Charles T. Meide Jr., known as Chuck Meide, (born March 23, 1971) is anunderwater andmaritime archaeologist and currently the Director ofLAMP (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program), the research arm of theSt. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum located in St. Augustine, Florida.[1][2][3][4][5][6]Meide, ofSyrian descent on his father's side, was born inJacksonville,Florida, and raised in the adjacent coastal town ofAtlantic Beach. He earned BA and MA degrees in Anthropology with a focus inunderwater archaeology in 1993 and 2001 fromFlorida State University,[7] where he studied underGeorge R. Fischer, and undertook Ph.D. studies in Historical Archaeology at theCollege of William and Mary starting the following year.
Meide has participated in a wide array ofshipwreck andmaritime archaeological projects across the U.S., especially in Florida, and throughout theCaribbean andBermuda and inAustralia andIreland. From 1995 to 1997 he participated in the search for, discovery, and total excavation ofLa Salle's shipwreck,La Belle, lost in 1686.[8][9][10] From December 1997 to January 1998 he served as Co-Director (with David Johnson) of the Kingstown Harbour Shipwreck Project, an investigation sponsored by the Institute of Maritime History andFlorida State University into the wreck of the French frigateJunon (1778) lost in 1780 inSt. Vincent and the Grenadines.[11][12][13]In 1999 he directed theDog Island Shipwreck Survey, a comprehensive maritime survey of the waters around abarrier island off the coast ofFranklin County, Florida,[14] and between 2004 and 2006 he directed theAchill Island Maritime Archaeology Project off the coast ofCounty Mayo,Ireland.[15][16][17][18]
Since taking over as Director ofLAMP in 2006, he has directed theFirst CoastMaritime Archaeology Project, a state-funded research and educational program focusing on shipwrecks and other maritime archaeological resources in the offshore and inland waters of Northeast Florida.[19] In 2009, during this project, Meide discovered the "Storm Wreck," a ship from the final fleet to evacuate British troops and Loyalist refugees from Charleston at the end of the Revolutionary War, which wrecked trying to enterSt. Augustine Inlet in late December 1782. He led the archaeological excavation of this shipwreck site each summer from 2010 through 2015, overseeing the recovery of thousands of well-preserved artifacts. These include cannons, flintlock pistols and muskets, and theship's bell, along with a wide range of household items and personal possessions such as cookware and tableware, coins, buttons, buckles, locks and keys, a false watch orfaux montrasse, and an ivory lice comb.[20][21]
On July 10, 2014, the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum announced at a press conference that Meide would lead an expedition to search for the lost French fleet ofJean Ribault, wrecked in 1565. The search area was located inCanaveral National Seashore waters, and was carried out in partnership with theNational Park Service, the State of Florida,NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration, the Center for Historical Archaeology, and the Institute of Maritime History.[22] When one of Ribault's ships was discovered by a treasure hunter, Meide along with a small team of scholars worked closely with a lawyer for the Republic of France, providing historical evidence leading to a federal court ruling that the vessel remains the property of the French government.[23]
From 2016 to 2019, Meide directed the excavation of the "Anniversary Wreck," another 18th-century shipwreck with a well-preserved assemblage of artifacts, believed to represent a merchant vessel lost while trying to enter St. Augustine. This vessel had a cargo of cauldrons, clothing irons, shoe buckles, and other domestic and hardware items, and included preserved organic remnants such as insect and rodent remains and peach and olive pits.[24][25][26]
From 2021 to 2024 Meide has directed the first underwater excavations at the 1752-1763 site ofFort Mose, the first free African American settlement in the United States, established by Spanish authorities and escaped slaves from British colonies who made it to Spanish Florida. This research, which has explored the original waterfront of the fort and also portions of the fort that have eroded into an adjacent creek, has been carried out in conjunction with the terrestrial excavations of the fort byFlagler College, theUniversity of Florida, and theUniversity of Texas at Austin, comprising a rare example of underwater and terrestrial archaeologists working together at a historical site simultaneously, using the same methodologies and systems whenever possible.[27]
Since 2020, Meide has periodically served as adjunct faculty atFlagler College, teaching several classes in Maritime Archaeology. Meide has also served on the board of the Institute of Maritime History from 2005 to 2022, as vice president from 2009 to 2022, and currently supports IMH in an advisory role. He is the co-founder of the Cannon Finders Club (established in 1996 in Cincinnati, Ohio). Meide has been featured in many documentary films, including episodes ofPBS'sSecrets of the Dead andNova,Science Channel'sShipwreck Secrets, andNational Geographic Channel'sDrain the Oceans.
Meide has authored over 50 research papers, reports, theses, book chapters, and journal articles.
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