Download prevent pillage – do not hunt for souvenirs

PREVENT PILLAGE – DO
NOT HUNT FOR SOUVENIRS
The pillaging of underwater archaeological sites as
well as souvenir hunting are increasing problems.
They can be avoided by the strict monitoring of
sites, by border controls and the satellite monitoring
of the movements of boats. It is however also
important that everyone having access to sites or
artifacts is aware of the importance to preserve
them.
Ancient shipwrecks and sites are frequently
looted.
Underwater cultural heritage is becoming increasingly
accessible since Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan
invented the aqualung in 1942-43, which allowed the
reach of greater depths not only by scientists and
archaeologist, but also by treasure hunters and salvage
explorers.
Since then, commercial exploitation, looting of the
underwater archaeological sites and destruction of their
contexts have increased rapidly and threaten to deprive
humanity of this heritage. The pillaging and dispersion of
archaeological heritage is no longer restricted to landbased sites, with treasure hunting also taking place under
water. Nevertheless, while many States have heightened
the protection of their heritage on land, most of their
underwater cultural heritage remains unprotected.
said that it would pay no salvage award for the nonpermitted recovery as the cargo of the Mercedes was
protected by sovereign immunity. A court battle ensued for
five years before the US courts ruled in 2012 that
Odyssey had no claim to the artifacts and had to return
the 594,000 gold and silver coins valued at roughly USD
500 million to Spain. This ruling could however not re-do
the damage done to the historically significant wreck and
its context.
While the story of the Mercedes wreck made headlines,
many sites are pillaged every day without any public
attention paid to it. Amphorae are dragged out of the
water, bull eyes are broken out of hulls, and coins are dug
out of complex archaeological mounts. In some instances
the timbers of the wrecks are ‘only’ exposed to the
currents and decay, in other cases wrecks are even
dynamited to enter their hulls or destroy evidence.
A major incentive for pillaging is in many regions the
existence of a market demand. Would there be no such
market, many sites especially in Asia and Latin-America
would be preserved.
This Code has been elaborated by the Scientific and
technical Advisory Body and officially adopted by the
Meeting of States Parties to the 2001 Convention. It
resumes what is the best behavior for every responsible
diver of submerged archaeological sites. It is supported by
the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS).
A main issue of this Code is that divers should only
observe the sites they visit, but neither touch or take
anything.
Do not support pillaging. Do not buy any artifact that
seems to come from the sea bed.
Another issue is the collection of souvenirs by tourists.
Tourists love souvenirs. Unfortunately this is also true for
submerged cultural heritage sites, especially ancient
shipwrecks. Many wrecks especaially in the Red Sea and
in the Pacific are continually looted by visiting divers. The
concerned sites are in consequence devastated and
emptied of the content that made them originally attractive
for the visitors. Dive operators as well as scientists are
concerned. Not only is the scientific content lost, but also
the attraction of the cultural site.
Treasure hunting is a serious threat to sites.
Souvenir collection erodes and destroys sites.
The story of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes wreck is
telling. This Spanish ship had more than 200 people
aboard when it sank in 1804 in a naval battle with the
British. The Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration
Inc. found the shipwreck off the Iberian Peninsula near the
Strait of Gibraltar in 2007, taking the booty first to
Gibraltar, at Spain's southern tip, and then to Florida.
When Spain discovered that the cargo of the Mercedes
had been recovered without permission, it claimed
possession of the artifacts since the Mercedes had been a
military vessel and under the jurisdiction of Spain. Spain
UNESCO has established a Code of Ethics for Diving
on Submerged Archaeological Sites.
For the souvenir collecting visitor the ‘loot’ remains rarely
of interest: Artifacts taken out of the water have to
undergo strict conservation in order to not decay and
corrode in contact with air. Metal pieces loose fast weight,
ceramics crackle, timbers fall apart. Very often the piece
of the Roman amphorae that was appealing on the ocean
floor ends finally in a backyard or even the wastebasket.
Do not support souvenir hunting. Do not take
anything and discourage others to do so.
© Spanish Ministry of Culture. Coins from the pillaged
wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes
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