Charles T. Meide Jr., known as Chuck Meide, (born March 23, 1971) is an underwater and maritime archaeologist and currently the Director of LAMP (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program), the research arm of the

St. Augustine Light The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The ...

house & Maritime Museum located in St. Augustine, Florida. Meide, of Syrian descent on his father's side, was born in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, and raised in the nearby coastal town of

Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach is the name of some places in the United States: *Atlantic Beach, Florida, a city *Atlantic Beach, New York, a village *Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a town *Atlantic Beach, South Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Horry County, ...

. He earned BA and MA degrees in Anthropology with a focus in

underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

in 1993 and 2001 from Florida State University, where he studied under George R. Fischer, and undertook Ph.D. studies in Historical Archaeology at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

starting the following year. Meide has participated in a wide array of

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

and maritime archaeological projects across the U.S., especially in Florida, and throughout the Caribbean and

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

and in Australia and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. From 1995 to 1997 he participated in the search for, discovery, and total excavation of La Salle's shipwreck, '' La Belle '', lost in 1686. From December 1997 to January 1998 he served as Co-Director (with David Johnson) of the Kingstown Harbour Shipwreck Project, an investigation sponsored by the Institute of Maritime History and Florida State University into the wreck of the French frigate lost in 1780 in

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

. In 1999 he directed the Dog Island Shipwreck Survey, a comprehensive maritime survey of the waters around a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a fe ...

off the coast of

Franklin County, Florida Franklin County is a county along the Gulf of Mexico in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,451, making it the third-least populous county in Florida. The county seat is Apalachicola. The c ...

, and between 2004 and 2006 he directed the

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by ...

Maritime Archaeology Project off the coast of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

. Since taking over as Director of LAMP in 2006, he has directed the

First Coast Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...

Maritime Archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, s ...

Project, a state-funded research and educational program focusing on shipwrecks and other maritime archaeological resources in the offshore and inland waters of Northeast Florida. In 2009, during this project, Meide discovered the "Storm Wreck," a ship from the final fleet to evacuate British troops and Loyalist refugees from Charleston at the end of the Revolutionary War, which wrecked trying to enter St. Augustine in late December 1782. He led the archaeological excavation of this shipwreck site each summer from 2010 through 2015, overseeing the recovery of thousands of well-preserved artifacts. On July 10, 2014, the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum announced at a press conference that Meide would lead an expedition to search for the lost French fleet of

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

, wrecked in 1565. The search area was located in

Canaveral National Seashore The Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) is a National Seashore located between New Smyrna Beach and Titusville, Florida, in Volusia and Brevard Counties. The park, located on a barrier island, was created on January 3, 1975, by an act of Congress ...

waters, and was carried out in partnership with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

, the State of Florida,

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

's Office of Ocean Exploration, the Center for Historical Archaeology, and the Institute of Maritime History. When one of Ribault’s ship’s was discovered by a treasure hunter, Meide along with a small team of scholars worked closely with lawyers for the Republic of France, providing historical evidence leading to a federal court ruling that the vessel remains the property of the French government. From 2016 to 2019, Meide directed the excavation of the "Anniversary Wreck," another 18th-century shipwreck with a well-preserved assemblage of artifacts, believed to represent a merchant vessel lost while trying to enter St. Augustine. Chuck Meide served on the board of the Institute of Maritime History from 2005 to 2022, as vice president from 2009 to 2022, and currently serves in an advisory role. He is the co-founder of the Cannon Finders Club (established in 1996 in Cincinnati, Ohio). Meide has been featured in many documentary films, including episodes of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

’s

Secrets of the Dead ''Secrets of the Dead'', produced by WNET 13 New York, is an ongoing PBS television series which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell us about some of the great ...

Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, man ...

’s

Shipwreck Secrets ''Shipwreck Secrets'' is a television series on the American network Science Channel. See also * List of 2020 American television debuts * List of programs broadcast by Science Channel References *https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lo ...

, and

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...

’s

Drain the Oceans ''Drain the Oceans'' is an Australian and British documentary television series that premiered on 28 May 2018 on National Geographic. The 25-part factual series is hosted by Russell Boulter, and explores shipwrecks, treasure and sunken cities u ...

. Meide has authored over 50 research papers, reports, theses, book chapters, and journal articles.

References

External links

Texas Historical Commission La Salle Shipwreck Project

Achill Island Maritime Archaeology Project

Institute of Maritime History

Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)

Meide's written works on Academia.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meide, Charles T. 21st-century American archaeologists American underwater divers College of William & Mary alumni Florida State University alumni People from Atlantic Beach, Florida People from St. Augustine, Florida Underwater archaeologists American people of Syrian descent Living people 1971 births