Under three months now till the 2010 TIGHAR expedition to Nikumaroro launches, sailing out of Apia, Samoa. We have two major and one subsidiary objective.
Major: 1. Systematic excavation of the Seven Site, at the SE end of the island, where we think the bones that may have been Earhart's were found in 1940.
Major: 2. Robotic survey of the reef face off Nutiran, where we think Earhart and Noonan landed in 1937, down to a depth of about 300 meters.
Subsidiary: Excavation of one or more cookhouses in the colonial village at Ritiati, to obtain faunal material for comparison with fire features at the Seven Site. Ancillary site mapping, metal detecting, surface collection.
Of course, the way things usually happen, we have to be prepared for major changes in plan, but that's what we INTEND to do. D-Day is May 18, with return on June 15. News of progress will be posted at www.tighar.org as it happens.
