Interpreting What Cannot Be Seen: The Challenges of Developing Public Outreach for an Inaccessible Site.

Summary

In regards to the protection of cultural sites, the National Park Service’s mandate requires the agency to preserve resources for the betterment of future generations. Decades of restricted access and recent stabilization activities completed at the HMS Fowey shipwreck have effectively closed archeological access to it for the discernible future. While the National Park Service did not come lightly to the decision to physically remove access from the site, it is only after several decades of monitoring significant loss at the site, both to erosion and looting, that this option was considered. This presentation will discuss the specific measures including a number of displays, publications, and public outreach program that, while the site is inaccessible for future visitation or research, have been developed in conjunction with the ongoing monitoring of the site in order to better facilitate stewardship of the once threatened and archeologically sensitive resource. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Reaching Across the Pond: The Archaeological Investigation and Management of the HMS Fowey (1748) Shipwreck in Biscayne National Park.

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 322