The Recovery Team

The archaeologists, historians, technicians, and divers who comprise the Auguste Expedition recovery team are considered to be among the finest professionals in their fields. Two of the principal team members are Dr. John de Bry and Captain Joseph Amaral.

John de Bry, Ph. D., head of the archaeological research effort for the Auguste Expedition, is also director of the Center for Historical Archaeology, a non-profit scientific organization based in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Born in Paris, France and currently residing in Melbourne Beach, Florida, he holds a Doctorate degree in Medieval History, and a Masters Degree in European History. A paleographer specializing in 16th through 18th-century French, Spanish and English manuscripts, he has conducted extensive research in French, Spanish and English archives for more than ten years. He has also conducted research in various archival repositories in South America.

As an historical archaeologist focusing on shipwreck archaeology of the Spanish and French colonial periods, he has participated in a number of field excavation projects in the United States, the Caribbean, South America, the Philippines, and on Sainte-Marie Island, off the northeast coast of Madagascar. As scientific consultant for the Discovery Channel, Dr. de Bry was Chief Underwater Archaeologist on three expeditions to Madagascar where he worked to locate and investigate the wreck of the Adventure Galley (1698) abandoned by Captain William Kidd in the natural harbor of Sainte-Marie Island. The expedition was filmed by the Discovery Channel for a full-length documentary, The Quest for Captain Kidd, and was narrated by actor Mel Gibson. It premiered on the Discovery Channel on June 10, 2001.

He is continuing to serve as a scientific consultant for the Discovery Channel on a project to search for, locate and excavate Christopher Columbus's flagship Santa Maria which was grounded and lost off the north coast of Haiti on Christmas day 1492, during Columbus's first voyage of discovery. The Discovery Channel will air a special documentary on this expedition, The Quest for Columbus - The Search for the Santa Maria, sometime in 2004.

Dr. de Bry works in close collaboration with Ships of Discovery, at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, conducting Discovery-period cartographic research, artifact identification and analysis, Discovery-period shipwreck site assessment and evaluation, and acts as a liaison between Ships of Discovery and French maritime archaeologists, historians, and archivists. He has also worked in collaboration with the National Museum of the Philippines, assessing and dating Spanish colonial period shipwreck sites.

As part of the La Salle Shipwreck Project team, Dr. de Bry worked on the excavation of the wreck of the Belle (1686), in Matagorda Bay, Texas, and conducted archival research for the Texas Historical Commission. He located documents that have given archaeologists and historians a new perspective of the events surrounding the ill-fated expedition of French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1684-1687). He was able to find the three bronze cannon discovered on the Belle on a register from the arsenal of Rochefort, where the ship was built and the cannon cast. Dr. de Bry also located numerous other manuscript documents pertaining to the La Salle expedition. A monograph of the Belle by world-renowned French naval expert Jean Boudriot, co-authored with De. de Bry, was published in late 2000.

His interests focus on shipwreck archaeology of the Spanish colonial period, with an emphasis on the exploration period (1492-1521). Since 1990 he has served on the State of Florida's State Reserve Area Task force, a panel of appointed members who advise the Secretary of State on policies and procedures regarding the establishment and management of offshore historic shipwreck reserve areas. He is a strong advocate of stricter laws and regulations to protect submerged cultural resources worldwide.

Dr. de Bry's professional memberships include:
Member of the Florida Archaeological Council
Member of the Nautical Archaeology Society, Skipton, United Kingdom
Member of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Williamsburg, Virginia
Member of the Florida Department of State Reserve Area Task Force
Member of the Hakluyt Society, London, United Kingdom
Member of the Ordnance Society, Norwich, United Kingdom
Fellow of the New York Explorers Club of New York, New York

For more information about Dr. de Bry and his work, visit his website at: www.historicalarchaeology.org

Captain Joseph Amaral, Director of Offshore Operations and Dive Services Captain for the Auguste Expedition, is also President of American Marine Consultants, headquartered in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. Captain Amaral has explored much of the world's water and is widely regarded as an expert in deep water search and survey, dive operations, and marine vessel design and delivery. He is a licensed Ocean Operator, holding C.G. Lic. # 756591, as well as a U.S. Coast Guard Captain, holding Lic. #625206 with a 500-ton, all-ocean designation.

Captain Amaral received his SCUBA Instructor Certification from the National Association of Skin Diving Schools in San Diego, California and attended SCUBA School, Escape and Evasion, and Jungle Warfare training at the Army War College in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He also holds Commercial and Saturation Diving Certifications from the Ocean Corporation School of Commercial Diving in Houston, Texas. Captain Amaral has an Associate Degree in Emergency Medical Services from LaBour Community College in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Captain Amaral served in the United States Army Special Forces with Vietnam combat service and was decorated with the Bronze Star with V device, Purple Heart with cluster, Combat Infantry Badge, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Army Commendation Medal.

An accomplished still photographer and videographer, he was involved in the recovery of the sunken treasure ship, HMS DeBraak, off the Delaware coast, not only as a diver but also as an underwater still photographer. His images were shown on national newscasts and published in Lost Treasures, Time-Life Books in 1991. Additional work in the area of sunken vessel recovery includes coordinating all diving operations related to identification, videography, still photography, and vessel recovery for the R/V Dream II recovery off Billingsgate Shoal, Massachusetts. In 1995, American Underwater Search and Survey subcontracted with Captain Amaral to coordinate all diving operations including videography and still photography for the sunken vessel F/V Josephine and Marie off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts.

With experience in aircraft crash recovery, Captain Amaral coordinated all diving operations including identification, videography, still photography, recovery of bodies, and the recovery of a sunken aircraft for the Pierpoint airplane crash off Cape May, New Jersey. He was a team member at the Boeing crash site in Taiwan performing work in location, videography, still photography and recovery and he served in that same capacity for the Business Express airplane crash off Block Island, Rhode Island in 1993. Early in his career he participated in a helicopter crash search doing video and recovery work for Woods Hole Oceanographic in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Captain Amaral has served as supervisor of dive and Sonar operations for Lighthouse Marina in Pulaski, New York, Deep Sea Research in East Point, Florida, Truro Aquaculture in Truro, Massachusetts, Tierre Firme in Freeport, Bahamas, and as dive tender for SAT diving and the Brother Johathan treasure recovery for Global Diving Company in Seattle, Washington. In addition, he was a diver for Sinclair Oil Corporation off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland and did special effects work off Martha's Vineyard for the hit movie JAWS.