Weekly Chat from About Archaeology
Moderated by Pat Garrow and K. Kris Hirst
Speaker Data for the March 18th Chat: J. Barto Arnold III
Printer-Friendly Transcript of the March 18th chat
A San Antonio native, Barto Arnold received his undergraduate and postgraduate
education at the University of Texas at Austin. From 1972 until 1997, he worked as the
State Marine Archaeologist for Texas. He has been extremely active in several professional
societies, including terms as Secretary-Treasurer of the Society of Professional
Archaeologists and as President of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Arnold has
received wide recognition for his contributions to the passage of the Abandoned Shipwreck
Act, which helped protect irreplaceable cultural resources from unscrupulous
treasure hunting. Arnold also directed the recent discovery of La Salle's ship La
Belle in Matagorda Bay, Texas.
In October, 1997, Barto Arnold joined the underwater archaeologists of the Institute of
Nautical Archaeology and the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University to
establish a shipwreck program in Texas and adjoining areas. As Director of Texas
Operations for INA, Arnold is planning and directing pre-disturbance surveys of known
shipwreck sites, surveys for wrecks yet to be located, and major wreck excavations.
Recently, his work has resulted in the excavation project of the famous Civil War blockade
runner Denbigh.
The above taken from Arnold's home page.
