The Sea Their Graves - (New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeolog) by David J Stewart (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Like other groups with dangerous occupations, mariners have developed a close-knit culture bound by loss and memory. Death regularly disrupts the fabric of this culture and necessitates actions designed to mend its social structure. From the ritual of burying a body at sea to the creation of memorials to honor the missing, these events tell us a great deal about how sailors see their world. Based on a study of more than 2,100 gravestones and monuments in North America and the United Kingdom erected between the seventeenth and late twentieth centuries, David Stewart expands the use of nautical archaeology into terrestrial environments. He focuses on those who make their living at sea--one of the world's oldest and most dangerous occupations--to examine their distinct folkloric traditions, beliefs, and customs regarding death, loss, and remembrance. A volume in the series New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology, edited by James C. Bradford and Gene Allen Smith

Review Quotes

"Excellent. . . . Essential reading for anyone interested in Western maritime culture."--Journal of Anthropological Research "Stewart adroitly employs gravestones and memorials as material culture to reconstruct the maritime cultures of England and Anglo-America during the Age of Sail."--American Antiquity "An important book. . . . Brings together historical archaeology, folklore (to some extent still active) and the important reminder that maritime life included the feelings and activities of the shore-based family and relatives."--International Journal of Nautical Archaeology "Offers some remarkable and valuable insights into a seldom-explored area of maritime custom and belief."--International Journal of Maritime History "A pioneering study. . . . Convincingly demonstrates the centrality of death to maritime culture."--Winterthur Portfolio "Delves into the symbolism of both imagery and the words chosen to remember the dead. . . . A unique study of an overlooked facet of maritime life."--Sea History "A very welcome pioneering study in the little-explored field of maritime memorials."--Church Monuments

About the Author

David J. Stewart, assistant professor of nautical archaeology at East Carolina University, is a contributor to Burial at Sea.