About

Piotr Bojakowski is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in nautical and underwater archaeology, shipbuilding and hull reconstruction, material culture studies through artifacts, and the maritime history of the Atlantic World from the 16th to 18th centuries. He earned his PhD in Anthropology in 2012 and joined Texas A&M University's Anthropology Department in 2022. His research incorporates advanced technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, laser scanning, 3D modeling, data visualization, satellite and aerial imagery, and geophysical data acquired with drones and autonomous underwater vehicles. Dr. Bojakowski's work also focuses on historical and conflict archaeology related to underwater and terrestrial battlefields, especially those involving unaccounted-for US service members. He has participated in over thirty surveys, excavations, and field research projects across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, North America, and Southeast Asia. He directs the J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction Laboratory within Texas A&M's Nautical Archaeology Program. His current research projects include surveys of 17th-century shipwrecks in Croatia, ethnographic studies of dhow construction in Zanzibar, and investigations of 19th-century shipwrecks such as the Equator and the Warwick in Bermuda. Additionally, he is involved in digital preservation and monitoring projects, including the use of 3D technologies for underwater cultural heritage sites.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Archaeology
• History
• Engineering
• Art
• Geology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Oceanography
• Visual arts
• Geotechnical engineering
• Ethnology
• Literature
• Geography
• Marine engineering
• Mechanical engineering

Selected publications

• Au large de Santa-Lucia-di-Moriani – Mission DPAA 18-2

  OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · 2026-02-10

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Du 26 juin au 3 juillet 2018, une opération de terrain a été menée par le Department of Defense POW/MIA (DPAA), par -17 m, sur un fond de sable coquillier et de posidonies. L’équipe sous-marine était constituée de plongeurs démineurs de la Marine nationale et de scaphandriers de l’US Navy. Les plongées ont été menées depuis le dragueur de mines de la marine française BBPD Pluton. Cette mission se situe dans le prolongement de celle de 2014 réalisée par le Deployment Site Survey chargée du po...

  PublisherOA PDF

• Terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry in documentation of historic ships: A case study based on the late 19th-century schooner Equator

  Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage · 2025-05-04 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Rani novovjekovni brodolom kod rta Ratca na otoku Koločepu

  In situ : · 2025-12-22

  articleOpen access

  Brodolom kod rta Ratca na otoku Koločepu iznimno je vrijedno podmorsko arheološko nalazište iz ranoga novog vijeka. Usprkos tomu, o njemu se do sada nije povela odgovarajuća briga pa se stanje na njemu i dalje narušava neovlaštenim ronilačkim aktivnostima. Tijekom stručnog očevida i površinskog čišćenja nalazišta 2024. godine pronađeni su brojni predmeti iz brodske opreme i tereta, a otkriveni su i odlično očuvani ostatci drvene brodske konstrukcije. Iako je nalazište trenutačno zaštićeno geotekstilom, takva je zaštita samo privremenog karaktera pa je nastavak istraživanja, čini se, za sada najpovoljniji način dugoročne zaštite.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The plain scale from <i>Warwick</i> (1619)

  Journal of Navigation · 2024-09-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Among the artefacts recovered from Warwick , an English ship wrecked in Bermuda at the end of November 1619, was a small wooden navigational device. Discovered during the 2010 archaeological field season, the object was cleaned, analysed, and later conserved. It has been identified as an analogue navigational tool known as a plain scale. A novel instrument at the time, the device showed real-world applications of complex mathematical formulas for charting a course on a map. Its presence on Warwick is striking; it is believed to be the earliest known example of a plain scale in use on board an English ship sailing to the colonies. The goal of this paper is to present the artefact, provide its historical and archaeological background, and discuss the current body of research related to its purpose in resolving navigational problems.

  PublisherDOI

• The Many Lives of <i>Equator</i> : History and Analysis of the Late 19th-century Pacific Schooner (Part 1)

  The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology · 2024-10-09 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Mtepe: Documentation and Analysis of a Sewn-Boat Reconstruction from Zanzibar, Tanzania

  African Archaeological Review · 2024

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • History
  • Visual arts
  PublisherDOI

• <i>Warwick</i> : An Interim Report on Artefact Assemblage Recovered from the Early 17th-Century English Ship, Castle Harbour, Bermuda

  The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology · 2023 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Archaeology
  • History

  The excavation of Warwick, an early 17th-century English ship wrecked in a hurricane, yielded more than 2,000 individual cultural objects, the largest and most significant being the articulated remains of the starboard section of the hull. This article details the objects salvaged and excavated from the site prior to 2008 and presents an overview of selected artefacts recovered during 2010–12 excavations by the authors. The objects included in this catalog are those that have been analyzed, already conserved, or are currently in various stages of conservation.

  PublisherDOI

• Post-excavation recording and 3D modeling in ship reconstruction: A case study of the Western Ledge Reef Wreck

  Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage · 2023

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Engineering
  PublisherDOI

• Underwater Archaeology at DPAA: Efforts to Address U.S. Military Loss Incidents

  The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology · 2019-01-01

  article
  Publisher

• DPAA's Efforts to Address Unresolved U.S. Military Overwater and In-water Loss Incidents and Underwater Sites

  Society for Historical Archaeology · 2017-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Katie Custer Bojakowski

  Institute of Nautical Archaeology

  8 shared

• Raul Palomino Berrocal

  Texas A&M University

  5 shared

• Perry Naughton

  University of California, San Diego

  3 shared

• Richard K. Wills

  2 shared

• Antonella Wilby

  Active Signal Technologies (United States)

  1 shared

• Abdallah K. Ali

  Zanzibar University

  1 shared

• Michael J. Bianco

  1 shared

• H. Othman

  Zanzibar University

  1 shared

Labs

• J. Richard Steffy Ship Reconstruction LaboratoryPI

Awards & honors

• Sara W. & George O. Yamini Endowed Professorship