Michael Scafuri
- Contact
-
- (843) 730-5087
- scafuri@clemson.edu
Personal Website - Graduating Year
- 2002
- Degree
- M.A.
- Current Position
- Adjunct Professor of Historic Preservation, Clemson University Restoration Institute
Biography
After graduating with a B.A. in Anthropology from Pennsylvania State University, Michael Scafuri entered that Nautical Archaeology Program in the fall of 1992. In addition to his course work, he also worked as a graduate assistant for Dr. Donny Hamilton at the Conservation Research Laboratory and interned with Dr. Roger Smith on the 16th century Emanuel Point shipwreck in Pensacola, Florida in 1994. From 1995 to 1997, he participated in INA’s excavation of the 10th century Bozburun Byzantine shipwreck near Selimiye, Turkey under the direction of Dr. Fred Hocker. His work on the Bozburun project also marked the beginning of a focus on 3D site documentation and the digital integration of archaeological data. He also worked with INA to upgrade their website and create a Virtual Museum of past and current INA projects. In 2000, Scafuri joined the H.L. Hunley project as a nautical archaeologist at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, SC. He was actively involved in the raising, excavation, and initial analysis of the H.L Hunley submarine and has served as the Senior Project Archaeologist since 2013. Since becoming a part of the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI), Scafuri has continued working to develop the WLCC’s capabilities in the fields of 3D documentation and teaches an undergraduate course in underwater archaeology.
Memories
“My time as a graduate student in the Nautical Archaeology Program was truly a transformative period in my life, both professionally and personally. While in the NAP, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to study conservation with Donny Hamilton, ship reconstruction with Fred Hocker, and to take classes from George Bass, Fred Van Doorninck, and Shelley Wachsmann. I was never pushed harder academically, but I learned more than I ever could have imagined and made some amazing friends along the way. Some of my most memorable experiences come from the three summers I spent working in Turkey on the Bozburun shipwreck. Having the chance to participate in a major INA project, see INA Turkey in Bodrum, and get to know some of the legends of the Institute – Don Frey, Robin Piercy, Faith Henschel, Sheila Mathews, and Murat Tilev to name just a few – was a great experience that I cherish and remember fondly. The NAP taught me the value of hard work, persistence, and helped me become the nautical archaeologist that I am today.”