I would like to what are some good underwater archaeology books. I have no prior knowledge of the subject, and have been fed the idea that underwater archaeology is essentially treasure hunting...personally I don't agree with that, but I don't have a background to state otherwise. If anyone knows of any good quality books on the subject let me know.

You may want to check out the Texas A&M website. They have an excellent underwater archaeology program. Check the faculty vitae for papers and/or books they have written.

I've actually been looking into the area myself and just pulled a few books out of my Universitys' library. The two best i found are
Archaeology Under Water
by George F. Bass- Kinda old 1970 but gives a good working through or techniques and many other aspects.
The other is
The Sea Remembers
edited by Peter Throckmorton. this one is from 1987 so it's a little more up to date, gives good history of the whole field and the areas of the world where it has bene significant in, i would deffinatly recomend this.

Thanks for the suggestions! They should give me a good starting point.

[quote:="dig_dirt"] I have no prior knowledge of the subject, and have been fed the idea that underwater archaeology is essentially treasure hunting...personally I don't agree with that, but I don't have a background to state otherwise. If anyone knows of any good quality books on the subject let me know.

Here's some "treasures" from my personal collection.

Dean et al.
1995 Archaeology Underwater: The NAS guide to principles and practice
ISBN 1873132255

Ruppe
2002 International Handbook of Underwater Archaeology
ISBN 030643458

Spirek et al.
2003 Submerged Cultural Resource Management: Preserving and interpreting our maritime heritage
ISBN 0306478560

Masters et al (*the bible for us U/W paleos)
1984 Quaternary Coastlines and Marine Archaeology: Towards the Prehistory of Land Bridges and Continental Shelves
ISBN 0124792502

Johnson
1992 Paleoshorelines and Prehistory: An investigation of method
ISBN 0849388554

Aberg and Lewis
2001 The Rising Tide: Archaeology and Coastal Landscapes
ISBN 1842170287

Zallar
1979 Stabilization of Coastal Archaeological Sites in Victoria: A pilot study
ISBN 0724120351

Garabello and Scovazzi
2004 The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: Before and after the 2001 UNESCO Convention. Publications on Ocean Development V. 41.
ISBN 9041122036

Strati
1995 The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: An emerging objective of the contemporary law of the sea. Publications on Ocean Development V. 23
ISBN 0792330528

Burgess
2000 Man: 12,000 years under the sea, A story of underwater archaeology
ISBN 059509449X (*easy read)

Kerber
1991 Coastal and Maritime Archaeology
ISBN 0810824655

I would agree with the Bass, Throckmorton & NA handbooks as the basis for sny student.
Depending on what era was being covered in more depth, choices then become more complicated.
Are you looking for a list for every aspect & time period, or more generalised reading?
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Sarah Snow

Hey! I'm just finishing up my MA in underwater, so here's what I learned.

The Bass and Throckmorton books are good, but pretty outdated. I envisioned using big metal grid square for excavation after reading them, but thats more terrestrial archaeologists trying to use the same techniques underwater- very 1960s and 70s.

Those people starting out should get Babits and Van Tilberg's Maritime Archaeology: A Reader, Jeremy Green's Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, and the NAS Guide.

Anyone who really wants to delve into the subject should get Richard Gould's books Shipwreck Anthropology and Archaeology and the Social History of Ships, as well as Richard Steffy's Wooden Shipbuilding and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks.

With those books, you'll have it all.