Crystal Safadi – 2013-14 – University of Southampton MA Scholar.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, I completed an MA in Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton funded by the Honor Frost Foundation, part of a four-year award for a Masters and a PhD. The Master’s program involved the completion of four modules: Maritime Aspects of Cultures, Marine Geoarchaeology, Applied Maritime Archaeology, and Seafloor Surveying and Mapping. As part of the MA program, a Masters’ dissertation entitled ‘ Bronze Age and Iron Age Levantine Harbours: an Evaluation of their Maritime Accessibility and Protection’ was submitted. In terms of fieldwork, I took part in two projects during summer: the Deltebre I wreck excavation which is run by CASC (Centre d’Arqueologia Subaquàtica de Catalynua), and the Nissia Shipwreck Project run by the Maritime Archaeological Research Lab (MARELab) of the University of Cyprus and funded by the Honor Frost Foundation. Also, during this academic year, I worked on few side projects: as a contributor on  www.maritimearchaeology.com , as a facilitator for the Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds free online course by the University of Southampton, and as well, briefly, on analysing geophysical data for COARS (Coastal and Offshore Archaeological Research Services). In summary, during this year, not only did I complete a postgraduate degree, but was as well able to gain maritime archaeological experience through fieldwork, and work experience by engaging in various projects. I am grateful for the Honor Frost Foundation for its generous funding and its unremitting support.