The SHIPS Project Team

Mallory Haas

Mallory Haas is an archaeologist who started her career working in public archaeology.  She managed several seasons of field schools in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio, engaging underprivileged youth in historical archaeology, using archaeology as a way to create an interest in science and history. Mallory got involved in diving and maritime archaeology in the Great Lakes in the USA and is now a commercial diver and mixed gas technical diver.

Mallory started working with the SHIPS Project in 2013 and is now director and chief archaeologist for the Project. Mallory is lead for the Stray Finds Project which aims to record objects found underwater and recovered by sports divers. Mallory is also working with the Plymouth Box Museum to develop their shipwreck interactive and produce a new shipwreck chart. The SHIPS Project is developing courses for training sports divers to be shipwreck explorers, bringing more citizen science to underwater heritage.  A new venture is the 1000 Tyre Project which aims to help clean up Plymouth Sound by removing tyres and other abandoned junk, and Mallory leads this first environmental initiative by the SHIPS Project.

For the past few years Mallory has worked as a consultant for TV and media, developing and leading investigations on many shipwreck projects in the UK and USA.  Mallory most recently was the archaeological advisor to the TV series Enslaved, acting as the Project Archaeologist on many of the shipwreck sites investigated by the series.  Mallory continues to be a consultant on a number of media projects being released in 2021. Mallory is a Trained Scientific Recovery Expert for DPAA, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, and has undergone training with the US Military in Hawaii to be a lead investigator on missions to recover human remains underwater from wrecks or crash sites. 

Mallory’s recent work includes collaboration with Mohini Chandra at the Plymouth College of Art on a project called ‘Paradise Lost’ which brings maritime heritage to a wider audience through art.  The piece looks at material culture connected to indentureship and slavery to help interpret inconvenient truths about past human actions.

Mallory is an adviser on maritime heritage for the Port of Plymouth Maritime Liaison Committee (PPMLC). Mallory is also a technical administrator for MSubs Ltd. in Plymouth who build submersibles and autonomous vehicles. Mallory sits on the board of IMASS, the organising committee for the International Shipwreck Conference, is the Engagement Officer for The Big Cannon Project (Ultima Ratio), a tutor for The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) and is the treasurer for the Protected Wreck Association of licensees.

Peter Holt

Peter Holt spent 20 years with Sonardyne International Ltd. designing subsea navigation systems for the oil industry and military. Since 1989 Peter has worked on maritime archaeology projects all over the world in water depths from the foreshore down to 1200m, and started 3H Consulting Ltd. to provide consultancy and software to the maritime archaeology community. Between 2010 and 2016 Peter directed the SHIPS Project, a wide ranging study of the maritime history of Plymouth, when it was funded by the US research foundation ProMare. From 2016 to present the SHIPS Project has been run by 3H Consulting Ltd. with Peter as a director.

Peter has written a number of papers on surveying, geophysics, archaeology, maritime history, GIS and data management and has written and contributed to a number of books on early submarines, marine geophysics, archaeology, shipwrecks and maritime history.  Peter was a visiting research fellow at Plymouth University from 2010 to 2016, supervising numerous MSc Hydrography projects each year. Peter is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, a Member of the Hydrographic Society, a NAS Senior Tutor, he was the NAS south-west regional co-ordinator until 2021 and is vice chair of IMASS, the International Shipwreck Conference organising committee. Peter is a commercial diver, pilot for small ROVs and is a Scientific Recovery Expert for the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Until July 2021, Peter was Operations Manager for MSubs Ltd. managing the build of small manned submersibles, he was the Chief Technology Officer for HydroSurv Ltd., designing and building uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and he now runs the 1000 Tyres Project and does heritage and environmental consultancy work.

Recent publications include a book about the abandoned hulks and ships on Plymouth's foreshore, crashed aircraft in the Tamar waterway and a history of pollution in Plymouth Sound.

Volunteers and Supporters

The SHIPS Project could not operate without its huge team of volunteers, supporters and advisors who are too numerous to mention here. The team includes divers, archaeologists, historians, researchers, legal experts, geophysicists, environmental scientists, illustrators, diving companies, survey companies, museums, universities, government institutions and the Royal Navy.

We would like to thank you all for your help exploring our shared history.