Senegal

Since 2014, the Slave Wrecks Project has fostered a network of researchers based in the Laboratoire d’Archéologie Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Our ongoing work in Senegal includes our groundbreaking international and interdisciplinary training project, Slave Wrecks Project Academy.

Four divers sit on the back of a boat. They are all looking at something off camera. One driver studies paper in his lap. All are wearing wetsuits and in front of them oxygen tanks are visible. Behind them, the green ocean takes up the majority of the background with land visible on the horizon.

Since 2014, the Slave Wrecks Project (SWP) has fostered a network of researchers based in the Laboratoire d’Archéologie Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN) at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Through nearly a decade of dive training, skill building in maritime archaeological technique, and remote survey work, SWP is helping its national partners build West Africa’s first maritime archaeological team composed of and led by archaeologists from Africa. SWP’s commitment to providing unique opportunities for global training and collaboration through its global network have allowed Senegalese partners to participate in fieldwork, conservation, and museum workshops in St. Croix, U.S.V.I., Mozambique, and South Africa, in addition to Senegal. Likewise, Mozambican and South African SWP members have provided dive training and participated in fieldwork in Senegal.

SWP will continue to develop these opportunities in our theaters to protect cultural heritage and encourage more research about slavery and its legacies. SWP is building our research profile to look toward identifying the wrecks of slavers off the coast of Senegal. Like our other sites of exploration, we are engaging in underwater and terrestrial archaeology, capacity building, community engagement, and preservation with our global partners the National Park Service – Submerged Resources Center and Southeast Archeological Center, The George Washington University, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

 

Learn more about our work on Slave Wrecks Project Academy in Senegal in the video below!

Group of five divers of African descent standing in water up to their ankles. There are boats and other groups of people behind them in the water. They are wearing gear and smiling together. A bar of land is visible in the background.
a diver underwater holding their nose with their hand. there are bubbles coming up from him.

2023.

Four divers sit on the back of a boat. They are all looking at something off camera. One driver studies paper in his lap. All are wearing wetsuits and in front of them oxygen tanks are visible. Behind them, the green ocean takes up the majority of the background with land visible on the horizon.

Students at SWP archaeological survery and training in Dakar, 2017. Photo by Susanna Pershern, NPS.

A diver in the water in the foreground reaching across the frame in full gear. They are wearing a black scuba suit with a white logo on their left bicep that says "FOCEA F1RST." Another diver is in the background swimming. They are barely visible through the haze, but wear a dark colored scuba suit with blue fins.

SWP members and Slave Wrecks Project Academy participants conducting maritime archaeology surveying and training in Senegal, 2023.

Two men sit on the side of a boat. Both are wearing wet suits and have goggles around their necks. One man is looking down at rope he is wrapping a loop. The other looking off camera towards the rest of the boat. A yellow container labeled "Diving" is visible in the foreground. behind then the ocean and buildings on the nearby shore are visible.

SWP archaeological survey and training in Dakar, 2017. Photo by Susanna Pershern, NPS.

a person standing at the front of a boat, pulling on rope. there is a lighthouse in the background on top of the ocean water.

SWP team members off of the coast of Senegal in 2017. Photo by Susanna Pershern, NPS.

a landscape ofa beach. there is a person standing on a stone dock towards the foreground. in the background is a brick building and a stone-covered beach.

SWP team members headed toward Gorée Island, 2017. Photo by Susanna Pershern, NPS.

landscape of the ocean. on the left edge, there are two small boats with a large group of people standing on them. on the right side, there is a large stone building.

SWP team members and SWP Academy participants working off of Gorée Island, 2023. Photo by Gabrielle Miller.

A group of people standing and looking at a canon together outside. On the far right, a white man with a grey beard is wearing a tan hat, sunglasses, a blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and khaki pants. Other men and women of African descent stand around looking at the canon, some holding notepads, cameras, or phones in their hands. In the background, trees and vegetation is visible, as well as some buildings barely visible in the distance. The people appear to be talking and taking notes.

SWP Academy participants with instructor Marc-André Bernier (Parks Canada (ret.)) conducting terrestrial surveying in 2023. Photo by Gabrielle Miller.

A group of people standing and looking at a canon together outside. On the far left, a white man with a grey beard is wearing a tan hat, sunglasses, a blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and khaki pants. He points at the rusted canon. On the far right foreground, a man with dark skin wears a black baseball cap, sunglasses, and is wearing a black t-shirt and black watch while holding something in his hand. Other men and women of African descent stand around looking at the canon, some holding notepads or phones in their hands.

SWP Academy participants with instructor Marc-André Bernier (Parks Canada (ret.)) conducting terrestrial surveying of canons in 2023. Photo by Gabrielle Miller. Photo by Gabrielle Miller, 2023.

A group of people sitting around a table and standing, looking at a map. The person in the center is pointing to a point in the map. He wears a dark green shirt and navy shorts, and has short hair. On either side of him are two women. To his left is a woman with long dreads tied back wearing a yellow shirt and bluejeans, along with square earrings. The woman on his right wears a dark navy top and lighter blue skirt with buttons down the front. In the bottom right foreground, a person wears a brown, tan, and white striped shirt. They have short hair and their face is not visible. The room they are in is yellow with tiled floors.

SWP Academy participants conducting site survey training in Senegal, 2023. Photo by Gabrielle Miller.

Two divers underwater in scuba gear. One is holding a clipboard. They both have short hair and dark skin. The diver on the left holds the clipboard and is writing. He wears a black dive mask and has on a dark colored scuba suit with white writing on the sleeve. The diver on the right holds up his left hand, making a signal. He wears a dark colored scuba suit with long sleeves, and a yellow scuba mask.

SWP Academy participants conducting underwater archaeology training and surveys in 2023.

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