Astrolabe
- Cave Art March 24, 2020The Lucayan petroglyphs of East Caicos. By Dr. Michael P. Pateman Archaeological studies of the Lucayan Islands (which includes The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands) have mainly focused on settlement surveys and large scale village excavations. However, early archaeologists (late 19th and early 20th century) focused most of their efforts on the cave systems of these ...Read more about this post
- TCI in WWII December 4, 2019Survivors of U-Boats: Vineland in 1942, Part II By Captain Eric Wiberg In the Fall 2019 issue of Astrolabe, the author detailed the sinking of the Canadian dry-bulk ship Vineland, on April 20, 1942 by the German submarine U-154 while it was roughly 90 miles north of North Caicos. The survivors voyaged in three lifeboats until they ...Read more about this post
- Going Under December 4, 2019Searching lost wrecks on Salt Cay. Story & Photos By Dr. Joost Morsink and Dr. Ruud Stelten South of Grand Turk, a small and sleepy island rests in the Atlantic Ocean: Salt Cay. With approximately 90 inhabitants on 2.6 square miles, this is the least populated of the main inhabited islands in the Turks & Caicos Islands. ...Read more about this post
- TCI in WWI and WWII September 13, 2019Survivors of U-Boat strikes on Stifinder (1918) and Vineland (1942). By Capt. Eric Wiberg ~ Images Courtesy Eric Wiberg Recently, the topic of German and Italian submarine depredations in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Caribbean and US has risen to the surface more often. This includes knowledge of the discovery of the arrival of German naval ...Read more about this post
- To the Rescue July 11, 2019Community teamwork investigates early island culture. By Dr. Shaun D. Sullivan and Dr. Michael P. Pateman ~ Photos Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum In the fall of 2018, local volunteers and students came together in a community effort to record a key part of the culture of early Turks & Caicos Islanders. They came from nearby ...Read more about this post
- Bold & Unapologetic July 11, 2019People of the Islands in front of the lens. By Michael P. Pateman and Vanessa A. Pateman “People of the Islands” is the National Museum’s new oral history/ethnography program. This project seeks to tell the story of “Islanders” of the Bahama Archipelago through their own voice, with a first person narrative. Oral histories are stories that living ...Read more about this post
- Sense of Place March 13, 2019Visits to the National Museum trigger common memories. By Candianne Williams As a museum professional, I get to experience many cultural exchanges between our visitors which makes my own experience very enriching. The TCI National Museum exhibits give them a “sense of place” which Fritz (1981) defines as the specific experience of a person as a result ...Read more about this post
- A Country’s Treasure Trove March 12, 2019Why national museums and archives are so important. By Vanessa Forbes-Pateman Traditionally, a museum’s role is the housing and protection of cultural and heritage material; preservation and conservation of artifacts of historical or religious value and sentiment; the research and scholarly work associated with those artifacts and public education on and enjoyment of them. While the Turks & ...Read more about this post
- A Glimpse of the Past December 28, 2018Early photographers on Grand Turk. By Jeffrey Dodge Edmund Neale Coverley, one of the most active early photographers on Grand Turk at the beginning of the 20th century, has been the subject of several past articles in the Astrolabe. He is well known because many of his photographs were used to produce early picture postcards. The earliest postcards ...Read more about this post
- Morning in the Garden of Good and Evil December 28, 2018Investigating Grand Turk’s Over Island Graveyard. Story & Photos By Matthew A. Williamson, Ph.D. My apologies to the author John Berendt, who penned the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, for only slightly changing his title for this article. I think it’s appropriate though, given the work that I do and where I live. ...Read more about this post
- One Page at a Time September 18, 2018Digitizing TCI’s archival heritage collections. By Dr. Kelley Scudder-Temple, Dr. Michael P. Pateman and Vanessa Forbes-Pateman Although occupied for more than 300 years, the Turks & Caicos Islands have been historically governed from afar. This absence of direct governance has resulted in limited archival conservation measures, leaving tens of thousands of rare documents in peril. While the Turks ...Read more about this post
- Casualties of War September 17, 2018The Loyalists’ impact on the Turks & Caicos Islands. By Dr. Charlene Kozy Casualties of war usually are counted as members of the military. In the War for American Independence, the casualty count included civilians that did not agree with the Revolution. The Revolution was a minority movement. One-third of the population at the time were neutral, more ...Read more about this post
- The History Man July 4, 2018Herbert “Bertie” Sadler made TCI history his life’s work. By Marjorie Sadler ~ Images Courtesy Marjorie Sadler Herbert “Bertie” Sadler, the Turks & Caicos Islands’ own “History Man,” died in 1992 at his home on Grand Turk. He had spent most of his adult life in the Turks Islands and wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else. He ...Read more about this post
- Childhood Memories July 4, 2018Recollections of growing up on South Caicos. By Emily Malcolm ~ Photos Courtesy Sailrock South Caicos Archival Collection As I took a stroll through my community of South Caicos, I reminisced on my childhood and teenage years. I saw buildings or parts thereof that reminded me of some of the most exciting and joyous experiences in ...Read more about this post
- Window to the Past April 4, 2018The legacy of Emily Kersteiner. By Emily Malcolm ~ Photos Courtesy Heidi Hertler The Turks & Caicos Islands are literally “Beautiful by Nature” with crystalline waters, white sandy beaches and stunning shoreside terrain. An archipelago of astonishing and well-preserved ecosystems, it is also home to well-preserved historical buildings of Bermudian-styled architecture found on the Salt Islands of ...Read more about this post
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This spectacular shot was captured by Seth Willingham, also known as @waterproject on Instagram. He’s been a professional photographer for 15 years, traveling the world capturing images of nature from beautiful destinations. He says, " From the moment I first saw Turks & Caicos from the airplane window I knew this place was going to be different. On our first night at Grace Bay, we were blessed with a glorious sunset and the colors of the sky and water were truly mind blowing."