Law and Order: Protecting, Studying and Sharing Underwater Cultural Heritage

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lydia Barbash-Riley.

Although the law has significantly improved protection for Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) in state waters with the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, and in federally-designated sanctuaries under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, UCH, including Native American artifacts, outside of these areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is still at risk. As shipwrecks often integrate with the natural environment, thereby becoming artificial reefs and fish aggregating devices, existing...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Tom Dawson.

Global warming and coastal processes are threatening our heritage. There are huge numbers of sites at risk and diminishing resources to deal with the problem. This paper questions whether a new model of heritage management, with much greater community involvement, should be adopted for the 21st century. It is public money that is often used to work at eroding sites, and so the public needs to be better informed about the scale of the problem. Using examples from across Scotland, this paper will...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Valerie Grussing.

Most marine protected areas (MPAs) in the U.S. were established to protect biological diversity and ecosystem resources, and MPA managers and staff often lack expertise on cultural resource management. The Cultural Heritage Resources Working Group of the MPA Federal Advisory Committee produced a white paper recommending a Cultural Landscape Approach for integrated management of cultural and natural resources within the National MPA System. Now, the group is taking the next step to put cultural...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Daniel Brown.

The War of 1812 was a pivotal conflict in defining both the infantile United States and laying the ground work for Canadian Confederation and the long road to Canadian Independence. In terms of nautical archaeology, little remains that allows the modern archaeologist to explore and understand this lesser known conflict. The catastrophic sinking of USS Hamilton and Scourge 200 years ago created extremely rare time capsules of material culture. Both ships came to rest intact on their keels in 90...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Ira Dillenia.

Historically, Morotai had significant position in history of world war II, so variety of underwater archaeology remains, such as ancient military shipwrecks, ancient military aircrafts, old military harbors and lighthouses can be found in coastal and small island areas all around Morotai. They can be exploited of historical science, as well as for utilization of economically while supporting efforts to conserve, such as tourism, including marine tourism (diving, snorkeling and other special...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Nathaniel Howe.

Nautical archaeology is a field with numerous inherent dangers. Safety training for professionals focuses heavily on the hazards of diving--nitrogen narcosis, pulmonary gas embolisms, and the bends’--but the dangers posed by the ships themselves, sunk or afloat, receive comparatively little attention. To work safely, nautical archaeologists and maritime museum professionals need to be familiar with common hazards found aboard ships and how to mitigate these threats. Fire, sudden flooding,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Alexis Catsambis.

The Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004 (SMCA) ensured that the United States government maintains title to its sunken military craft and associated contents regardless of time of loss, irrespective of location. The Department of the Navy, operating through the Naval History & Heritage Command, is presently in the final stages of establishing federal regulations implementing the SMCA and setting forth the parameters for a permitting program to enable activities that disturb U.S. Navy sunken...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Frederick Hanselmann. Juan G. Martin. Christopher Horrell. Bert Ho. Andres Diaz. Jose Espinosa.

The Caribbean coast of Colombia is famous for being part of the Spanish treasure route, including Cartagena de Indias; a crucial port along the route. The call of gold and silver led to conflict between natives, Spanish fleets, privateers, pirates, and foreign navies, leaving numerous shipwrecks along the coast and in ports such as Cartagena. While it is known that many shipwrecks exist, very little has been done to document, study, and manage this underwater cultural heritage with some areas...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher Underwood.

Today, in the UK at least, it is generally acknowledged by heritage and archaeological organisations that public attitudes toward the underwater cultural heritage have changed for the better. Can this assumption be supported by evidence and if so, what have been the main factors? Has the change been due to the impact of the public archaeology initiatives that for over 25 years have raised awareness, or have other drivers such as the media played their part in shaping today’s public attitudes?...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Ole Varmer. Brian Jordan. Lydia Barbash-Riley.

The Departments of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have produced a study on Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) Law and a website containing the relevant statutes, legislative histories, cases and other related documents. The study summarizes the application of U.S. statutes that may directly and indirectly protect UCH, provides an analysis of the gaps in the law protecting UCH on the Outer Continental Shelf,...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Sorna Khakzad.

Since 2001 there has been a lot debate about ratifying the Convention on Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). Since the countries pioneering underwater archaeology have not yet ratified the Convention, thus the question rises that to what extent ratifying the 2001 Convention can be assisting the State Parties to enhance their UCH practices. New efforts at UNESCO aim at subscribing the best practices of underwater archaeological activities in the World Heritage List, which is...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Ian Oxley.

The understanding of historic asset ownership in the marine or terrestrial zones is a key step in enabling good heritage management aimed at realising values for the benefit of all. Marine heritage asset ownership is unclear, poorly documented, and there is a lack of constructive collaboration with owners leading to problems with a lack of appropriate reporting, archive development and museum engagement.Legal instruments relating to marine finds are neither comprehensive nor sensitive to...