Hist Arch (2017) 51:589–590 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-017-0066-7

BOOK REVIEW

Shipwrecked in Paradise: Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawai’i Paul F. Johnston, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 2015. 216 pp., 210 color photos, 4 b&w photos, 3 maps, 27 line drawings, bibliog., index. $39.95 cloth Ronald Grayson

Accepted: 3 October 2017 / Published online: 24 October 2017 # Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

Paul F. Johnston’s book Shipwrecked in Paradise: Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawai’i recounts his search for the first oceangoing yacht made in America that came to rest in Hanalei Bay, Kauai’I, in Hawaii after being the pride and joy of King Kamehameha II. In Johnston’s words, “[t]hese artifacts represent the only material culture from the brief reign of King Kamehameha II, a member of our nation’s only authentic royalty” (p. 92). The book seeks to provide as complete a record as possible for Cleopatra’s Barge in a single volume for both a general audience and the archaeological researcher. This is a tall task that Johnston has taken on and has navigated with expertise, resulting in a work that can act both as a coffee table book for discussion among friends as well as a source for related research. One refreshing addition for the specialist is the inclusion of a link to the Smithsonian Institution’s webpage that contains the project’s artifact catalog. This is made especially useful by the inclusion of the artifact catalog numbers in the text and photographs. In keeping with the theme of one book for all, this allows an interested researcher access to the baseline data without unnecessarily bloating the volume with information few of the general audience will ever have occasion to reference. The book consists of five chapters including the first four on specific topics and a concise fifth chapter that ties them together. Chapter 1 begins with Johnston’s R. Grayson (*) Cultural Resources Program Manager, Building 865, 16th Street, Fort Campbell, KY 42223-1792, U.S.A. e-mail: [email protected]

interest in Cleopatra’s Barge. The author became acquainted with the ship at the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, through the search and excavation of the wreck under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. This chapter focuses on the five seasons of fieldwork in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii (1995–1999). The work was groundbreaking since it was the first excavation conducted under a permit issued by the State of Hawaii for scientific underwater archaeology. The narrative describing the survey and excavation of the barge stands out for its clarity of writing and accessibility. The trials and tribulations of equipment breakage, field conditions, and the inevitable “big find” on the last day are all vividly recounted in this section. The reader is given a true sense of how challenging fieldwork can be as the author relays project challenges and personal difficulties over a five-year period. Chapter 2 is the historical record of Cleopatra’s Barge from her construction in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1816 to her final sinking in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, in 1824. The ship was the first ship built in the western hemisphere purely for pleasure before becoming the pride of King Kamehameha II. Through the short life of the vessel, just eight years, the rich and unique story of Cleopatra’s Barge is detailed in this volume. In fact, this publication likely represents the single most thoroughly researched source on Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawaii. The early history of the ship, as a pleasure yacht in the eastern hemisphere, is brief, but the history in Hawaii is unparalleled. Johnston brings together multiple sets of data including historical accounts, paintings, government

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documents, and observations of visitors to develop a complete history of Cleopatra’s Barge in Hawaii. Chapter 3 focuses on the ship itself, including ship’s structure, sheathing, fasteners, and rigging. Without plans to work from and without even expecting to find any extant hull remains, Johnston had to rely on material evidence from 15% of the hull and other disarticulated materials. Sections on draft markings and copper sheathing are particularly well done and explanatory for multiple audiences. The articulated sections of the ship are described in great detail, including the effects of shoddy repair work done in Hawaii, backed up with good quality photographs and drawings of the timbers. Chapter 4 focuses on the artifact assemblage from the wreck site. The 1,257 lots of artifacts are split broadly into two categories: western and Hawaiian. These sections are then further subdivided into functional categories such as weapons, food preparation, personal, tools, and furniture. The photographs are full color and include examples from other primary and secondary sources with accompanying citations. All artifacts are identified by catalog numbers associated with the online catalog. Chapter 5 is the shortest chapter of the book and draws the preceding chapters together to interpret the artifacts and historical record of Cleopatra’s Barge. Several carefully couched conclusions are presented that best fit the material and historical records. The overall interpretation of the wreck is hampered by the nature of the wreck site itself. Resting on a

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shallow reef in Hanalei Bay since 1824, Cleopatra’s Barge has been impacted by almost two centuries of activity in a dynamic environment resulting in a largely mixed context site. While an artifact assemblage can be tied to the vessel, many intrasite relationships are simply not there. While many archaeologists would be turned off by the “disturbed” nature of the site, Johnston uses the data for his limited interpretations and is careful about not concluding too much based on too little. Because the book is trying to appeal to both a general as well as a professional archaeological audience, there is the inevitable shortchanging of each at certain points. While chapter 1 on fieldwork is wonderfully written for a general audience with definitions and explanations of some of the nuances of underwater archaeology (e.g., x-raying concretions), chapter 3 on the ship construction may be too technical for a lay reader. Descriptions of timbers with sided and molded dimensions are included without much explanation of what these measurements mean. Overall, this book would be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of many different types of readers and is not necessarily one to sit on the shelf with other cumbersome tomes on archaeology. Johnston has created a genuinely well-written book on underwater archaeology that presents historical and archaeological data in a readable and unencumbering way. It walks the divide between public interest and data presentation without faltering too much to any one side.