Everything is ballast: An examination of ballast related practices and ballast stones from the Emanuel Point shipwrecks

Ballast has not often been the focus of research; where it has, the studies have been approached with various assumptions in mind. For example, specific features, such as stratigraphy, are looked for in order to define the relationship between a shipwreck and associated ballast. What all of these studies lack is a thorough explanation as to why any features would be present and how they could appear. The majority of this thesis is focused on outlining the basics and potential archaeological effects of practices which could have affected the use of stone ballast in both maritime and terrestrial contexts and led to the creation of features within the ballast in a ship's hold. Two shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, Florida, Emanuel Point I and II (EPI and EPII), and the results from previous ballast studies, provide a limited case on which to test the archaeological effects of the many practices. The conclusions of this thesis regarding the high level of uncertainty when studying ballast are very similar to those of previous studies; however, the basic framework provided by the descriptions of practices can be used to better explain features which have been or may be encountered on shipwrecks.