European Underwater Cultural Heritage: Diversity and Nature of the Threats

1. European Underwater Cultural Heritage: Diversity and Nature of the Threats Michel L’Hour Member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body of the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage Director of France’s Underwater Archaeology Research Department Member of the ICOM International Observatory in illicit traffic of cultural goods Paris, 22-23 September 2016

2. "The sea is the largest museum in the world" (Salomon Reinach, 1928) And it's also a very special museum because… - It extends over 71% of the planet, about 361 million km² - It has no caretaker or security system protecting it - Anyone can visit it, day or night, without being checked - Nobody has ever made a detailed inventory of its collections, - Most of its collections have yet to be located and little is known about those that have - Very few countries have legislation to protect it - Fines and prison sentences are too lenient to put off looters - Other than catching someone in the act, looting is very difficult to prove

3. Some industrial activities Trade Concession Factors leading to the destruction of underwater heritage have increased dramatically over the last few decades Plunder Mainly, three activities threaten underwater cultural heritage

4. Commercial salvage of wrecks: a very old system, legal but perverse John Lethbridge 1675-1759 Salvage concession, 1749 Salvaging a wreck. Le Pouliguen, 1765

5. After WWII, concessions were a quick way of getting rid of wrecks that contained explosives

6. Concessions…. Badlymanaged After WWII, commercial concessions were granted without placing any age limit on the wrecks concerned. Many shipwrecks from WWI were thus salvaged for scrap at the same time as those of WWII The autorisation concerns, without exception or restriction all the wrecks or remains of wrecks, in metal or wood, that lie in territorial waters along the coast of Calvados… (1991)

7. Requests for salvaging WWI cargoes have increased since the year 2000 The Barsac,11 January 1918 Specialist companies request permission to salvage 2,000 tonnes of nickel ore from the Barsac using a suction dredger

8. Trade concessions: legalized piracy? Some concessions may conceal looting Seaway Invincible & Endeavour: two wreck hunters in Europe

9. Industrial activities at sea Risks for the environment but also for underwater cultural heritage

10. Twenty years of offshore works have greatly contributed to the destruction of underwater heritage. The two main culprits are dredging and the extraction of marine minerals

11. Companies that extract marine gravel across vast areas of the seabed are among the worst offenders for underwater cultural heritage

12. In the areas wheregravel-extractingcompaniesneverfindwrecks, archaeologistlocateseveralthousand. The example of Seine Bay 1985 1990 Main concessions 1995 2006

13. Threat on the seashore Many wrecks buried in the foreshore were destroyed to improve safety for leisure activities, such as sand-yachting

14. Threats linked to fishing

15. Underwater heritage was suffering terribly from the activities of fishing trawlers Gun torn off a wreck by a trawler. Normandy. June 2014

16. Mammoth tusk Estimate: 4000 € - 5000 € Mammoth tooth Sold: 650 € Mammoth left humerus Estimate: 1500 – 1800 €

17. After 1995, trawlers hunting for fish at great depths became a direct threat to wrecks situated on the edge of the abyssal zone

18. Trawl net covering the Porticiollo wreck. Corsica, 19e c., 425 m Trawl net covering an unknown wreck. Corsica, WWII, 500 m Trawlers are wrecks’ number one enemy Trawl net covering the HMS Saracen 13 August 1943, 420 m

19. Roman wreck Aléria 1, depth: 334 m (AD 90-130), disrupted by a trawl Groove cut by a trawler’s otter board Wrecks cannot stand up to the battering inflicted by pelagic trawlers

20. United Nations /RES/61/105. 6 March 2007 - Sixty-first session 61/105. Sustainable fisheries 06-50073. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 8 December 2006 What about the idea of requesting the UN to include the protection of underwater heritage in their deliberations relating to the management of deep-sea resources?

21. Progress in diving techniques not only gave rise to the discipline of underwater archaeology, it has over the last seventy years also facilitated, regrettably, the looting of wrecks

22. In the 1970s and 80s looting was something everybody did… plundering was rampant

23. In the 80s, the change in attitude allowed us to fight organized gangs more effectively

24. Trimix gas and rebreathers facilitate access to wrecks in average depths of 50 to 160 metres.

25. When exploring deep-water wrecks, divers behave in the same manner as their predecessors. They feel the need to appropriate the wrecks they explore

26. Odyssey Marine Exploration Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (4 October 1804) Hunting the treasure hunters 2000 : The plundering of the Polluce (17 June 1841)

27. International networks The looting of the Sao Ideffonso (1527) Investigation into Indian ocean trafficking Sales of maritime cultural items via the internet Sale of an octant on…

28. The golden rule: Never give up!

29. UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage To date, fifty-five countries have ratified Unesco’s 2001 convention, including eleven members of the European Community Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Spain France Hungary Italy Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia In many countries, difficulties in applying the Convention are the result of meagre financial, technical and human resources

30. Thank You / Merci