged Cultural Resources Assessment of Micronesia. Submerged Resources Center Professional Report No. 10. National Park Service, Santa Fe, NM.
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