Asherah (submarine)

History
Name: Asherah
Namesake: Asherah
Ordered: 1963
Builder: General Dynamics, Groton, Connecticut
Launched: 1964
General characteristics
Type: Submersible
Test depth: 600 feet (180 m)
Crew: 2

Asherah was the first commercially built American research submersible, used by archaeologist George F. Bass to examine underwater sites.[1][2] It was named after Asherah, an ancient Semitic goddess known as "she who treads on the sea".[3]

The two-man submarine was built by General Dynamics, Groton, Connecticut, USA, and could dive to a depth of 600 feet (180 m). Commissioned in 1963 and launched in 1964, it was used to develop a new system of stereoscopy, and allowed Bass to become the first to use side-scanning sonar to locate a shipwreck.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "George F. Bass". Institute of Nautical Archaeology. 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Bass, George F. (2012). "Archaeology Under Water". Institute of Nautical Archaeology. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  3. ↑ In Ugarit is mentioned: ʼaṯrt ym, rabat ʼAṯirat yammi, 'Lady Athirat of the Sea'.
  4. ↑ Keiger, Dale (April 1997). "The Underwater World of George Bass". Johns Hopkins Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
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