"On Aug. 10, 1628, the Swedish 64 gun warship Vasa capsized and sank on her maiden voyage, still within the harbour of Stockholm; 333 years later, in 1961, she was raised and the first Vasa Museum was built"--Page 4 of cover.

For armchair admirals, history buffs, and naval enthusiasts everywhere, A Naval Miscellany is an indispensible and entertaining collection of fascinating and little-known facts, anecdotes, lists, curiosities and stories from our naval past. Forgotten heroes, amazing blunders, surprising trivia, and strange-but-true stories are all included. Who were the naval heroes of the ancient world, and the world's worst admirals? How much did a midshipman get paid in the eighteenth century? What are the origins of sea shanties? Where are the biggest naval bases in the world today? And how does a ship float? It's all here in this little book that will amaze and enlighten even the most avid student of naval history!

This book is the first in a new series of monographs to be published on Sweden's royal ship, Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage on August 10th 1628. Volume I will put the series in context, presenting the background to the ship's story, its excavation and salvage, as well as an overview of the the finds and their context. Future volumes will examine the armaments, the engineering and the on-board community of the ship, as well as its place in society.

Maritime archaeology deals with shipwrecks and is carried out by divers rather than diggers. It embraces maritime history and analyses changes in shipbuilding, navigation and seamanship and offers fresh perspectives on the cultures and societies that produced the ships and sailors. Drawing on detailed past and recent case studies, Richard A. Gould provides an up-to-date review of the field that includes dramatic new findings arising from improved undersea technologies. This second edition of Archaeology and the Social History of Ships has been updated throughout to reflect new findings and new interpretations of old sites. The new edition explores advances in undersea technology in archaeology, especially remotely operated vehicles. The book reviews many of the major recent shipwreck findings, including the Vasa in Stockholm, the Viking wrecks at Roskilde Fjord and the Titanic.