Nautical Archaeology: Progress and Public Responsibility 9780860542841, 9781407337616

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
The Law and Nautical Archaeology: An International Survey
Canadian Underwater Archaeology and the Law
Fathom Five Provincial Park -- A Successful Experiment
Successful Cooperation -- Underwater Archaeologists and A Provincial Government
Continuing Involvement of Governments: The Problems of Conservation
Summary of Roundtable Discussions
A Basque Whaling Ship at Red Bay, Labrador
Excavations on the Former Seabed
The Caesarea Harbour Excavation Report
The MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary In Perspective
Maritime Archaeology in Australasia: Recent Discoveries
Nautical Archaeology: The HAMILTON and the SCOURGE: A First Look
Underwater Archaeology in British Columbia
Conservation of Archaeological Artifacts: the Problem in British Columbia
High Technology, Underwater Archaeology, and Work on the BREADALBANE

Citation preview

Nautical Archaeology Progress and Public Responsibility

edited by

Susan B. M. Langley and

Richard W. Unger

BAR International Series 220 1984

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R Walker, M.A.

BAR -S220,1Q8lt 'Nautical Archaeoloqy;l-'roqre�� a nd Public Resposibility'

©

The Individual Authors, 198lt

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860542841 paperback ISBN 9781407337616 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860542841 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

i n

For Margaret Rule, r ecognition o f her outstanding contributions t o n autical a rchaeology.

Table o f Contents

P reface Robin R .

Inglis

I ntroduction R ichard W . Unger

1

a nd Susan B .M.

Langley

The Law and Nautical Archaeology: An International Survey Patrick J . O ' Keefe The Law and Nautical Archaeology Susan B .M. Langley

3

9 i n Canada 1 8

Fathom Five P rovincial Park A Successful Experiment: a p ark for underwater a rchaeology Stan McClellan

3 2

Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society Successful Cooperation: underwater a rchaeologists a nd a p rovincial government Vernon C . Barber

3 8

Continuing Involvement o f Governments: t he p roblems o f conservation Victoria Jenssen

4 8

Summary of Roundtable D iscussion R ichard W . Unger

5 9

A Basque Whaling Ship Robert Grenier

at Red Bay,

8 4

Excavations on t he Former R einder Reinders

Seabed 9 9

Excavations i n t he Roman Harbour Caesarea Maritima, I srael John P . Oleson U SS MONITOR: examination o f American Civil War I ronclad Nancy Foster Maritime Archaeology r ecent d iscoveries Jeremy Green

Labrador

o f 1 13

t he 1 38

i n Australasia:

The HAMILTON and t he S COURGE: A First Look. Kenneth A . Cassavoy

1 55

1 76

Recent Finds i n British Columbia David Griffiths

1 99

Conservation of Archaeological Artifacts: t he p roblem i n British Columbia Eric Lawson

2 09

High Technology, Underwater Archaeology, and Work on t he BREADALBANE Robert G renier

214

P reface

Robin R .

Inglis

Director Vancouver Maritime Museum 1 905 Ogden St. Vancouver, B .C. V6J 1 A3

In early 1 983, t he Trustees o f t he Vancouver Maritime Museum re-activated t he Vancouver Maritime Museum Society a s a supporting o rganization for t he i nstitution; i t was a lso hoped t hat i t m ight b ecome a v ehicle t o sponsor a ctivities o f a special nature a s an e xtension o f t he Museum's r egular p rogramming. This, i ndeed, happened when, t hanks t o t he e fforts o f D r. R ichard Unger, a T rustee o f t he Museum and P rofessor of H istory a t t he University o f British Columbia, a n opportunity p resented i tself for t he Society t o co-sponsor, w ith t he Archaeological Institute o f America, a s eminar/conference on Nautical Archaelogy. Technological a dvances i n equipment have now made i t p ossible for sport d ivers t o r each and explore a t w ill s hipwrecks l ying i n t he coastal waters off British Columbia. Through t he work o f t he Underwater A rchaeological Society of British Columbia [ a Museum a ffiliate], f ounded i n 1 975, a continuing e ffort i s made t o t ake positive a ction t o r ecognize t hat p art o f o ur m aritime h eritage t hat l ies b eneath t he s ea, and t o p romote, t hrough r esearch, p lanned expeditions, a nd e ducation, t he p ractice o f n autical a rchaeology. The

1

Society has r eceived grants f rom t he British Columbia Heritage Trust t o undertake a s eries of status r eports on historic shipwrecks, and i t was i n t he i nterests o f maintaining and encouraging t his i mportant work that t he Vancouver Maritime Museum Society embraced so enthusiastically t he i dea o f a seminar/conference, a nd i tself sought, s uccessfully, t he s upport o f t he Heritage Trust for t he endeavour. We were particularly i nterested i n p roviding p rovincial government r epresentatives w ith an overview o f t he various r oles a ssumed by governments i nternationally and t he l egislation t hat has b een e nacted in various parts o f t he world. It s eemed t o us i mportant t o encourage our government t o work w ith i nstitutions s uch a s t he Museum and t he Underwater Archaeological Society t o p rovide a f ramework of l aw and r egulations for t he a ctivities o f d ivers i n our coastal waters. Such a development n eed not be v iewed a s r estrictive; r ather it s hould be expected t o l ead t o t he r eporting of n ew s ites, p rofessional s tandards of operation and i nvestigation, and t he r ecovery of a rtifacts under controlled conditions t hat would, i n t urn, p rovide for a w ider s haring o f i nformation i n t he public i nterest. The gathering t ogether i n Victoria and Vancouver o f a g roup of i nternationally r espected speakers, and t he publication o f t heir papers and t he discussions t hat followed f rom t hem, i s evidence of s ignificant progress for t he cause o f nautical a rchaeology on Canada' s West Coast. The Vancouver Maritime Museum Society i s p leased t o have b een i nvolved as t he sponsor of NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY: PROGRESS AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILTIY, a nd looks forward t o b eing part o f f uture i nitiatives i n this a rea of a cademic r esearch and p rofessional p ractice.

2

Introduction

R ichard W .

Unger

and Susan B .M.

Langley

There were many d ifferent r easons for f or t he meeting NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY: PROGRESS AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY held i n Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, on 2 9 and 3 0 September and 1 October, 1 983. The i ndividuals i nvolved i n t he o riginal p lanning came f rom differerent d isciplines and f rom d ifferent institutions. The variety o f t hose sources guaranteed an extensive b ase on which t o b uild t he p rogram b ut i t a lso led t o t he complexity of t he meeting. Historically t he p rocess b egan i n t he l ate Fall o f 1 982 w ith d iscussions a t t he University of British Columbia. Richard Unger, a member of t he Department o f H istory a t t he University, o f t he Board of Trustees o f t he Vancouver Maritime Museum and of t he Vancouver Society of t he Archaeological Institute o f America, b rought t ogether James Russell, P rofessor o f Classics a t UBC and t reasurer o f t he Vancouver Society of t he AIA, and Robin Inglis, t he d irector o f t he VMM. The purpose was to explore potential common g round for t he AIA and t he VMM, t o f ind s omething which t hey could do j ointly which would f it t he missions o f t he t wo i nstitutions. The AIA h ad sponsored conferences i n t he past on h istorical a rchaeology and on ancient c ities which had p roven very s uccessful. The g roup a lso had a long-standing desire t o g enerate g reater i nterest i n nautical a rchaeology. There were other a rchaeological g roups i n t he p rovince, t he Underwater Archaeological Society o f British Columbia a nd t he Archaeology Society o f British Columbia, which concentrated more on local excavation. The AIA had

3

c ooperated w ith t hose g roups i n t he p ast a nd was a nxious t o f ind mutually b eneficial a ctivities w here f urther cooperation was possible. A conference on n autical a rchaeology s eemed a l ogical c hoice. The Vancouver Maritime Museum was i nterested i n e xpanding i ts r ole i n t he c ity a nd i n t he p rovince. Though a lmost 2 5 y ears o ld t he Museum h ad f aced many d ifficulties. Under i ts n ew d irector t hough, i t h ad c learly c hanged. The p lanned conference o n u nderwater a rchaeology w as t o r each a w ide public. That goal q uickly b ecame a d etermining f actor i n a ll p reparations. The world-wide b oom i n d iving a nd i n a rchaeology u nderwater had n ot passed-by B ritish Columbia. I nterest h ad b een g rowing i n w estern Canada a nd a ll p lanners o f t he m eeting were a ware o f b oth t he a mateur a ctivity which was a lready common a nd t he government i nterest i n t he potential f or u nderwater a rchaeology. I t was d ecided t hat t he meeting would d eal w ith b oth r ecent work a nd w ith t he p lace o f government i n u nderwater a rchaeology. S ince l aws would b e n eeded i n B ritish Columbia a nd s ince t he government was going t o have t o e stablish a policy, t he p lanners hoped t hrough t he meeting t o b etter i nform p eople i n t he p rovince a bout what h ad b een done e lsewhere a nd t o l ay out for p rofessionals a nd a mateurs w hat p itfalls l ay b efore t hem. There was a n i mmediate d ivision o f l abour. I nglis approached t he p rovincial government w ith t he p lan. Russell a pproached t he A IA. Unger, j ust b ack f rom t he I nternational Symposium on Ship a nd Boat A rchaeology h eld i n Stockholm, s et out t o f ind speakers t o f it t he p lan. The t itle f or t he meeting was c reated t o d escribe t he goals. Those goals b ecame much c learer i n t he following weeks. The A IA s ociety i n Vancouver h ad t ried over t he y ears t o r each a l arger p ublic w ith i nformation about r ecent work i n n autical a rchaeology t hrough courses a nd l ectures a s part o f t heir r egular p rogram. Their e xperience h ad b een mixed. Large g roups h ad not t urned out f or l ectures a nd t hose w ho d id a ttend were n ot p eople f amiliar w ith a rchaeology i n general. The hope was t hat a conference m ight d raw p eople i nterested i n other t ypes o f a rchaeology a s well a s t hose w ith n o p revious i nterest i n t he f ield. A w ide v ariety o f s peakers was n eeded t o r eport o n t he l atest work. The portion o f t he m eeting devoted r ecent p rogress h ad t o t ake p lace i n Vancouver i n o rder t o a ttract a nd a ccommodate t he l argest possible a udience. The Vancouver Maritime Museum d id not h ave a r oom l arge e nough t o hold t he e xpected a udience s o f or t he e vening a nd t he f ull d ay o f t hat s ection o f t he meeting t he venue was t he a uditorium o f t he Vancouver Museum. That i nstitution i s a f ew m etres a way f rom t he VMM a nd connected t o i t t hrough a common u mbrella a dministrative s tructure. A n umber o f speakers, once

4

f aced w ith t he basic p lan, quickly and h appily s eized t he opportunity to join t he p rogram. Margaret Rule k indly a greed t o b e t he opening speaker for t he f irst s ession i n Vancouver. Her a ddition p roved a t remendous a sset. She volunteered t o speak j ust a fter t he r aising o f t he w reck o f t he MARY ROSE, certainly a very busy t ime for her. She a lso went a long with f urther r equests made o f h er i ncluding t hose f or a dditional l ectures a t t he Universities o f Calgary, Washington and Victoria. Robert G renier a ccepted t he i nvitation t o s peak even t hough t he dates meant t hat he would have t o i nterrupt h is own excavation s eason at Red Bay i n Labrador. He made t he t rip d espite g reat d ifficulty b ecause he f elt i t was worth b ringing n ews o f t he work o f h is t eam to western Canada. John Oleson of t he University o f Victoria was p leased t o b e able t o r eport on t he l atest work o f t he joint Canadian-American t eam i n I srael i n t he context o f t he work o f other n autical a rchaeologists. Jeremy Green was a lso q uick t o j oin t he l ist of participants and t o b ring a voice not o ften heard i n North America. Nancy Foster was a welcome last minute a ddition. She a greed t o attend t he meeting s ince s he wanted t o h ear t he r eports f rom t he other speakers. When an opening appeared i n t he p rogram s he g raciously o ffered t o r eport on t he work done just weeks b efore on t he w reck of t he U SS MONITOR off t he coast o f North Carolina. A g reat a dvantage was r ecruiting Reinder Reinders who i s i n c harge o f t he excavation o f w recks on t he former f loor o f t he Z uider Z ee, now part of t he I jsselmeerpolders i n t he Netherlands. For years f armers on t he r eclaimed l and have b een f inding parts o f s hips o r even whole s hips b ut for v arious r easons t he mass o f i nformation generated by such d iscoveries h as not r eached t he public and e specially a North American public. This meeting p roved to be a c hance t o make a s mall e ffort a t correcting t hat oversight. Unfortunately no i ndividual f rom t he Institute o f Nautical Archaeology a t Texas A&M University was able t o participate. A member o f t he g roup s eemed essential t o t he p roceedings and Kenneth Cassavoy d id a gree t o j oin t he meeting while he was a t t he I NA. He left s oon a fter t o move t o Toronto. He wanted t o b e c loser t o t he HAMILTON and SCOURGE p roject i n which he had b een i nvolved for some t ime. He unfortunately h ad t o withdraw a t t he very l ast m inute b ecause o f h is r esignation f rom t he g roup r esponsible f or t he i nvestigations o f t he t wo warships f rom t he War o f 1 812 sunk i n Lake Ontario. Luckily i t has b een possible t o i nclude h is paper i n t his collection even t hough he d id not

g ive

i t

a t

t he meeting.

The goals o f t he meeting meant t hat another t ype i ndividual was n eeded a s well, someone w ho could speak k nowledgably about t he l aw and n autical a rchaeology o r

5

o f

could r eport on u nique r elationships b etween government d epartments o r a gencies a nd o rganizations r esponsible f or nautical a rchaeology. I n i dentifying s ome o f t he p eople w ith t hose unique s kills David Williams i nitially p roved extremely h elpful. He i s a f ormer p resident o f t he Underwater A rchaeological Society o f B ritish Columbia a nd a p art-time e mployee o f t he Vancouver Maritime Museum. Without q uestion h is g reatest contribution w as l eading Richard Unger t o Susan Langley who i mmediately t ook a n a ctive part i n f inding s peakers a nd i n d eveloping t he p rogram. That collaboration y ielded a n i nteresting v ariety o f p articipants whose work f ell comfortably i nto p recise categories. David Williams t ook r esponsibility f or p reparing a s ession on work i n B ritish Columbia. I n t he e nd Philip Nuytten o f CanDive, a Vancouver f irm making h ighly s ophisticated d iving equipment, could n ot a ttend t he s ession. There was however a l ively s urvey o f what h as b een done i n t he p rovince g iven b y t he p resent p resident o f t he Underwater Archaeological Society o f B .C., David G riffiths. E ric Lawson a dded s ome i nteresting observations a bout p roblems o f conserving a rtifacts e specially r elevant to B ritish Columbia. The s ession b ecame p art o f t he Vancouver d eliberations. The e vening a nd t he f ollowing f ull day i n Vancouver h ad a lready b een p receded by a f ull d ay o f d iscussions i n Victoria. The morning o f t hat opening d ay w as d evoted t o t he l aw a nd n autical a rchaeology. The s ession was extremely well s erved w ith t wo s ummary p apers, t he f irst by P atrick O 'Keefe on conditions world w ide a nd t he s econd by S usan Langley on t he s ituation i n C anada. T he a fternoon i n Victoria was n ot a s u niform a s t he morning. There were t hree papers on t hree r ather d ifferent t opics a ll t o do w ith t he r elationship o f g overnment i n o ne f orm o r a nother t o n autical a rchaeology. Stan McClellan r eported on a h ighly s uccessful p ublic park while Vernon Barber t alked about a s uccessful a mateur g roup a nd i mplied c riticism o f other approaches w hile Victoria Jenssen warned a rchaeologists n ot t o f orget t hat something h as t o b e d one w ith a rtifacts a fter t hey a re r aised. The p lanners r ealized e arly on t hat t he p apers would n ot b e a dequate t o cover t he n ecessary g round s o t hey d ecided t o i nclude a r oundtable d iscussion a fter t he papers w ith a ll t hose a ttending h aving t heir c hance t o comment a nd contribute. Good f ortune y ielded Neil Cossins, t he n ew d irector o f t he National Maritime Museum, G reenwich, t o a ct a s t he c hairman. H e was a ble t o e xercise a f irm h and a nd t o d irect t he d iscussion t o c ritical i ssues. Certainly t he Victoria s essions s erved to e ducate t hose p resent w ho h ad n ot t hought a bout t he i ssues b efore a nd t o b ring t o t he a ttention o f p rofessionals s ome u nique a ctivities o f o ther p rofessionals. There were s uggestions, c aveats a nd r ecommendations f or t he g eneral a pproach t hat governments

6

and nautical a rchaeologists s hould t ake. There was some p rogress t oward e stablishing exactly what i s t he i deal r elationship

b etween

t he

d iscipline

and

t he

s tate.

To mount a meeting of t his s cale and w ith t he n umber o f participants i t was obviously n ecessary t o expand t he o riginal p lanning g roup. Susan Langley joined t o help with t he p rogram. David Williams a lso d id some work on t he p rogram and t ook on many of t he small t asks which must be done for s uch a meeting. D iane Newell o f t he History Department, University of British Columbia, j oined i n dealing with local a rrangements. Georgina Hansen, Educational Programmes Co-ordinator at t he Vancouver Maritime Museum, t urned a hand t o making t he Vancouver portion of t he meeting r un smoothly. Betty Thompson volunteered t o handle t he r egistration and d id i t both e fficiently and cheerfully. The Archaeological Society o f B ritish Columbia t ook r esponsibility f or a udio-visual equipment at t he Vancouver s essions. The Underwater Archaeological Society o f British Columbia cooperated i n t he d ive excursion, o rganized by David Williams o f t he VMM, on h istoric wrecks i n t he Strait of Georgia held on t he day after t he l ast papers were g iven. The excursion gave participants f rom various parts o f t he world a chance t o s ee what work i s l ike i n local waters. The complexity o f t he meeting, t he variety o f t opics and t he dual s ites multiplied t he p roblems of t ransportation, a ccommodation and o rganization. All o f t hose people p layed an i mportant r ole i n t he s mooth r unning of t he meeting. The meeting a lso b enefitted f rom t he obvious a nd t angible help o f g ranting a gencies which s upplied t he extensive f unding r equired. The f unding sources were a lmost a s varied a s t he participants and t he goals. F irst, t he British Columbia Heritage Trust made a b lock g rant t o help defray participants' costs and t he costs of t his publication. Second, a conference g rant f rom t he Archaeological I nstitute o f America was split equally b etween a iding t he t ravel o f participants a nd helping pay t he costs o f t his publication. Third, t he Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council o f Canada t hrough i ts p rogram o f Aid t o Occasional Conferences made a s ignificant g rant for t he meeting. The f unds h elped defray t he t ravel costs o f pariticipants. Fourth, t he Government of t he Netherlands, Department o f Foreign Affairs, t hrough t he Banque de Cina Missions p rogram, paid t he cost o f Reinder Reinders' t ravel t o t he conference. Many t hanks a re extended to Colleen L . Barry, who carried out t he majority of t he word-processing, and t o Deborah L . Ferguson for her a ssistance i n p utting t he f inal d raft i n o rder. Lastly t he Universities o f Calgary and B ritish Columbia

7

contributed t he u se o f computer t exts o f p apers a nd d iscussions

f acilities t o p repare f or p ublication.

t he

Holding s uch a meeting c reates g reat d ebts a nd l imited r esults. The d ebts a re t o t hose i ndividuals who h elped w ith developing t he p rogram, w ith local a rrangements, w ith f unding a nd t o t hose who participated. The l ast c ontributed c heerfully a nd g enerously o f t heir t ime and k nowledge. Though i t i s u nfair t o s ingle o ut a ny one o f t he many contributors s ince a ll d id t heir part, s till Margaret Rule and Neil Cossins t hrough t heir u nique positions i n t he p rogram made a l arge d ifference t o t he s uccess o f t he deliberations. The meeting d id not p roduce a g reat c hange i n public i nterest i n n autical a rchaeology i n B ritish Columbia. Only a s mall m inority o f t he p ublic h as y et s hown a n i nterest i n t he f ield o r i n t he p otential which l ies u nder B .C. waters. Nautical a rchaeology i s s till e soteric f or many l ay p eople a nd a lso f or p rofessional a rchaeologists i n t he p rovince, i n western Canada a nd i n much o f t he world. The meeting a t t he very l east c reated t he opportunity t o b e i nformed. Large n umbers o f p eople c ame t o h ear Margaret Rule r eport on MARY ROSE and s izeable g roups h eard about R ed B ay, about t he I jsselmeerpolders, a bout t he U SS MONITOR. Certainly t he MARY ROSE p roject c aught t he i magination of t he B ritish Columbia public a s i t h as i n s o many o ther p arts o f t he world. I t i s most u nfortunate t hat, d ue to a t echnical f ailure, Margaret Rule's paper was n ot a vailable f or i nclusion i n t his volume. The m eeting p roduced a mass o f i nformation f or t he government o f B ritish Columbia, f or t he Vancouver Maritime Museum a nd for t he Underwater A rchaeological Society o f B .C. That w ill p resumably b e t he b asis f or f uture a ction. The meeting was above a ll a f orum f or t he p resentation o f k nowledge a nd e xperience. This volume w ill p erhaps s ucceed i n conveying s ome p art o f t he i nformation w hich was e xchanged a t t he meeting. I t m ay s erve a s t he v ehicle f or t he t ransmission t o a l arger p rofessional a udience what t he l ucky p articipants a nd observers learned i n t hose t hree d ays a t t he e nd o f September a nd t he s tart o f October, 1 983.

8

The Law

and Nautical Archaeology: S urvey

P .

J .

An International

O 'Keefe

LL.M.(A.N.U.); M .A.(Business Law)(C.N.A.A.) B .A.; LL.B. ( 4 11 d); A .I.Arb.A. Senior

Lecturer

i n Law,

University o f

Sydney

Introduction This i s a s urvey of r ecent l egal developments i n t he l aw a s i t r elates t o nautical a rchaeology: an i ndication o f t he p roblem a reas; a s tudy o f t he i ssues t hey r aise a nd an examination o f t he possible solutions. The a ssumption i s made t hat law s hould a nticipate p roblems a nd p rovide solutions now; f or example, possible l egal r egimes applicable t o w recks on t he deep s eabed s hould b e considered now s o t hat when t he t echnology exists for t heir r ecovery conflict i s avoided. I t cannot b e s tressed t oo much t hat i t i s n ecessary for cultural h eritage p rofessionals ( archaeologists, a nthropologists, museum c urators e tc.) t o r each a greement on p riorities s o a s t o e nable a p roper s tructuring of t he l egal r eaime. For example, i t must b e determined how important t he deep s eabed or continental s helf i s t o nautical a rchaeology; t he appropriate role for t he s tate i n p roviding p rotection must b e e stablished. The a nswers t o questions s uch a s t hese w ill i nfluence t he l egal r emedies p rovided.

Major

P roblem Areas

Two major p roblem a reas s eem t o k eep r eappearing: s tate j urisdiction and t itle t o w recks. Put very s imply, s tate j urisdiction means t he ability of t he s tate t o c ontrol a ctivities. In t he i nternational a rena, i t i s b asically a q uestion of what s tates w ill a llow e ach other t o do. On t he other hand, t he i ssue o f t itle r efers t o t he question of who owns s hipwrecks a nd other material on t he s ea f loor. I t i s v itally i mportant t hat t hese t wo concepts not b e confused -they a re philosophically and l egally d ifferent matters. Just b ecause a s tate h as j urisdiction does not mean t hat i t n ecessarily has t itle.

I t i s possible t o k eep control s eparate f rom ownership. Ownership i s a r elative concept; n ot absolute. Ownership does not h ave a constant content. I t d iffers a mong l egal s ystems, over t ime a nd a ccording t o t he object o r e ven concept t o which i t r elates. When considering ownership t he particular l egal s ystem concerned must b e examined. I t i s i ndeed possible f or control t o b e exerted b y o ne s tate b ut ownership t o r eside i n a nother s tate o r p rivate p ersons.

J urisdiction There a re a n umber o f f orms o f j urisdiction b ut t he most commonly u tilized i s t erritorial. This covers t he l and s urface o f t he s tate, i nternal waters a nd t he t erritorial s ea. The b readth o f t he a rea o f s ea i s b etween t hree a nd 2 00 n autical m iles b ut commonly i s a ccepted a s t welve. S ubject t o c ertain e xceptions, s uch a s r ights o f i nnocent p assage, t he coastal s tate i s h ere s upreme; i t c an p ass l egislation f or t his a rea a nd e nforce i t. Outside t he t erritorial s ea, t here a re a n umber o f z ones a nd a reas r elevant t o n autical a rchaeology: t he continental s helf, d eep s eabed, contiguous z one, e xclusive e conomic z one, a nd cultural p rotection z one. The r elevant r ules o f p ublic i nternational l aw r elating t o n autical a rchaeology on t he continental s helf a re t o b e f ound i n t he Geneva Convention o n t he Continental S helf 1 958. This g ives t he coastal s tate a r ight t o exploit t he n atural r esources o f t he s helf b ut does n ot i nclude s hipwrecks w ithin t hose r esources. However, Australia h as l egislated t o p rotect h istoric s hipwrecks a nd t hose on t he continental s helf a re specifically covered. For example, o f 6 7 p rotected w reck s ites o ff Western Australia, t en l ie outside t he p resent t erritorial s ea a nd o n t he continental s helf. No o ther country h as c hallenged t his Australian c laim t o j urisdiction over w recks on t he s helf. Cyprus, I reland, Norway, S eychelles a nd t he United S tates o f America a ll c laim s ome s imilar j urisdiction. Cyprus a nd t he S eychelles b oth c laim t hat t heir l egislation on t he continental s helf covers a ntiquities. Norway h as l egislation r equiring p etroleum e xploration companies working on t he Norwegian s helf t o r eport a ny d iscovery o f h istorical i nterest a nd n ot t o damage o r d estroy i t. L icences f or exploration on t he I rish s helf h ave a s imilar p rovision. The Marine P rotection, Research a nd Sanctuaries Act 1 972 ( U.S.A.) p rovides f or t he c reation o f marine s anctuaries on t he continental s helf o f t he United States. I n January, 1 975, t he Secretary o f

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Commerce o f t he United States designated a n a rea a round t he s ite o f t he U SS MONITOR, t he f irst t urreted, f lat-decked Civil War i ronclad s hip of t he Union Navy, a s a marine s anctuary. There a re t hree major p roblems i n exercising j urisdiction over t he continental s helf: t he question o f whether t here i s now a r ule o f customary public i nternational law p ermitting t his; d ifficulty i n e stablishing l imits o f t he shelf; p ractical a spects o f enforcement over w ide a reas o f s ea. These do n ot presently pose g reat p roblems for a country s uch a s Australia which i s r elatively i solated and not an extensive source o f g reat wealth i n nautical a rchaeology. I n t he Mediterranean, for example, t hese p roblems would come much more t o t he fore. The contiguous z one i s an a rea equal i n w idth t o t hat of t he t erritorial s ea but lying b eyond t he t erritorial s ea. It was developed o riginally a s a z one i n which coastal s tates could exercise control so a s t o p revent i nfringement within t heir t erritorial s ea o f customs, f iscal, immigration o r s anitary l aws. The exclusive e conomic z one i s a r elatively r ecent development. It i s a z one of a b readth o f 2 00 nautical miles f rom t he b aselines f rom which t he b readth o f t he t erritorial s ea i s measured. States here have sovereign r ights over n atural r esources. Morocco r equires any person wishing t o do a rchaeological excavations within i ts exclusive e conomic z one t o s eek p rior a uthorization. In 1 978, D r. L .V. P rott and I r ecommended t hat states, members o f t he Council o f Europe " in concert a nd t hrough t he medium o f a European Convention, c laim a t wo h undred n autical m ile wide cultural p rotection z one." This was endorsed by t he Parliamentary Assembly o f t he Council i n Recommendation 8 48. The Committee o f Ministers established an Ad Hoc Committee on t he Underwater Cultural Heritage t o d raft a convention. The Committee appears t o have r etreated f rom t he concept o f a cultural p rotection z one. The Chairman o f t he Committee, i n April 1 983 during a public s eminar at Syracuse University, s tated t hat t he p rovisional d raft convention gives each state " the exclusive competence t o t ake measures t o s urvey, p rotect, excavate and r ecover underwater cultural p roperty" i n a maritime z one of a b readth equal t o t hat o f t he contiguous z one. He observed t hat t his gave t he coastal s tate a specific j urisdiction over t he s eabed o f t he contiguous z one b ut d id not mention t he z one by name i n o rder t o a void g iving t he "specific r egime o f t he contiguous z one a n ew meaning."

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The d eep s eabed i s t he a rea b eyond t he continental s helf. I n s ome i nstances i t may b e p artly covered b y 2 00 mile w ide z ones. Shipwrecks i n t his a rea a re c urrently s ubject s olely t o l aws on s alvage operating under r ules of p rivate i nternational l aw a nd t he r ules o f p ublic i nternational l aw r egarding t he h igh s eas. The United Nations Law o f t he Sea Convention h as t wo r elevant p rovisions. Both a re v ery g eneral, a mbiguous a nd, o f course, t he Convention i s n ot y et i n f orce. Article 1 49 r eads: All objects o f a n a rchaeological a nd h istorical n ature f ound i n t he A rea s hall b e p reserved o r d isposed o f for t he b enefit o f mankind a s a whole, p articular r egard b eing p aid t o t he p referential r ights o f t he State o r country o f o rigin, o r t he State o f cultural o rigin, o r t he S tate o f h istorical a nd c ultural o rigin. Article

3 03(1)

p rovides:

States h ave t he d uty t o p rotect objects o f a n a rchaeological a nd h istorical n ature found a t s ea a nd s hall cooperate f or t his p urpose. I f Article 3 03 h ad s topped t here i t would h ave b een e xcellent. However, t his p rovision t hen goes on t o d eal w ith t he r ights o f s tates o ver a rchaeological material i n t he contiguous z one. I t does t his b y way o f a f iction; c reating a p resumption, i f a s tate w ishes t o t ake a ction, t hat r emoval o f " objects o f a n a rchaeological and h istorical n ature" f rom t he s eabed i n t he c ontiguous z one r esults i n i nfringement o f s tate r egulations w ithin t he t erritorial s ea r elating t o " customs, f iscal, i mmigration o r s anitary l aws." This p rovision was s aid t o b e i nserted t o " control t raffic i n s uch objects." The Vice-Chairman o f t he United States Delegation has s aid t his would p rotect t he most s ignificant a reas. The t ruth o f s uch a n a ssertion i s v ery m uch t o b e doubted. How s ignificant f or n autical a rchaeology a re t he various z ones a nd a reas mentioned above? T he q uestion may well b e a sked o f what v alue a re t he r ights g iven coastal s tates u nder A rticle 3 03? The most r elevant rules f or e nforcement would b e t he c ustoms r egulations which a re u sually d irected t owards i llegal e xport. On t he o ther h and, t he most i mmediate p roblem f or n autical a rchaeology i s i nterference w ith s ites a nd, f or t his, customs, a nd possibly f iscal, control i s only r emotely a pplicable. A rticle 3 03(2) i s o f v ery l imited v alue i n p rotecting t he material o f n autical a rchaeology.

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I n s ummary, s tate j urisdiction b ased on t erritory i s i n a s tate o f f lux. State c laims may b e b ased on t he t erritorial s ea ( 12 miles); a z one equal t o t he contiguous z one ( 24 m iles); a cultural h eritage p rotection z one ( 200 miles) o r t he continental s helf ( 0-500 m iles). S uch c laims depend on r ecognition, express o r t acit, by other s tates. But n o matter what i s c hosen t here will b e a n a rea b eyond t erritorial j urisdiction, i n p articular t he d eep s eabed. Archaeologists must s ay how i mportant a re t he v arious a reas and z ones. There a ppears t o b e a n i mpression t hat only s hallow s ites c lose t o l and a re u nder t hreat. The t ruth o r not o f t his must b e s tated. The v alue o f s ites f ar f rom l and a nd i n d eep water must b e made k nown a nd, even i f t hey a re not a ccessible n ow, consideration b e g iven t o p lanning t heir l egal p rotection s o t hat w hen t hey a re available f or examination t here w ill b e n o conflict o f r ights a nd d uties. However, a ll p ersons i nvolved i n s uch a n e xercise must b e aware t hat t here w ill b e b itter opposition. Many p ersons s ee any a ttempt t o extend c urrent s tate r ights i n t he 2 00 m ile z one a s t he t hin e dge o f t he wedge; a s t he b eginning o f a move t o convert t his a rea i nto t erritorial s ea. In f act t his was one o f t he r easons why A rticle 3 03 of t he United Nations Convention on t he Law o f t he Sea i s f ormulated a s i t i s. Some d elegates f eared t hat s tates would a ttempt t o e xtend t heir l egislative competence over n on-natural r esources i nto a reas b eyond t he t erritorial s ea a nd t hus g radually convert h igh s eas i nto t erritorial s ea. This does n ot follow. Shipwrecks a nd o ther i tems o f t he u nderwater c ultural h eritage a re a ffixed t o t he s eabed in a s imilar position t o n atural r esources. Archaeologists n eed t o counter t he v iews d escribed a bove. They n eed t o put f orward a r easoned position a nd b e p repared t o f ight f or t hat position. In a reas where t erritorial j urisdiction does n ot apply, t here i s a possibility f or application o f v arious other j urisdictional b ases; i n p articular, n ationality a nd t he " effects" doctrine. The f irst m eans t hat a s tate can p ass l egislation t o c ontrol t he c onduct o f i ts n ationals w herever i n t he world t hey may b e. The s econd g ives a s tate j urisdiction over p ersons whose a cts c reate a n u ndesirable " effect" w ithin t hat s tate. This l atter b asis for j urisdiction i s 1 ,i ghly controversial, p articularly i n t he f ield e t a ntitrust e nforcement. Neither n ationality n or " effects" doctrine a s a j urisdictional b ase g ives t he i mmediate control t hat i s a vailable w ith t erritorial j urisdiction. Both o f t he f ormer c an only r eally b e s uccessfully i mplemented i f t he p erson o r a ssets o f t he o ffender come w ithin t he

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t erritorial j urisdiction. Neither b ase o f j urisdiction h as b een u sed i n a ny cultural h eritage l egislation. But b oth a re available a nd could b e d eveloped; p roviding t he only r eal m eans o f c ontrol over i tems outside t erritorial j urisdiction. The c reation o f a ny i nternational b ody t o control a ctivities b eyond s tate t erritorial j urisdiction i s a p ipe d ream even i f i t was i n a ny way t o b e r egarded a s a d esirable objective.

Ti tle Merely b ecause a v essel i s w recked does n ot mean t hat t he owner l oses h is t itle. There must b e a bandonment. This h as two a spects: p hysical a bandonment p lus i ntention t o abandon. The f irst i s n ormally a question o f f act b ut t he s econd i s more d ifficult. Some s tates l ay down a p eriod o f t ime a fter which, i f a w reck h as n ot b een moved, t itle v ests i n t he s tate. O thers h ave n o s pecific t ime b ut consider t hat i f n o a ttempt i s made t o r ecover t he w reck w ithin a r elatively s hort p eriod t hen t he owner i s r egarded a s h aving abandoned i t. Yet others -particularly t hose s tates under British i nfluence- consider t hat n o abandonment h as o ccurred u nless t he owner v irtually s ays t hat h e i s a bandoning. I f t he w reck i s a bandoned t here a re t wo b asic a pproaches. Under w hat i s c alled t he " English Rule" t itle g oes t o t he s tate. Under t hat k nown a s t he " American Rule", t itle goes t o t he f inder. S alvage l aw i s s uperimposed o n t he a bove. I t i s b ased on t he n otion t hat p ersons w ho r escue goods i n danger f rom t he s ea a re entitled t o a r eward; u sually a p ercentage o f t he value o f t he goods r ecovered. The s alvor h as a l egal i nterest -a l ien- i n t he goods u ntil t he r eward i s paid. I f t he goods h ave n ot b een abandoned, t he s alvor h as a r ight o ver t hem u ntil t he owner p ays t he r eward. I f t hey a re abandoned, u nder English l aw, t itle v ests i n t he C rown a nd t he s alvor r eceives h is r eward a fter s ale o f t he goods. Under t he American Rule t he s alvor i s t he f inder a nd e ntitled t o t he goods. I n o ur 1 978 Report t o t he Council o f Europe o n Legal P rotection o f t he Underwater Cultural Heritage, D r. P rott and I r ecommended t hat " the l aw o f s alvage a nd w reck b e s pecifically e xcluded f rom a pplying t o i tems" p rotected b y l egislation. We s tand b y t hat r ecommendation. The l aw o f s alvage h as a n i nherent e conomic objective. I t i s s eriously d isfunctional for p reservation o f t he u nderwater cultural h eritage, s ince i t h as t raditionally encouraged speedy r emoval ( as a gainst meticulous

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o perations o f mapping e tc. o r l eaving i n s itu for l ater e xcavation) o f commercially valuable r elics, w ithout r egard t o t heir p reservation ( which may b e s eriously j eopardized by t heir r emoval f rom t he u nderwater e nvironment). I f t he e xclusion o f s alvage a nd w reck l aw i s made t o apply t o w recks b eyond a c ertain a ge ( e.g. 1 00 y ears) i t s hould p ose n o s ignificant r estraints on c ommercial s alvors, particularly i f a p ublic a uthority ( e.g. Minister) i s e mpowered t o r elease t hese w recks i n t he e vent t hey a re o f no a rchaeological value. A rticle 3 03 o f t he Law o f t he Sea Convention s tates: " Nothing i n t his a rticle a ffects t he r ights o f i dentifiable owners, t he l aw o f s alvage..." There i s s ome s uggestion t hat t his constitutes a p rohibition a gainst a coastal s tate e xcluding s alvage l aw both i n t he t erritorial s ea a nd b eyond. Any a rgument t o t his e ffect i s n onsense. I t i s w idely a ccepted t hat t he coastal s tate may exclude s alvage l aw t o p rotect t he u nderwater cultural h eritage. Having excluded s alvage l aw, t he s tate i s u nder a l egal duty t o p rotect t he u nderwater c ultural h eritage. A rticle 3 03(1) o f t he Law o f t he Sea Convention r eads: " States h ave a duty t o p rotect objects o f a n a rchaeological a nd h istorical n ature f ound a t s ea a nd s hall co-operate f or t his p urpose." That i s a positive d uty. I t goes b eyond j ust passing l egislation; i t goes b eyond i mposing p enalties. I t r equires a positive p rogram o f management b oth t o e xtract a nd p reserve i nformation. The s ite must b e p rotected a gainst b oth h uman and n atural i nterference e .g. e rosion. Such a p ro r am o f management i s a n a spect o f t he p rocess o f conti ol mentioned e arlier. I t does n ot n ecessarily i mply a c hange o f ownership. I f i t i s t hought d esirable t o a cquire t itle, t his could b e done by w ay o f deemed a bandonment o f t he w reck. States w ith s pecial i nterests i n t he w reck could h ave t hose i nterests r ecognized a s i n t he Agreement b etween t he Netherlands a nd Australia Concerning Old Dutch Shipwrecks.

Other Matters There a re n umerous other i ssues r elevant t o l aw a nd n autical a rchaeology. For example, t he d efinition o f w hat i s t o b e p rotected i s s omething t hat h as b een e volving over r ecent t ime. The e ssential point i s t hat t he definition must cover e verything t hat i t i s d esired t o p rotect. At t he s ame t ime i t i s n ow r ecognized t hat t he most i mportant a spect o f t he s ite o r f ind i s t he i nformation i t contains. Once t hat h as b een extracted, t he object may b e very v aluable a s a work o f a rt o r

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t hrough h istorical a ssociation o r i t may b e worthless. The definition must r ecognize t hese v arious values. Administration o f t he l egislation i s a d elicate s ubject. As t o f orm, s ome 1 6 j urisdictions have specifically i dentifiable l egislation on t he underwater cultural heritage. Others i nclude t his a s part o f t heir general l egislation o n r elics a nd s ites w ith o r w ithout s pecific extension t o cover t he t erritorial s ea. I t m ight b e d esirable t o e stablish a s et o f p rinciples a s t o w hen t here s hould b e s eparate l egislation o n t he u nderwater c ultural h eritage. The o rganization o f a dministration o f t he l egislation m ay b e by way o f government d epartment, i ndependent c ommission, o r s ome hybrid o f t hese. Access t o t he political f igure r esponsible for a dministering t he l egislation i s i mportant a s i s t he n ature o f t he duties t hat p erson p erforms e .g. whether t here i s a conflict o f i nterest. The t opic o f e nforcement r aises many l egal i ssues, s ome o f which h ave only r ecently s tarted t o appear i n legislation. For example, s pecific p rovision i s n ow s ometimes m ade i n l egislation f or t he b urden o f p roof i .e. who h as t o p rove p articular matters. P rovision d ealing w ith a ggravating o r m itigating c ircumstances i s i mportant. The n ature o f t he p enalty must b e a ssessed i n r elation t o t he damage done a s well a s other f actors.

Bahamas Conference The i ssues d isJussed a bove n eed t o b e d ebated a nd, i t possible, a consensus a chieved. O therwise, weak j urisdictions w ill s uffer a nd t he a rea o utside n ational j urisdiction w ill b ecome a z one f or e xploitation, u nhappily b y p ersons w ho a re n ot a ll concerned w ith i nformation a nd k nowledge. To meet t his s ituation a c onference i s s cheduled t o b e h eld i n t he B ahamas i n March o r April 1 985. I t i s expected t hat government r epresentatives a nd p rivate e xperts w ill p articipate. Both l egal a nd p ractical points o f v iew w ill b e p ut a nd d ebated i n e ach s ession. I t i s hoped t hat a r esolution w ill b e i ssued embodying t he conclusions o f t he c onference. This c ould form t he b asis f or a n i nternational c onvention on t he s ubject. The possiblity o f s uch a convention w as r ecognized i n t he United Nations Law o f t he S ea Convention. A rticle 3 03(4) r eads: " This a rticle i s w ithout p rejudice t o other i nternational a greements a nd r ules o f i nternational l aw r egarding t he p rotection o f objects o f a n a rchaeological a nd h istorical n ature." Some do i ndeed contend t hat a ny n ew convention on t he u nderwater c ultural h eritage w ould

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h ave t o b e compatible w ith Article 3 03 a nd go n o f urther. T his a rgument i s n onsense a nd I would d isagree v igorously w ith i t. The i ssues were n ot p roperly r aised n or d ebated a t t he Law o f t he S ea Conference. There were f ew, i f a ny, experts i n t he l egal p roblems o f n autical a rchaeology p resent. L ittle t ime was d evoted t o t he matter. The Convention a s a w hole i s a s eries o f c ompromises. What i s n ow n eeded i s d ebate a nd consensus on r esolving t he l egal p roblems confronting n autical a rchaeology i n t he w ider context o f t he u nderwater c ultural h eritage.

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C anadian Underwater A rchaeology a nd

S usan P .

M .

t he Law

L angley

Department o f A rchaeology, University o f Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada T 2N 1 N4

Introduction Any one f acet o f Canada's position w ithin t he f ramework o f h eritage l egislation could b e e xpanded i nto a major d iscussion i n i tself. This r eport confines i tself t o a n overview o f l egislative documents p ertaining t o s ubmerged h eritage r esources. The a pproach i s t hreefold, b eginning w ith l egislation o n t he I nternational p lane a nd n arrowing i n s cope t o t he Federal a nd P rovincial l evels. Associated p roblems a re examined a nd possible s olutions a nd s uggestions f or t heir r esolution a re o ffered i n t he concluding r emarks. A lthough u nderwater r emains a re emphasized, many o f t he p roblems a nd s olutions a re a pplicable t o Canadian a rchaeology i n general.

I nternational The t erm " international" i s more appropriately r eplaced by " transnational" a s i nternational l aw p er s e does not exist. For t he s ake o f d iscussion, however, t he t erm i nternational i s u sed. The I nternational Court o f Justice a t t he Hague c an only d ecide a n i ssue i f t he n ations i nvolved r econnize i ts a uthority a nd a gree t o abide b y i ts d ecision, f or example, t he U .S.S.R. does n ot r ecognize i ts j urisdiction. T here a re o nly t wo t ypes o f i nternational l aw a nd t hese a re c onvention a nd c ustom. The f ormer i s defined b y way o f a t reaty o r w ritten a greement a nd i s t he h ighest f orm o f l egal obligation. The s econd i s more a mbiguous. I t r elies u pon a n a cceptance a s l egally b inding o f a n u nwritten code o f c onduct. I n t his c ase, a s ituation o r p ractice b ecomes l aw a s s oon a s t he n ations i n q uestion a dmit o r consider i t t o b e l egally b inding.

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The most r ecent a nd r elevant i nternational a greements which h ave a b earing o n h eritage r esources i n Canada a re: The U NESCO Convention o n t he Means o f P rohibiting a nd P reventing t he I llicit Import, Export a nd T ransfer o f Ownership o f Cultural P roperty ( hereafter r eferred t o a s t he UNESCO Convention on I llicit T rade), ( 1) The UNESCO Convention f or t he g rotection o f t he World Cultural a nd Natural H eritage ,‘ (z) a nd t he Third U .N. Convention on t he Law o f t he S ea. ( i) Each o f t hese d ocuments i s a ddressed b riefly. The UNESCO Convention on I llicit T rade c ame i nto f orce for s ignatory States, o f which Canada i s one, i n 1 974. I ts p urpose i s t o p rovide u niform p rinciples t o c ontrol t he antiquities b lack m arket. I t does n ot m ake a ny specific r eference t o a rtifacts f rom s ubmerged s ites, b ut i t i s worded s uch t hat t his could b e i nferred. I t d oes not r equire s ignatory States t o r espect o r a ssist a ny S tates n ot p arty t o t he Convention, n or does i t r equire States t o d emand a n e xport p ermit, f rom t he e xporting country, t o a ccompany t he object. I t does r equire a g reat d eal o f i nternal f inancial commitment f rom s ignatory S tates, b ut p laces most o f t he onus a nd e xpense for t he r ecovery o f s tolen goods o n t he " victim" n ation. While m any o f t hese r equirements a re n ot d ifficult t o f ulfill i n w ealthy i ndustrial n ations, t hey a re not a t a ll p ractical f or Third World c ountries. Needless t o a dd, i t i s u sually s uch States t hat a re v ictimized; f or t hey c annot a fford a dequate p rotective s ervices i n t he f irst p lace. Other d ifficulties w ith t his a greement a re: a v ague p enalty s ection which g ives t he document no " teeth," a mbiguous d elineacion o f g eographical l imits ( cr2ating a s ituation where s tates c ould potentially e xpand n ational t erritorial c laims i nto c ontinental h igh s eas a reas), a nd f inally, t here i s t he q uestion o f p roperty r ights over f inds. I n Canada, f ortunately, t his u sually comes down t o P rovincial v ersus F ederal c laimants. S alvors h ave p resented p roblems, b ut n ot t o t he extent t hey h ave e lsewhere. The p reservation o f t he i ntegrity o f many i mportant s ubmerged s ites may b e a ttributed t o Canada's good f ortune i n h aving h ad n o c ontact w ith Spanish t reasure v essels. The s econd Convention, p rotecting t he world c ultural a nd n atural h eritage, came i nto f orce i n C anada i n 1 975. I t i s v ery s imilar t o The UNESCO Convention on I llicit T rade. For example, t here i s n o s pecific r eference t o s ubmerged s ites a nd n umerous r equirements a re i mposed u pon s ignatory States. W ith r espect t o f unding, a ll S tates make c ompulsory c ontributions t o a f und f rom w hich m onies may b e d rawn f or s pecific p rojects. T hese c ompulsory f ees a re b ased v ery much o n t he h onour s ystem

1 9

a s a s ubsequent c lause ( Article 1 6, S . 2 .) s ays t hat S tates a re n ot b ound t o p ay t he " compulsory" dues. An i mportant a greement a nd t he most r ecent o f t he t hree examined i s t he Third U .N. Convention on t he L aw o f t he Sea. I t a lso h as t he most d irect r elation t o a rchaeological s ites i n waters b eyond n ational j urisdiction. The f irst LOS Convention t ook p lace i n 1 958 a nd r aised m any q uestions. One o f t hese r eceived t he comment f rom t he I nternational Law Commission t hat w recked s hips a nd t heir c argoes, i ncluding b ullion, w ere c learly not i ncluded i n r ights c laimed by n ations t o e xplore a nd e xploit t he Continental S helf ( only n atural r esources were i ncluded). Yet, s ince t he r ight t o f reedom o f s cientific e xploration was g ranted, s ites/vessels could b e p lundered s o l ong a s a " scientific" r eport was p roduced t o l egitimize t he a ction. This Convention c aused much d ebate, b ut t he p roblems were n ot b rought t o t he f ore a gain u ntil 1 970 when t he t hird Convention was i nitiated. On t he U .N. S eabed Committee's L ist o f Subjects t o b e D iscussed, A rchaeological a nd H istorical T reasures on t he Seabed a nd Ocean Floor was 2 3rd o n a l ist o f 2 5 i tems. The only r eason i t was considered a t a ll was d ue t o t he i nsistence o f t he Greek r epresentative. One o f t he c lauses d ealing w ith u nderwater a rchaeology i n t he f inal d raft s igned i n 1 982 s tates: All objects o f a n a rchaeological a nd h istorical n ature f ound i n t he A rea s hall b e p reserved o r d isposed o f for t he b enefit o f mankind a s a whole, p articular r egard b eing p aid t o t he p referential r ights o f t he State o r country o f o rigin, o r t he State o f c ultural o rigin, o r t he S tate o f h istorical a nd a rchaeological o rigin. ( Article 1 49) Obviously t he potential f or confusion w ith s o m uch " particular r egard" b eing p aid, i s p henomenal. For example, t here i s t he a ctual s ituation o f a Dutch v essel, which s ank i n an English t erritory w hile c arrying a Chinese c argo ( Stenuit 1 978). A dditionally, A rticle 3 03 o f The Third U .N. Convention on t he Law o f t he S ea s tates t hat n othing a ffects t he r ights o f i dentifiable owners, t he l aw o f s alvage o r o ther l aws o f a dmiralty. These l atter l aws f requently conflict w ith h eritage l egislation, a s does t he l aw o f T reasure T rove, which i s s till operative i n s ome p arts o f Canada. D ue t o t he d isproportionate l ength o f t ime t hat t he a ctivity o f

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marine t aking

s alvage a s compared t o marine a rchaeology h as p lace, t he f ormer o ften t akes p riority.

b een

In 1 977, Canada expanded i ts f ishing z ones t o 2 00 m iles ( Surette 1 981). This a nticipates The Third U .N. Convention o n t he Law o f t he Sea d ecision t o p ermit z ones o f Exclusive Exploitation f or u p t o t his d istance. This a ction on t he p art o f Canada i s s ignificant f or t wo r easons. F irst, t his p artially f ulfills s uggestions made i n Europe b y t he P arliamentary Assembly o f t he Council o f Europe f or t he p rotection o f cultural r esources i n t he s ea ( Roper 1 978:2) a nd s econd, a t a Federal l evel, i t p aves t he way f or t he i mplementation o f t he Maritime Code.

Federal In o rder t o u nderstand Canada' s p resent l egislative position, i t i s n ecessary t o k now a l ittle a bout t he foundation on w hich i t was b uilt. B riefly, i t a dheres c losely t o English Common Law which was o riginally b ased on t he Roman l egal s ystem. I t o riginally i nvolved a policy o f " finder's-keeper's" e xcept i n t he c ase o f l egal w reck ( wreccum m an s); when objects f rom a w reck wash up on s hore. S ince t he t echnology t o r aise s unken v essels was not developed u ntil t he n ineteenth c entury, most e arly l aws d eal only w ith p ieces and objects t hat c ame t o t he surface. I n t he c ase o f l egal w reck, t he p roperty b elonged t o t he Sovereign o r S tate r egardless o f t he ownership o f t he l and o n w hich i t washed up. As p art o f t he Ruler's p rerogative, r ights t o t hese could b e c eded. Through t ime a nd a n umber o f t est c ases, ( g) t he K ing's p rerogative was f urther a nd f urther extended u ntil, by 1 837, t he r uler c ould c laim n ot only l egal w reck b ut a lso f lotsam ( floating objects), j etsam ( objects t ossed overboard t o s ave t he s hip), l igan/lagan ( objects t ossed overboard b ut t ied t o a f loating marker), t reasure t rove ( gold, s ilver, p late a nd b ullion) a nd d erelict v essels o r objects. I n other words, i t b ecame c rystallized i n English Common Law t hat t he Sovereign' s p rerogative p revailed a gainst a ll b ut t he o riginal owner. This i s g enerally t he s ituation i n Canada t oday ( Langley 1 982). Before examining Federal l egislation, i t s hould b e observed t hat while i nternational a greements control r elations b etween States, t here a re s everal s chools o f t hought a s t o w hat b earing s uch a greements h ave w ithin t he domestic l aw o f e ach State. The extreme p oles o f t hese g roups a re: t he " monists" who f eel t hat i nternational l aw i s a utomatically a dopted b y a State' s domestic l aw, a nd t he " dualists" who b elieve t hat t hese m ust b e s pecifically i ncorporated ( Williams a nd d e

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Mestral 1 979:26-29). Canada holds a hybridized v iew a nd a ccepts c ustomary l aw a s a dopted, b ut maintains t hat t reaty l aw must b e formally i ncorporated b y a ct o f P arliament. Although i nternational a greements cannot r equire n ational i ncorporation, s ome conventions by t heir v ery n ature oblige t heir embodiment i n domestic l aw. An example o f t his i s t he c reation o f t he Canadian Cultural P roperty Export and I mport Act o f 1 974, which followed c losely on t he heels o f Canada's r atification o f The U NESCO Convention on I llicit T rade. The Canadian Cultural P roperty Export a nd I mport Act i s one o f t he b etter documents now e xisting i n Canada. I t i s t ightly woven, concise a nd p ractical. Unfortunately, part o f t his p racticality i ncludes t he comment i n t he Federal I nterpretation o f t he Act t hat, Given t he d imensions o f Canadian geography a nd t he l ength o f our borders, a n o utright b an o n exports, even i f d esirable, could n ot b e enforced. ( Cameron 1 980: 4 8) This points o ut t he major p roblem a cross t he country : e nforcement. No matter how s trong l egislation m ay b e, i f i t c annot b e e nforced i t i s i neffective. Worse, on t he r are o ccasions when i t i s e nforced, t he p enalties a re n egligible t o n on-existent a nd o nly poor p recedents a re e stablished. This h as l ed t o a r ather defeatist t one i n most r eferences t o h eritage l egislation. A Ministry o f T ransport r epresentative, commenting on t he p roposed Maritime Code, s tated: The e nforcement o f r egulations i s a p erennial p roblem. The l egislation w ill p rovide t hat p lundering o f w reck i s a n i ndictable o ffence a nd, o f course, one would b e p rosecuted f or v iolating r egulations... I doubt t hat a ny a gency w ill e ver h ave t he r esources o r t he i nclination t o police w reck s ites w hich l eaves u s p retty much d ependent o n t he goodwill and cooperation o f t he p ublic. ( J.N. S iddons 1 981:pers. comm.) ( 5) What i s t he Maritime Code? I n 1 867 t he B ritish North America Act a ssigned t otal c ontrol over s hipping a nd n avigation t o t he Federal Government o f Canada. The i nstrument b y which t his a uthority i s exercised i s t he Canada S hipping Act ( R.S. 1 979 C . 2 9). The l atter i s b ased on t he Merchant Shipping Act o f 1 894 i n t he United

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K ingdom ( now i tself u nder r evision) a nd p ermitted d ecisions p ertaining t o w recks, s unken a ircraft a nd p arts t hereof, t heir c argo, a nd t he p ersonal p ossessions o f i ndividuals. I t was r ecently d ecided t hat s alvage l aw was dealt w ith t o t he exclusion a nd d etriment o f l egislation p rotecting s ubmerged r esources o f h istorical i mportance. The Maritime Code i s t he p roposed s olution t o t his p roblem. There a re s ome d ifficulties w ith t he d raft, mostly s emantic, however i t r epresents t he f irst s erious consideration o f h eritage r esources u nder water a nd i s a q uantum i mprovement over t he Shipping Act. I t l imits s alvage o r p rohibits i t i n a reas i t w ishes d esignated a s h eritage d istricts, s uch a s t he Louisburg h arbour a rea. One main p roblem i s t hat i t only p ertains t o h istoric, n autical r emains. This i s obviously n ot t he f ault o f t he M inistry o f T ransport a s i t i s empowered t o d eal only w ith s uch r emains. I t d oes b ring u p t he p roblem o f s ite e valuation. The M inistry must u tilize s ome expert b ody t o a ssess s ites b eyond i ts e xpertise. I t i s t he r esponsibility o f t he Federal a nd P rovincial Governments t o e nsure t hat p rotection i s a fforded other t ypes of h eritage r emains w ithin Canadian waters. A f inal i mportant i ssue r especting t his Code i s t he t ime i t w ill t ake t o s ee i t i n f orce. I t was o riginally s tated t hat t he Code would b e b efore Parliament b y January o f 1 983. When p rogress was c hecked, t he r eply was t hat i t would n ot b e completely d rafted u ntil 1 984. I t would t hen b e r eleased a s a white p aper...to s atisfy t he concerns o f t he general p ublic ( J.N. S iddons 1 983:pers. comm.). The f ollowing must b e considered: A re t he concerns o f t he p ublic t ruly a n i ssue o r i s t his a n opportunity f or p ersons w ith v ested i nterests t o s tall i t f urther? Application o f t he Code cannot b e r etroactive and t he a dditional t ime g ives developers, e specially i n t he sphere o f o ffshore m ineral e xploitation, t he opportunity t o e stablish d rill s ites w ithout p rior a rchaeological i mpact s urveys. There i s a lso l ess c hance f or h eritage r esources l ying i n o r on b ottomland l ease a reas t o b e d esignated a nd t hus hold u p d evelopment. T he n ext f ive y ears w ill f ully d emonstrate t he validity a nd e ffectiveness o f t he Maritime Code. One p iece o f r elevant Federal l egislation i s t he National P arks Act ( R.S. 1 972 C . N-13; R .S. 1 974 C . 1 1). I t was o riginally p assed i n 1 930, p rior t o t he commercial m arketing o f S CUBA i n Canada a nd t herefore, q uite u nderstandably, m akes no r eference t o u nderwater s ites. I t does, h owever, o ffer b lanket p rotection t o e verything w ithin t he confines o f e ach p ark. Again t he main p roblem i s t hat o f e nforcement; e specially i n d ifficult t o ' m onitor s ubmerged a reas. An u nderwater n ational park i s n ow b eing considered f or Ontario, t o i ncorporate o r l ie

2 3

adjacent to Fathom Five P rovincial Park, which presently t he only f reshwater, underwater p ark world.

i s i n

t he

Other Federal p rojects i nclude Provincial/Federal agreements t o p rotect t he old canal systems of Ontario and, i n t he f uture, t he designation o f heritage r ivers ( Parks Canada 1 980:7, 1 5, 5 3). As yet neither o f t hese consider t he heritage r emains under t he water o f t he canals and r ivers.

Provincial Before discussing P rovincial l evel l egislation, a s hort outline o f Federal/Provincial d isputes i s i n o rder. The B .N.A. Act ceded t itle t o a ll i nland waters and t he f oreshore t o t he Province., The foreshore i s t hat a rea lying between t he average h igh and l ow water marks. Title t o t he s eabed, however, was n ever s pecified. The Dominion a ssumed l egislative j urisdiction a nd p roprietary r ights to t hese l ands; a s tand b eing challenged by t he P rovinces. In 1 976, British Columbia won a case dealing with t his matter i n t he Court o f Appeal ( Pratt-Johnson 1 977). An a dditional f actor t o b e t aken i nto a ccount i s t hat i f a Province c laimed ownership and p roprietary r ights t o i ts waters p rior t o joining Confederation, i t r etains t hose r ights, a s i s t he case for Newfoundland ( Clugston 1 981:28; Langley 1 983: 129-130, 1 51-152). In l ight of t he d iscovery of o ffshore m ineral r esources, t he Federal Government i s now t rying t o determine i f t hese r ights a re s everable.* In i nstances where vessel r emains a re located on lands held b y t he P rovinces, a " catch-22" r esults i n t hat t he Federal Government i s empowered with exclusive authority over t he wreck only, and not t he land, while t he P rovince holds t he l and but has no r ight t o t he w reck and neither party wishes t o b e considered as a cting u ltra v ires. Arrangements can u sually b e made t o circumvent t his s ituation. Many l egislative ambiguities r especting cultural r emains will b e r esolved i n a ccordance with t he way d ifferences p ertaining t o o ffshore m ineral r esources a re s ettled. To s ummarize Territories, only

t he positions o f t he Provinces f our P rovinces h ave heritage

a nd

* (On Thursday, March 8 , 1 984, The Supreme Court of Canada r uled t hat t he Federal Government has a ll exploratory r ights and legislative j urisdiction over oil r esources off Newfoundland. Eds.

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l egislation which makes express r eference t o b oth h istoric a nd p rehistoric s ubmerged s ites ( Langley 1 983:158-215). These a re Alberta ( R.S.A. 1 978 C . 4 ), B ritish Columbia ( R.S.B.C. 1 979 C . 1 65), Newfoundland ( R.S.N. 1 979 C . 4 6), a nd Nova Scotia ( S.N.S. 1 980 C . 1 7). Ontario h as only P rovincial Parks r egulations t o deal w ith s uch s ites a s a re a ssociated w ith Fathom Five P rovincial Park ( 0.R. 2 58 & 3 99 [ 79 s . 2 ]), a nd for a n umber of y ears h as b een considering a mending t he Ontario Heritage Act ( S.O. 1 975 C . 8 7) ( W. Gay 1 983:pers. comm.). Also, i t h as r ecently d eveloped a government d epartment w ithin t he Ministry o f Culture a nd Citizenship t o s urvey s ubmerged r emains ( P. Carruthers 1 982:pers. comm.: P . Engelbert 1 982:pers. comm.). Quebec has " Law 6 9" which i s b ased on environmental i mpact r egulations ( A. Lepine 1 982:pers. comm.). It a lso h as t he Comite d 'Histoire et d ' Archeologie Subaquatique d u Quebec, which i s r ecognized b y and r eceived s ome f unding f rom t he Q uebec Ministry o f Culture. The other P rovinces a nd Territories o ffer v arying d egrees o f p rotection t hrough h eritage, parks o r l and l egislation, b ut none expressly mention s ubmerged s ites. I t i s f air t o note t hat p rotective coverage could b e e xtrapolated f rom t hese Acts. This h as not b een done a nd i s h ighly i mprobable a s i t d epends on a n umber o f variables: w hether a court c hooses t o construe coverage, t he s kill o f i ndividual l awyers, t he a ffinities o f t he court a nd p recedent ( of which t here i s l ittle t o n one). Penalties r un f rom v ery h igh a nd o f s ignificant d eterrant value ( Saskatchewan's maximum corporate f ine i s $ 200,000 [ R.S.S. 1 979-1980 C . H -22], a lthough i t makes no r eference t o s ubmerged r emains), t o v irtually n on-existent. A d ifficulty here i s t hat t he maximum f ines a re r arely a pplied whenever l egislation i s e nforced.

Summary o f P roblems Legislation on t he whole i s i nconsistent a nd i nadequate. Penalties a re not comparable a nd p ermit p ersons t o " shop a round f or t he s oftest l egislation" ( P.J. O ' Keefe 1 982: pers. comm.). The conflicts b etween h eritage l egislation a nd, s alvage a nd T reasure Trove l aws must b e r esolved equably. Legislation which c annot b e e nforced i s a s b ad a s no l egislation a t a ll. There i s a n eed f or a ccess t o conservation f acilities, a nd t he d evelopment o f p ublic e ducation a nd c ultural r esource management p rograms i s n ecessary.

2 5

Solutions Suggestions f or s olutions have b een o ffered by t he Council o f E urope ( Roper 1 978) and b y Langley ( 1983) a nd have r ecently b een e choed i n a n a rticle a nd questionnaire c irculated b y t he Canadian A rchaeological Association ( C.A.A. Newsletter 1 983:1-5). Some o f t hese a re: pan-national l egislation applied b y a c entral a gency w ith departments t o d eal w ith v arious f acets o f a rchaeology a nd m ade up o f p rovincial r epresentatives f rom government, a cademic a nd commercial s pheres. The a ims o f s uch an a gency would i nclude developing l egislation a nd s tandardizing e xcavations a nd d ata c ollection methods a cross t he c ountry. The a gency would a lso s end r epresentatives t o i nternational meetings a nd t o any f uture i nternational o rganization, s uch a s one b eing considered t o work i n conjunction w ith t he U .N. Seabed Authority. P rovincially, a s imilar s ystem c ould b e e stablished t o c reate a n esting s eries o f a gencies which a re a ll i nterrelated. Funding for s uch a s ystem could come partly t hrough a r edirection o f f unds now going t o n umerous f ar-flung a gencies a nd come a lso f rom f ines a nd f ees. " Fines" a ssumes t hat l egislation i s enforced a nd " fees" i s a n i dea t hat s uggests d evelopers p ay i nto a common f und f rom which compensation f or t ime lost t o p rojects which must b e s topped while s ites a re excavated o r s alvaged ( Pratt & O 'Keefe 1 978-1979:101; Roper 1 978:75). Another s uggestion i s a monetary r eward f or r eporting f inds a nd s ites. There i s s ome d ebate a s t o t he validity o f t his i dea, however, i t appears t o b e gaining i n p opularity. R ewards could, t herefore, a lso be d rawn f rom t he f und. Other possibilities f or r ewards i nclude a cknowledgement o f t he f inder i n a ny publications, p articipation i n a ny excavation o r s urvey a ctivities, c redit f or f inds i n a ny museum o r other r esultant d isplays, a nd other f orms o f r ecognition ( Roper 1 978:73-74). Other p roblems w ith which t his p roposed a gency would deal a re t hose o f conservation a nd e nforcement o f legislation. The f ormer r elates t o t he f act t hat n one of t he extant a cts r equire p roper t reatment o f r ecovered waterlogged a rtifacts. This i s e specially i mportant a s s aturated objects can d isintegrate w ithin hours w ithout t reatment a nd a R eceiver o f W reck c an hold objects f or up t o a y ear. A p rovision for f irst a id conservation methods s hould b e w ritten i nto a ll h eritage acts. Possible means o f s olving t he e nforcement p roblem i nclude t he u tilization o f concerned a mateur g roups. Some nations h ave s et up p rograms whereby g roups o r o rganizations m ay sponsor monuments a nd e ssentially t ake

2 6

r esponsibility for t hem, for example Poland a nd China ( Prott & O 'Keefe 1 981:190, 1 94). The major S CUBA c ertifying a gencies must b e u rged t o i nclude awareness t raining i n t heir p rograms. The Association o f Canadian Underwater Councils does r equire a s hort c lass i n h eritage a ppreciation b efore a n applicant i s c ertified ( R. Jackson 1 982:pers. comm.), h owever t his i s o nly one o f many a gencies. The l egal a spects o f h eritage l egislation must b e s tressed t o t hese a gencies, s ome o f w hich t acitly condone w reck s tripping f or s ouvenirs. I f t he foregoing s uggestions c an b e combined a nd d ive g roups a nd c ommunities a re e ncouraged t o monitor s ites, t here w ill develop a c ertain d egree o f p ride o f p ossession t hat g oes a l ong way t oward p rotecting s ites. Some of t he i nvolved a mateur g roups a re n ow f ighting v andalism b y f ighting i gnorance. They a re d istributing maps and e xplanations o f w reck s ites i n t he h ope t hat t hrough a n u nderstanding o f what t hey a re v iewing d ivers w ill r ealize t he i mportance o f maintaining t he i ntegrity o f a s ite. One g roup 's a ctivities must b e c ited i n p articular; Save Our Shipwrecks ( SOS) i n Ontario. An a ffiliated g roup, P rotect Our W recks ( POW ), h as d evised a c omic book on t he p revention o f V .D. ( Vandalizing D ivers) ( R. Jackson 1 982:pers. comm.). The courts s hould b e e ncouraged t o t ake a more s erious v iew o f v iolations o f h eritage l egislation a nd t o i mpose f ines a nd p enalties c loser t o t he maximum. The p robability o f r eceiving a h igh p enalty i s a good d eterrent. Many a gencies f ear s etting a poor p recedent a nd, t herefore, w ill not p ress a n i ssue t hrough t he l egal s ystem u nless v irtually guaranteed a conviction. A lthough t he h esitance i s u nderstandable, i t i s i tself a p oor p recedent a nd f requently c ases t hat s tand a good c hance o f w inning a re n ot b eing u ndertaken. The main f ocus o f c ultural r esource management ( CRM) p rograms i s e ducation o f t he g eneral public; t o emphasize t hat what i s i llegal o n l and i s j ust a s i llegal u nderwater. For s ome r eason, P rott a nd O 'Keefe c ite t he " buccaneering mentality" o f many d ivers ( Prott a nd O 'Keefe 1 978-1979:99), u nderwater a rchaeology i s not v iewed i n t he s ame l ight a s i ts t errestrial counterpart. P ublic e ducation may b e a chieved i n a n umber o f ways, b ut f oremost a mong t hese i s a n i ncrease i n t he n umber o f u nderwater p arks a nd i n t he d evelopment o f i nterpretive c entres f or a reas where h eritage r esources a re k nown t o b e s ubmerged. An example o f s uch a n a rea i s Banff N ational P ark.

2 7

Conclusion Serious consideration must b e p aid t o t he s uggestions m ade by t he P arliamentary Assembly o f t he Council o f Europe a s t hese would p rovide s ome i nternational consistency i n heritage l egislation. An i nternational coordination o f e fforts i s n ecessary t o a nticipate t he p roblems o f d eep-water w recks/sites. T he t echnology t o r each s uch s ites i s n ow available commercially, but t he cost i s a lmost p rohibitive for a cademic r esearch. I t i s i mperative t hat h eritage l egislation b e c reated i n a dvance f or t he d efense o f a rchaeological r emains a nd not hastily d rafted i n a r eactionary manner. Obviously, t his r eport can only p resent a s omewhat s implified v iew o f t he c urrent s ituation. Of t he solutions s uggested, f ew a re s imple; f ew a re f ree, a nd a ll a re n ecessary t o ensure t he p rotection o f s ubmerged heritage r esources.

Notes 1 .

UNESCO Convention on t he Means o f P rohibiting and P reventing t he I llicit Import, Export a nd T ransfer of Ownership o f Cultural P roperty. Copy w ithout t reaty s eries n umber was p rovided by C . Quinn, Information Assist., Canadian Commission for UNESCO, 2 55 Albert, P .O. Box 1 047, Ottawa, KlP 5 \ 78.

2 .

UNESCO Convention f or t he Protection o f t he World Cultural a nd Natural Heritage. T reaty Series 1 976 No. 4 5.

3 .

Third U .N. Convention on t he Law o f t he Sea. Convention. A/CONF.62/L.78, GE.81-65147.

4 .

Cases: Constable' s Case ( 1601); The Aquila ( 1798); The K ing v . P roperty Derelict ( 1825); Talbot v . Lewis ( 1834); The K ing v . Two Casks o f Tallow ( 1837); s ee Kenny & H rusoff ( 1967) for details.

5 .

The Society f or Historical Archaeology Newsletter 1 983 1 6(3):16, n otes t hat " the U .S. D epartment o f t he Treasury ' s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center i s co-operating w ith I nterior, Agriculture a nd other Federal l and-managing a nd l aw e nforcement a gencies, i s b eginning t raining i n A rchaeological Resources P rotection f or b oth Federal a rchaeologists a nd Federal l aw enforcement o fficers."

2 8

D raft

Acknowledgements Many p ersons h ave b een o f i nvaluable a ssistance i n a ssembling s upportive i nformation. Of t hese people, I w ould e specially l ike t o t hank t he f ollowing: J . N . S iddons, Legislation D evelopment, Coast Guard, T ransport Canada; P . J . O 'Keefe, Senior Lecturer, Faculty o f Law, University o f Sydney, Australia; I . Townsend-Gault, Director, I nstitute o f Environmental L aw, University o f Calgary ; B jorn 0 . S imonsen, p ast-Director, B .C. Heritage Conservation B ranch, V ictoria; A . Lepine, P resident, Comite d 'Histoire et d 'Archeologie Subaguatigue du Quebec, Montreal; R . Jackson, Vice-President, Save Our Shipwrecks, E rindale, Ontario; P . Carruthers, Archaeological C oordinator, a nd P . Engelbert, Staff Archaeologist, o f t he Ontario Ministry o f Culture and Citizenship, Toronto a nd Ottawa, r espectively; a nd W . Gay, Barrister And S oliciter, Sands, Pattenden, Gay a nd Kemp, K ingston, O ntario.

B ibliography

Cameron, D ., 1 980. An I ntroduction t o t he C ultural Property Export a nd Import Act, Government o f Canada, Dept. orTog i TT ET8aT öns, O ttawa . Canadian Archaecqogical Association, 1 983. Archaeological Newsletter, 3 (2), 1 -5. C lugston, M ., 1 981. Macleans, S ept.

" The p lay f or 2 8, 2 8-32.

Canadian

e astern o il",

K enny, J . & H rusoff, R ., 1 967. " The Ownership o f T reasures o f t he Sea", William a nd Mary Law Review 9 , 3 83-401. Langley, S ., 1 982. " Underwater Archaeology a nd t he Law i n Canada", D irections i n Archaeology: A Q uestion o f Goals, P roceedings ol- t he Fourteenth Annual Con ce, Chacmool, The Archaeological Association o f t he University o f Calgary, 1 63-171. Langley, S ., 1 983. Legislation Pertaining t o S ubmerged Heritage Resources i n Canada, M .A. The -H s. Dept. o f Archaeology, UnivergIt7- 7 0T- a lgary. Ontario Regulations, 1 970. R egulations p ertaining t o P rovincial P arks, S ee R .S.O. 1 970 & R .S.O. 1 976.

2 9

Parks

Canada, Ottawa.

Pratt-Johnson, Province,

1 980.

Parks Canada Policy,

B ., 1 977. Sat. May

" Parks 1 4, 5 .

b eneath

Parks

Canada,

t he waves",

T he

Prott, L . a nd O 'Keefe, P ., 1 978-1979. " International Legal P rotection o f t he Underwater Cultural Heritage", Belgium Review o f International Law, 8 5-103. Pratt, L . a nd O ' Keefe, P ., 1 981. " Law a nd t he Underwater Heritage", Protection o f t he Underwater Heritage, UNESCO, Paris. Revised Statutes o f Resources Act,

Alberta, 1 978. Chapter 4 .

Alberta Historical

Revised Statutes of British Columbia, Conservation Act, Chapter 1 65. Revised Statutes Chapter 2 9.

1 979.

Heritage

of Canada,

1 970.

Canada Shipping A ct,

Revised Statutes of Canada, Chapter N-13.

1 972.

National

Parks Act,

Revised Statutes Chapter 1 1.

1 974.

National

Parks Act,

of Canada,

Revised Statutes o f Newfoundland, 1 979. Historic Objects, Sites and Records Act, Chapter 4 6. Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1 979-1980. Heritage Property Act, Chapter H-22.

The

Roper, J ., 1 978. The Underwater Cultural Heritage, Council o f Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Doc. 4 200-E, Report of t he Committee on Culture and Education, Strasbourg. Statutes of Nova Scotia, Act, Chapter 1 7. Statutes of Ontario, Chapter 8 7.

1 980.

1 975.

Special

Places P rotection

The Ontario Heritage Act,

Stenuit, R ., 1 978. " The Sunken Treasure o f St. National Geographic 1 54(4), 5 62-576. Surette, R ., 1 981. " 200-mile l imit p roblems", Canadian Geographic

3 0

Helena",

b rings more offshore 1 01(5), 4 4-52.

W illiams, S . and Mestral, A . de, 1 979. An Introduction to International Law: Chiefly a s Interpreted and Applied i n Canada, Basic Text Series, Butterworths, Toronto.

3 1

Fathom Five P rovincial Park - A S uccessful Experiment

Stan McClellan Superintendent, Fathom F ive P rovincial P .O. Box 6 6, Tobernary Ontario, Canada NOH 2 R0

P ark

Background Fathom F ive Provincial Park i s one o f 1 31 p rovincial parks i n t he P rovince Of Ontario. I t i s a dministered by t he Ontario Ministry o f Natural R esources and i s t he only one i n t he s ystem w ith t he p rimary emphasis on t he aquatic environment and t he a ssociated r esources. The park i s l ocated a t t he t ip o f t he Bruce Peninsula a nd e ncompasses a bout 7 2 square k ilometres o f l ake b ed i n L ake Huron a nd Georgian Bay. Currently a s mall o ffice/visitor centre i s t he major p ublic contact point. I t i s h ere t hat t he v isiting d ivers f ulfill t heir r egistration obligation a nd t he d isplay a rea p rovides o rientation a nd i nformation t o t he public. A 1 42 h ectare l and b ase portion o f t he park i s a s yet u ndeveloped. Within t he park boundary, t here a re 1 9 k nown s hipwrecks and r esearch h as i ndicated t hat a t l east 1 0 others h ave y et t o b e d iscovered. P rotection o f t he r esources, b oth n atural a nd cultural i s a k ey f unction o f t he park p rogram. Park r egulations p rovide for i ts p rotection a nd p rohibit r emoval o f a ny n atural o r h istoric material. The p atrol p rogram s tresses t his a nd s taff enforce t hese r egulations. An a dditional p rogram p rovides a mooring s ystem on most o f t he w reck s ites and v essels a re p rohibited f rom a nchoring i nto t he w recks, t hus e liminating a s evere form o f s ite d eterioration.

Resource

I nventory P rogram

For t he p ast f ew s easons t he Ontario Ministry o f Natural R esources h as b een conducting a s ite mapping p roject t o p roduce a ccurate s cale d rawings o f t he v arious k now w reck s ites. To d ate, t his p roject h as concentrated on a p lan v iew only, s howing t he major d etails o f e ach s ite. So f ar s ix

3 2

s ites have b een completed a nd t hree others a re well u nderway. T he work i s carried out by P rovincial Park s taff, b oth r egular p ersonnel and s easonal s tudents, u sing a v ariety o f methods t o s uit t he i ndividual s ite r equirements. Rarely c an a f ull g rid s ystem b e e stablished due t o t he h eavy v isitor u se. ( About 7 000 d ivers a re hosted annually.) The method most o ften u sed i s a b ase l ine s ystem combined w ith t riangulation a nd c ross-sections. Any a rea t hat r equires g reater d etail c an b e done w ith a portable g rid s ystem. F ield n otes a re t ransferred t o p encil d rawings a nd when f inalized, a n i nk o n mylar p lan i s completed. Some e xamples o f v essels f or which c ompleted p lans exist i nclude: The s chooner JOHN WALTERS - b uilt 1 852 - w recked c .1899. The s team t ug ALICE G - b uilt c .1900 - w recked i n 1 927. The s team t ug BOB FOOTE - w recked i n e arly 1 900' s. In a ddition t o s ite mapping, s ome t ime, a lthough l imited, i s devoted t o s pecific s tructural s tudies. P resently most e fforts h ave dealt w ith t he r udders a nd s teering s ystems o f v arious v essels. I t i s h oped t hat t hese data, combined w ith s imilar s tudies b eing conducted e lsewhere, w ill p rovide a b asis f or comparison o f d ating, s tructural a nd e volutionary c hanges i n v essel c onstruction. While c urrent f unding l imits a ny major s earch e fforts w ith e lectronic gear, t here i s o ccasionally t he opportunity t o conduct f ield s earches b ased o n a reas i ndicated, v ia r esearch, a s h aving h igh potential. Some s uccess h as b een a chieved a nd a dditional portions o f b oth e xisting w recks a nd n ew ones h ave b een l ocated.

Archaeological P rojects The major u ndertaking i n t his a rea was c arried o ut s everal s easons a go w ith t he G riffon Cove P roject. I n 1 977, t he Ministry a cquired a marine o riented collection o f a rtifacts f rom t he e state o f t he l ate O .C. Vail. Part o f t his collection consisted o f a l arge q uantity o f s hipwreck m aterials which he had r ecovered i n 1 955, f rom a s mall cove on R ussel I sland. At t he t ime, t his m aterial was t hought t o b e part o f S ieur de l a Salle's v essel GRIFFON l ost i n 1 679. At t he t ime o f r ecovery i n 1 955, many o f t he s tructural p ieces were i ntact, a lthough w hen a cquired i n 1 977, t hey were a ll i ndividual u nmarked p ieces. The collection i ncludes t wo portions o f k eel,

3 3

f raming t imbers, p lanking a nd h and w rought i ron f asteners. S ince 1 955 t he cove has b een k nown l ocally a s Griffon Cove. In 1 978-1979 i nvestigation was

a p reliminary a rchaeological f ield u ndertaken t o do t he f ollowing:

1 .

locate a nd document a ny f urther material f inds;

2 .

r ecover a nd p rotect a ny a dditional i tems t hat could b e part o f t he s ite;

3 .

determine o r confirm i f p ossible t he t rue i dentity o f t he material a nd s ite.

4 .

a dd t o t he t he p ark.

r esource documentation o f

The f ield s tudies were c arried o ut over t wo s ummer s easons a nd i nvolved a d etailed s ite s urvey which p roduced a n a ccurate g round contour map o f t he e ntire cove a nd a rea a round i ts mouth b oth a bove a nd b elow t he s urface. Near t he h ead o f t he cove w here t he majority of t he 1 955 material was f ound, a g rid s ystem was e stablished a nd d redging was c arried o ut t o t he b edrock l evel. Some 2 50 i ndividual a rtifacts were r ecovered consisting mostly o f i ron f ittings, p otsherds a nd s ome s mall p ieces o f wood. I n t he a rea o f t he cove e ntrance, f urther s earching a nd d redging l ocated s everal i tems i n a ssociation, material consisting a lso o f i ron f ittings, p otsherds a nd a f ew m iscellaneous a rtifacts. B eyond t he c ove i n d eeper water, s everal s hip s tructural members were located a nd r ecovered. The most s ignificant t urned out t o b e a p iece o f t imber l ater i dentified a s t he g ripe o r f orefoot o f t he v essel. This p iece f it p erfectly i nto t he k eel a nd s tem p iece f rom t he Vail collection. Datable material f rom t he s ite c onsisted p rimarily o f t he v arious t ypes o f potsherds r ecovered. All w ere in t he m id-nineteenth c entury r ange a nd one g roup o f p ieces o f Blue W illow ware, contained t he m aker's m ark: " Barker & Son." I t i s b elieved t o b e f rom t he Hill Works, B urslem, Staffordshire Potteries, c a.1850-60. When t he o riginal collection w as a cquired, o ne o f t he i tems was a n i ron p adlock w ith a b rass e scutcheon p late w ith an e ngraved " GR" u nder a c rown a nd patent. I t h as b een d ated t o c irca 1 820-50. T his l ock was s aid t o h ave come f rom t he cove s ite b ut t here was n o f irm

3 4

confirmation until t he l ock, a lmost i dentical w as r ecovered.

1 979 f ield season when another b ut minus t he e scutcheon p late,

Concurrent w ith t his f ield work, Paul Hundley, a s tudent i n nautical a rchaeology f rom t he Institute o f Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M University, conducted a r esearch p roject on t he r econstruction of t he Griffon Cove wreck. Utilizing i nformation f rom both t he Vail c ollection and t he more r ecent f inds, Hundley was able t o r econstruct, by means o f models and on paper, what t he p articular vessel looked l ike. In addition t o p roviding d ata which will enable f uture r econstruction o f t he p ieces in t he collection he was able a lso t o p rovide p lans of t he vessel for a f ull model r econstruction. The c onclusions in h is t hesis on t he r econstruction i ndicate t hat "the vessel was t ypical o f a boat t ype common t o t he Lake Huron - Georgian Bay a rea i n t i}, mid 1 800' s" r esembling a mackinaw-style vessel. "I This dating c oincides w ith much o f t he data gathered f rom t he M inistry o f Natural Resources f ield work and s ubsequently i t has been concluded t hat t he Griffon Cove w reck was in f act not La Salle' s GRIFFON b ut r emains o f a vessel f rom t he m id-nineteenth century.

The Future Currently, n egotiations a re underway b etween t he M inistry, Parks Canada and t he local municipalities w ith a v iew t o e stablishing a major National Park on t he upper B ruce Peninsula. It appears t hat t his p roposal w ill r eceive t he support necessary t o go ahead a nd i f so, F athom Five park w ill b ecome a part of t his n ew National P ark. While e fforts at h istorical documentation and n autical a rchaeology have b een l imited, i t has b een s hown t o b e possible t o p rovide a combination o f documentation, p rotection and public r ecreational opportunities w ithout s eriously damaging t he i ntegrity of t he various s ites.

Notes

( 1)

P . Hundley, 1 980, M .A. Thesis abstract, Graduate College, Texas A&M University. See b ibliography: Hundley.

3 5

Bibliography

Hundley, P ., 1 984. " The Griffon Cove Wreck: a case study i n a rchaeological r econstruction of t imber hull r emains," Special Publication No. 2 , Australian I nstitute for Maritime Archaeology.

3 6

17

w ithin Fat

Successful

Cooperation - Underwater Archaeologists a nd A P rovincial Government

Vernon C .

Barber

Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society a nd Department o f Biology, Memorial University St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada AlB 3 X9

The Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society The formation o f t he Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society ( NMAS) i n 1 972 was t he b eginning of underwater a rchaeology i n t he Canadian Province o f Newfoundland and Labrador. The i mpetus t hat l ed to t he formation of t he g roup was t he r emoval a nd sale by commercial d ivers o f s everal cannon f rom t he wrecks of HMS TWEED, lost at Shoal Bay i n 1 813, a nd HMS SAPPHIRE, sunk at Bay Bulls i n 1 696. The l atter vessel was at t hat t ime t he o ldest i dentified shipwreck i n Canadian waters. The NMAS i s an incorporated company w ith r egistered c haritable status, and i s r un largely by volunteers. Some employees a re h ired for t he s ummer p rojects, a nd also, on occasions, for cataloguing and conservation activities. S ince t he formation of t he Society numerous p rojects have b een undertaken ( Barber 1 980, 1 981; Barber & Barber 1 983). Surveys and excavations h ave been made on t he wrecks o f HMS SAPPHIRE ( Barber 1 977; Farmer & Carter 1 979), t he MARGUERITE, a French vessel lost i n 1 707 at Conche ( Barber et. a l. 1 979, 1 981), t he Trinity s ite, believed t o be a B ritish merchant vessel l ost i n t he mid-eighteenth century ( Barber 1 981, 1 983; NMAS 1 981), and t he s ite p resently b eing i nvestigated at t he I sle a ux Morts, t hought t o b e a French vessel dating f rom 1 650 ( NMAS 1 983). The s ites o f t he MARGUERITE, t he SAPPHIRE, t he Trinity w reck, t he shipwreck o ff t he I sle a ux Morts, and t he one a t Red Bay b eing i nvestigated by underwater a rchaeologists

3 8

f rom Parks Canada, a re now a ll P rovincial Historic S ites. Other s ites t hat have b een examined and surveyed h ave b een on t he Northeast coast and Northern Peninsula, and on t he Burin Peninsula o f t he Province ( NMAS 1 982, 1 983). F igure 1 s hows t he locations o f t he major s ites i nvestigated by t he NMAS. Details of t hese s ites can be obtained f rom t he r eferences a lready g iven. The only s ite not mentioned i n t hese r eports i s t he one at Salvage. This i s an unidentified vessel, t he most obvious feature of t he s ite b eing e leven cannon. As well a s t hese a ctivities, n umerous underwater a rchaeology courses h ave b een o ffered, and considerable e fforts h ave b een made t o e ducate t he general public i n u nderwater a rchaeology and t he need t o p rotect t he u nderwater part o f our cultural heritage. I n f act t he mandate o f t he NMAS t o p rotect and i nvestigate s hipwrecks o f c ultural a nd h istoric i nterest has b een amply followed over t he more t han e leven years o f t he Society ' s existence.

Funding

and

Other

Provincial Government Assistance

One of t he major l imitations to t he work t hat t he NMAS has b een able t o a ccomplish has b een t hat of f unding. Tables 1 and 2 p resent summaries o f t he f unding r eceived by t he NMAS over t he l ast e leven years. I t s hould b e noted t hat f unds h ave b een consistently r eceived f rom t he P rovince o f Newfoundland a nd Labrador v ia t he Historic R esources Division. The sums r eceived h ave not b een l arge but have enabled t he NMAS t o continue with t he p rojects in h and. There a re two other ways t hat t he Province h as b een o f particular a ssistance. The f irst i s t he policy o f a llowina t he NMAS t o r etain c ustody o f i tems o f equipment purchased w ith P rovincial f unds. As well a s i tems a ctually owned by t he Society, t his has a llowed t he g roup t o b uild up a l arge i nventory of equipment, s uch a s a irlifts, hoses, s and d redges, s urveying eauipment, g rids, and t he l ike. The Province s till owns t he eauipment but has a llowed t he Society t he u se and custody o f i t. The s econd way i s t he a ctive s upport o f t he P rovince i n h elping t he NMAS i n i ts applications t o outside a gencies for f unding. For example, t he g rant f rom DREE ( Department o f Regional Economic Expansion) was applied for on t he s uggestion o f t he P rovincial Government, and with t heir s upport. In

3 9

t he case o f t he g rant f rom t he Donner Canadian Foundation t he appropriate P rovincial e mployees a ssisted w ith r eferences a nd i n other ways. Therefore, i t can b e s aid t hat d irectly and i ndirectly t he Province h as p rovided f inancial a ssistance t o t he Society s ince 1 974. Several o ther f unding s ources s hould a lso b e mentioned. The f irst i s t hat o f corporate donors. This s ource h as n ot p rovided e xtensive f unds b ut s till has b een o f a ssistance. Another way t hat t he NMAS h as r aised f unds, a nd h as i ncidentally a lso g iven t raining t o o ld a nd n ew members, h as b een f rom t he o ffering o f u nderwater a rchaeology courses. The f inancial b enefits h ave n ot b een l arge but have b een u seful. The l ast i tem t hat s hould b e n oted i s t he g rant mentioned i n Table 2 , Other Funding Sources c ). This s um, g ranted t o one o f t he Society members, Ms. J .M. Barber, was p rovided t o f und r esearch i nto t he documentation available o n p re-1815 s hipwrecks l ost o ff Newfoundland. S uch i nformation h as p roved i nvaluable i n t he decisions t hat have had t o b e made on what s ites s hould b e surveyed o r s earched for, a nd a lso for publication purposes.

Legal Considerations The l egislators i n Newfoundland w ere f ar-sighted e nough t o i nclude u nderwater s ites i n t he P rovincial H istoric S ites a nd R ecords Act ( 1973, with l ater a mendments). The p otential l egal p rotection g iven t o s ites does n ot completely s olve t he p roblem o f p rotecting s ites f rom l ooters, b ut has b een o f s ome a ssistance. There a re however s ome d ifficulties w ith t he Act a nd i ts i mplementation. The f irst p roblem i s t hat u nderwater s ites h ave f or s everal years b een i nvolved w ith t he j urisdictional d ispute b etween t he Federal a nd P rovincial Governments over who owns t he r ights t o m inerals i n t he o ffshore s eabed. The f ihd o f s ubstantial r eserves o f o ffshore o il a nd gas h ave a dded r ecent a dditional i mportance t o t he d ispute. For example, i n t he a greement s igned b etween t he Federal a nd P rovincial Governments t o a llow a n u nderwater s urvey a nd e xcavation t o b e u ndertaken at Bay Bulls o n t he w reck o f t he S APPHIRE i n 1 977, a c lause was i nserted t hat s tated t hat, " This a greement s hall h e w ithout p rejudice t o t he r ights o f e ither party t o ownership o f a nd j urisdiction over t he w reck a nd a rtifacts i n q uestion." The

4 0

problem o f t he ownership o f t he s eabed r ights h as not y et b een solved, and i t i s p resently b eing considered b y t he Supreme Court o f Canada. However, t he decision i n early 1 983 by t he Newfoundland Supreme Court o f Appeal confirmed Newfoundland' s r ights to ownership o f t he t erritorial s ea, i ts seabed, and s ubsoil. This at l east g ives an i ndication o f t he l ikely outcome o f t he Supreme Court decision on t he matter.* As a ll t he underwater archaeological s ites found so far l ie i n t he Provincial a rea o f ownership o r control t he decision will p robably have l ittle e ffect on underwater a rchaeological a ctivities. It s hould b e mentioned t hat t he NMAS have a lways i ndirectly s upported t he Province i n t he matter i n t hat a ll t he Society' s activities h ave b een undertaken under P rovincial permit. Whether t he court decisions j ust r eferred t o a ctually a ffect t he q uestion o f t he ownership and control o f s hipwrecks i s debatable. It s eems l ikely t hat complex d ecisions i nvolving t he o riginal owners and t heir r ights, t he r ights of salvors, etc. may eventually b e n eeded i f a case on an a rchaeologically s ignificant shipwreck s ite i n Newfoundland waters ever comes t o t he courts. As i s well r ecognized, s uch cases have p roved t o b e very complex ( see P rott and O ' Keefe 1 981.) The s econd p roblem with t he P rovincial Act i s t hat while t he Province c laims ownership o f "historic objects" and " sites i n o r forming part o f t he soil ( including, without l imitation of t he generality o f t he word ' soil,' s oil under any water, f resh o r s alt) w ithin o r o f t he p rovince...," t here i s no c lear definition o f t he m9epings o f t he t erms "historic objects" a nd " sites". " ) This would p resumably o nly be determined by a c larification o f the Act, o r by a decision on a particular case t hat came t o court.

* (On Thursday, March 8 , 1 984, The Supreme Court o f Canada r uled t hat t he Federal Government has a ll exploratory r ights and legislative j urisdiction over o il r esources o ff Newfoundland. Eds.)

4 1

The l ast p roblem concerns t he r elatively p oor l evel o f a cceptance o f t he Act b y d ivers. This l ack o f a cceptance c entres on t he f eeling a mong d ivers t hat most i ndividual i tems f ound on t he s eabed, which do n ot f orm p art o f a h istoric s hipwreck, s hould b e t heirs, a nd not t he P rovince's. Also, d ivers w ho h ave found h istoric s ites, a nd h ave " reported" t hem do not f eel t hat t hey h ave b een p roperly compensated f or t heir f inds. Acts i n o ther j urisdictions, s uch a s i n Australia, a ctively encourage r eporting o f s ites b y g iving " rewards" f or f inds o f a rchaeological o r h istorical v alue. I n a P rovince s uch a s Newfoundland, w ith a s parse population, a nd a v ery l ong coastline t hat i s p ractically i mpossible t o p roperly patrol, t he o nly way an Act c an work i s i f i t i s a cceptable t o t he d iving f raternity. Otherwise i t w ill b e i gnored, o r e ven deliberately f louted, t o t he h arm o f a rchaeology. I n r egard t o t his p roblem t he NMAS has concentrated on t he e ducation o f d ivers a s t o t he i mportance o f p roperly conducted a rchaeological work b eing done on s ites, and a t t he s ame t ime h as m ade r epresentations t o Government a s t o possible c hanges t o t he Act, o r c hanges i n t he w ay t hat t he Act i s i nterpreted, s o t hat i t i s more a cceptable t o d ivers. Neither o f t hese t wo a pproaches has b een completely s uccessful, a nd t he p roblem i s s till awaiting a solution.

Conclusions The P rovince h as b een o f h elp t o t he Society i n p roviding f unding a nd other a ssistance t o a llow i t t o c arry o ut a v ariety o f s urveys, s earches, a nd e xcavations o f u nderwater s ites o f potential a rchaeological i mportance f or o ver a d ecade. Without t his a id u nderwater a rchaeology would n ot h ave p rogressed p rovincially, a nd would h ave h ad t o h ave b een u ndertaken solely b y u nderwater a rchaeolgists f rom P arks C anada.

Notes ( 1)

Revised Statutes o f Newfoundland, 1 973, S . 2 ; R .S.N., 1 974, No. 1 13, S . 2 .

4 2

No.

8 5,

Acknowledgements The f unds for attending t he meeting at which t his paper was p resented were partly provided by t he NMAS. Full a cknowledgements for t he a rchaeological work in t his a rticle can be found in t he publications r eferred t o i n t he t ext.

Bibliography

Barber, J .M., 1 980. "Marine a rchaeology i n Newfoundland - a r eview", Progress i n Underwater Science, Report of t he Underwater Association, Vol. 5 ( New Series), 71-83, Pentech Press, London. Barber, J .M., 1 981. "A Historic Shipwreck at Trinity, Trinity Bay", Newfoundland Quarterly LXXVII ( 2 & 3 ), 1 7-20. Barber, J .M., 1 983. "Artifacts f rom an e ighteenth century merchant vessel lost at Trinity, Newfoundland", Proceedings o f t he 1 3th Annual Conference on Underwater Archaeology, Philadelphia, In Press. Barber, J .M., Barber, V .C., and Wheeler, R ., 1 981. "A Trial Excavation of t he MARGUERITE, and a Search for t he MURINET, both St. Malo Vessels, sunk i n 1 707 at Conche, Newfoundland", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 1 0(1), 2 9-39. Barber, V .C., 1 977. " The SAPPHIRE, a British f rigate, sunk i n a ction i n Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, i n 1 696", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 6 (4), 3 05-313. Barber, V .C., 1 981. " Underwater Archaeology i n the Atlantic P rovinces of Canada", i n Shimabuka, D . M . ( ed.), Proceedings of t he 1 980 Conference on t he Future of Archaeology i n t he Maritime Provinces, Occasional Papers i n Anthropology No. 8 , 4 2-57, Department of Anthropology, St. Mary' s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Barber, V .C., and Barber, J .M., 1 984. " Underwater a rchaeology i n Newfoundland - t en years of work", Proceedings of the 1 3th Annual Conference on Underwater Archaeology, Philadelphia, In Press. Barber, V .C., Barber, J .M., Allston, M . and Stone, B ., 1 979. " An i nitial s urvey of a w reck t hought t o be

4 3

a

St. Malo Vessel, t he MARGUERITE, s unk i n 1 707 a t Conche, Newfoundland", International Journal o f Nautical Archaeology 8 (1), 3 9-44. Farmer, G . a nd Carter, J ., 1 979. " The marine d ig f or t he SAPPHIRE at Bay Bulls", Canadian Geographic Journal 9 8(1), 6 2-67. Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society, 1 981. " The excavation a nd s urvey o f a m id-Eighteenth Century s hipwreck a t T rinity, Trinity Bay, 1 980", i n Sproull-Thomson, J . & Thomson, C . ( eds.), Archaeology i n Newfoundland a nd Labrador, 1 980. Annual Report 1 , 7 8-87, Government o f Newfoundland and Labrador, St. Johns' s, Newfoundland. Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society, 1 982. " A s urvey o f underwater a rchaeological s ites on t he Newfoundland Coast. I . Cape St. John t o Cape Bauld", i n Sproull-Thomson, J . & Thomson, C . ( eds.), Archaeology i n Newfoundland a nd Labrador 1 981, Annual Report 2 , 8 8-101, Government o f Newfoundland and Labrador St. John ' s, Newfoundland. Newfoundland Marine Archaeolgy Society, 1 983. " A s urvey o f underwater a rchaeological s ites o n t he Newfoundland Coast. I I. The Burin Peninsula a nd t he I sle-aux-Morts", i n Sproull-Thomson, J . & Thomson, C . ( eds.), Archaeology i n Newfoundland a nd Labrador 1 982, Annual Report 3 , 1 95-203, Government o f Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John' s, Newfoundland. P rott, L .V. a nd Underwater Underwater Heritage.

O ' Keefe, P .J., 1 981. " Law and t he Heritage", I n " Protection o f t he Heritage", P rotection o f t he Cultural Technical Handbboki f or Museums a nd M onuments No. 4 , 1 65-200, United ' Nations Educational, S cientific a nd Cultural O rganization, Geneva.

4 4

Table

1 .

Major

Project

Year

1 972 1 973 1 974 1 975 1 976 1 977 1 978 1 979 1 980 1 981 1 982 1 983

TOTAL

f unding

o f NMAS.

Amount

None None $ 250.00 $ 1,200.00 None $ 1,500.00 $ 13,000.00 $ 40,000.00 $ 1,232.00 $ 25,000.00 $ 1,000.00 $ 12,000.00 $ 14,000.00 $ 35,000.00 $ 736.80 $ 5,100.00

$ 150,018.80

& Source

Government o f Newfoundland Government o f Newfoundland Government o f Newfoundland Government o f Newfoundland D .R.E.E., Government of Canada Labatt' s Breweries D .R.E.E., Government of Canada Government o f Newfoundland Government o f Newfoundland Government o f Newfoundland Donner Canadian Foundation The Explorers Club, New York 4 00th Anniversary Celebrations p roject, f unded by t he Government of Canada

Table

2 .

Other

s ources

o f

Year

None None None $ 250.00 $ 405.00 None $ 880.00

1 979 1 980 1 981

$ 450.00 $ 225.00 $ 200.00 $ 7 5.00 $ 250.00 $ 4 0.00 $ 200.00 $ 800.00

1 983

.

Amount

1 972 1 973 1 974 1 975 1 976 1 977 1 978

1 982

TOTAL

f unding

f or

t he NMAS.

& Source

Government o f Newfoundland P rofit on u /w A rchaeology Course P rofit on two u /w Archaeology Courses P rofit o n u /w Archaeology Course P rofit o n u /w A rchaeology Course Mobil O il Canada P rofit o n u /w A rchaeology Course Government o f Newfoundland P rofit on u /w A rchaeology Course Government o f Newfoundland Caribou D iving Club, S t. John 's, Newfoundland

$ 3,775.00

Other Funding Sources: Membership f ees Small donations $ 5,000.00 t o J .M.

Barber

4 6

f rom Canada Council

( 1978)

-N -

QUEBEC

Qu irpon ' S t .

L una ire

' Crouse C onche F rench

C ove

, Coach man 's

C ove

•C a S c ie

/ if

NEYVF O UN D LÄN D

I s le a ux Ma r ts

e "_zS•alvage

S t . J ohn 's C ..

NS hoa l

B ay

' Bay B u l ls •Mor t ie r

m i les k i lo me t res

1M

F igure 1 : Approximate locations o f t he major s ites i nvestigated b y t he NMAS. ( Note: The R ed Bay s ite i s b eing i nvestigated by u nderwater a rchaeologists f rom P arks Canada)

4 7

Continuing t he

Involvement

p roblems

o f

o f

Governments:

conservation

Victoria Jenssen Conservation D ivision 1 570 L iverpool Court, Ottawa, Ontario KlA 1 G2

Two s tatements f irst come t o mind. The f irst i s t hat e xcavation w ithout conservation i s v andalism. The s econd i s t hat conservators a re t he a thlete's foot o f t he a rchaeological p rofession. The point of t his paper i s t o convince r eaders t hat conservators do occupy a p ivotal position i n underwater a rchaeology a nd t o s how t hat o rganization's ability t o s urvey, much l ess excavate should b e d irectly r elated t o i ts ability t o conserve t he s ite and t he f inds. To b egin with t he b asic p roblems o f conservation: The main p roblems a re t hat t he materials a re extremely u nstable, especially compared t o other c ultural r esources, s uch a s paintings o r b uildings. Conservators do not have a s atisfactory universal methodology. They a re not l ikely t o develop one e ither. There i s a s carcity o f competent conservators, o f t raining money, of a dequate laboratories, a nd a s carcity o f appropriate r epositories. Archaeologists a re going t o d isturb s ites. In most s ites, i f a rtifacts have not come t o an a ctual equilibrium w ith t heir environment t hey a re c lose to

4 8

one a nd t he r eactions a re extremely s low. When a rchaeologists d isturb t he s ite t hey e ither p rovide f resh f ood f or b oring o rganisms o n t he wood, i f a ny h appen t o l ive i n t he a rea, o r p romote b acterial action on t he a rtifacts. That i s e specially unfortunate s ince one o f t he g reatest a dvantages o f underwater a rchaeology i s t he i ncredibly well-preserved appearance o f t he a rtifacts. The appearance i s confusing b ecause c hemically a nd physically t hey a re q uite a ltered. I n m any c ases what i s p reserving t hese f inds a re oxygen poor s ilts, a s i n R ed Bay f or i nstance. The s ilts c an b ecome d eprived o f oxygen t hrough t he a ction o f b iological o rganisms. The b acteria a re o ften sulfate r educing s o a g reat d eal o f t he contamination t hat i s f ound i s s ulfate compounds, which l eads t o t he s tink o f r otten e ggs t hat i s a ssociated w ith conservation l abs. I t i s part o f t he contamination t hat i s f ound i n a rtifacts i n a ddition t o t he u sual chloride contamination. O rganic materials leather, wood- c ome t o conservators b asically i n v arious s tages o f hydrolysis. I n cellulose, for e xample, t here a re c rystalline r egions where t he f ibriles a re a ll l ined up v ery n icely a nd t hen t here a re a reas w here t he cellulose f ibriles a re n ot l ined u p a t a ll. The latter a re a reas where water can b ond o n a nd t he g reater i s t he l ikelihood o f water b eing t here. Later when t he water i s r emoved, t he h igher t he water content t he g reater t he r eactive a rea f or t he a rtifact t o s hrink a nd otherwise d estroy i tself. Descriptions l ike t his a re q uite f amiliar. An apparently s olid l ooking c ellular s tructure i n a p iece o f a lder, i n a n a rchaeological s ite, may conceal a moisture content o f a round 6 00% a s opposed t o b etween 5 0% a nd 1 00% i n a f reshly cut p iece o f wood. The l evel may b e extremely h igh i ndicating a g reat deal o f d isorganization t o t he c ellulose. And when t he p iece i s d ried t he c ellular s tructure collapses t o t he point w here t hese holes a ctually b ecome q uite l arge pores. I n t he e nd w hen t here i s no water l eft i n t he s ample, a c ongealed m ass r emains a nd e xhibits s hrinkage a nywhere f rom 5 0% t o 9 0%. I t does n ot j ust h appen i n one d irection. Wood, f or e xample, d epending on w hat what d irection i t w as c ut i n, w ill s hrink i n v arious w ays a nd i t i s n ot v ery p leasant t o look a t. The f ibriles, w hen t hey l ose t heir w ater, t end t o g lue t hemselves t o e ach other c reating a c lotted appearance. With s ulfide-sulfate e nvironments c ome i ron s ulfite s taining which i s d ifficult t o r emove. It s hould b e r emoved b ecause o f t he p otential f or

4 9

c reation o f a cid by-products. Conservators u se many p rocesses which a re q uite dangerous, n ot only t o t he a rtifacts b ut f or t he conservators t hemselves a s w ith t he u se o f oxidizing a gents t o r id materials of s ulphur. W ith metals, gold i s p robably t he most s table b ut t here a re p roblems w ith h eavily a lloyed p ieces o f gold. I f a rchaeologists could a ll f ind gold t hat would cut down on c onservators' p roblems. More o ften t hey f ind i ron. I n t he c ase o f c ast i ron, s uch a s c annon b alls a nd c annons, t he c arbon content i s 3 %. The t endency i s t oward g raphitization a nd t he r esult i s a f iligree o f carbon p lus t he core contaminants. When t hey r eceive a f resh oxygen s upply t he r eactions, a nd t herefore d eteriorization c an g o q uite q uickly. They can h eat up, f or example, s itting on a dock where a rtifacts a re not p roperly looked a fter. W rought i ron, more f amiliar i n t he f orm o f a nchors a nd s uch t hings, s uffer corrosion a long t he s lag l ines. W ith chloride a nd s ulphur contaminants, o nce t hey a re e xposed t o f resh oxygen, r eactions o ccur q uite quickly. S urface f inds t end t o b e h eavily concreted. These a re t he so-called s urvey i tems t hat d ivers a re b ringing u p. Concretion i s u sually a ccompanied b y b iological a ctivity, b asically a c hemical p recipitation. As o ften a s n ot concretion i s s o extensive a r adiography unit i s n eeded t o s ee i nside t he f ind. I f b roken, a ll t hat would b e l eft would b e m ush. W ith a r adiograph i t i s possible t o d iscover i f t here i s s omething i nside. After t hat t he n ext s tep i s t o m ake a c ast u sing t he s ame method d eveloped 2 0 y ears a go. These concretions c an a lso help t o k eep a n a rtifact r ather s table. Therefore, concretions s hould b e k ept i ntact w hen t he a rtifact comes out o f t he w ater. Sometimes i ron w ill t otally d isappear f rom t he w reck s ite, p robably a gain d ue t o b iological a ctivity. The v ery t hing t hat i s t ending t o p reserve t he o rganic m aterial m ay b e t he s ame t hing t hat i s h elping t o d issolve t he i norganic materials out o f i t. Other m aterials, s uch a s g lass c an b ecome v ery " sick" i n t hese b iologically a ctive s ediments. At Bay Bulls, a n e xcavation b y P arks Canada, f or example t he f inds w ere i n a n extremely a ctive s ediment. Glass would p eel a nd c rack a nd t here were e ven s ome v ery b izarre colour changes which, i t i s a ssumed, were s ome r educed f orm o f i ron i n t he g lass. I t i s n ot j ust o rganic t hings w hich g et e aten b y b oring c reatures. I t c an h appen t o b ricks t oo. Sulfite s taining i n l ead g lazes i s another common p roblem. I t c an b e a esthetically

5 0

d isfiguring. Tin g lazes, s uch a s Delftware, a re a ctually physically u nstable. I f t hey a re j ust a llowed t o d ry o ut t he g laze a nd t he body a re n ot compatible. Archaeologists s hould k now about t hese various p roblems when t hey a re pulling t hings o ut o f t he water. Although t hey l ook s table, t hey h ave undergone d ifferent c hanges t hat r equire s pecial a ttention. To r eturn t o t he q uestion o f t he l ack o f s atisfactory universal t reatment p rocedures, what happens when one has, f or e xample, a b eautiful b oxwood composite a rtifact? This i s a r eal p roblem conservators must f ace r egularly. Such a r are o r d isplay q uality i tem cannot u ndergo d estructive a nalysis o r u nproven t reatment. But b ecause t he r esearch h as not r eally b een done on a l ot o f t hese t reatments, t hat i s e xactly what conservators a re being a sked t o do. They a re b eing a sked t o u se t reatments on t hese t hings t hat t hey t hink w ill work t o p reserve t heir d isplay q uality. There a re many r easons why t here a re n ot u niversal t reatments. The s ites t hemselves a re i nconsistent. Within a s ite t he p reservation f rom one e nd o f t he b oat t o t he other w ill b e d ifferent s o t hat t he f inds a re i nconsistent. It i s very d ifficult t o characterize what t hese f inds a re l ike chemically a nd p hysically. Often t here i s n ot v ery m uch s ample l eft a nd a lso t hey a re contaminated, a nd contaminated i n a way t hat would make i t v ery d ifficult for a s cientist t o get a v ery c lear r eading out of t hem e specially i n t he a rea o f s tatistical r eliability. One a nswer t ells l ittle. What i s n eeded a re s everal r uns i n o rder t o g et a good a nswer. F rom where a re t he p eople t o do t he r esearch o n t hese t hings going t o come? Who i s going t o s pend t he money a nd t he t ime t o examine t he chemical c haracteristics o f 2 00-year-old r otten i ron? This i s s omething i n which only a n a cademic o r government l aboratory could get i nvolved. P rivate e nterprise h as not f unded r esearch, a lthough i t h as b een able t o u se f indings f rom u nderwater a rchaeology. The b est example i s t he f inding o f s omething t o p reserve r adioactive waste. The i nformation came f rom underwater m etallurgical s tudies. There i s a nother r eason why t here a re d ifficulties i n coming u p w ith s atisfactory universal methodologies a nd t hat i s t hat p rofessional e thics a re v ery s harply l imited i n what w ill b e i ncluded i n a point o f v iew. I t i s not desirable t o l ose i nformtion. We want t hese t hings t o b e h ere 1 00 y ears f rom n ow, 2 00 y ears f rom now. So i t i s n ecesary n ot t o a lter t he a rtifacts t oo

5 1

much chemically o r p hysically. On t he other h and, t hey do not want t o i ntroduce a nything i nto t he a rtifact t hat i s u nstable. So approaches a re l imited t o b egin w ith. There a re v ery f ew p laces where r esearch i s done. Australia h as a n e xtremely good r esearch t eam i n Perth. In t he United K ingdom, t here i s excellent work b eing done a s t here i s i n Canada. It i s c lear t hat a l arge n etwork o f conservators e xists. I t i s a n example o f a n a rea where t here has b een a l ot o f work done r ecently. Conservators may a ctually b e r eaching a s implified a pproach. For e xample, i t was long a ssumed t hat t he b est way t o t reat water-logged wood i n o rder t o a void s hrinkage a nd d istortion was t o f ill e very porosity w ith s ome s ort o f s ubstance t hat would n ot a llow t he wood t o move. One a lways r an i nto t he word ' bulk ' o r ' bulky '. The t raditional t reatment h as b een t o f ill t he c ell s tructure. With t he Kyrenia w reck excavated o ff Cyprus b uilt o f Aleppo p ine a nd which was very b adly d egraded conservators u sed a s olution o f polyethyleneglycol ( PEG) and f illed i t r ight u p. When t he wood d ried out o r r ather when t he PEG congealed t he r esult was s omething w ith t he s trength o f a candle and v ery h eavy t oo. What i s b eing d iscovered i s t hat, when working w ith wood s pecialists, i s t hat r eally what what i s b eing a ttempted i s t o r eplace t he water i n t he r eactive s ites o f t he cellulose w ith some compound which will a ct chemically t he s ame a s t he water a nd p revent f ibres f rom moving a round a nd s hrinking. It makes a l ot o f s ense b ecause t he a im i s t o p rotect t he cellulose f rom moving, not t he whole. PEG works q uite well for t his. That was i ts a pplication i n i ndustry. It was j ust not b eing u sed i t i n t he b est way. Glycerol a nd Manitol a re a lso good a gents. Margaret Rule can a ttest t o t he u sefulness o f t hese chemicals on material f rom t he MARY R OSE. The t rick i s t o f ind t he appropriate g rade o f t he chemical. Work a t t he Canadian Conservation I nstitute h as s hown t hat much t oo h igh a g rade was b eing u sed. A v ery low molecular weight P EG i s b etter. Also, t he equivalent o f m ineral o il r ather t han t he g rade more t he consistency o f candle wax s hould b e u sed. The low molecular weight P EG f its r ight i nto t he h oles while t he h igh molecular w eights were n ever g oing i nto t he c ellulose. The WASA p roject had t o go down f rom t he very h igh molecular w eight P EG' s with which t hey o riginally sprayed w ith r ight down to 6 00 t oward t he e nd o f t he t reatment u ntil t hey f inally j ust s topped.

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On t he q uestion o f h ow t o r emove t he water, r esearch s howed t hat f reeze-drying, a lthough i t d id not work o n u ntreated wood b ecause t he f ibres w ere able t o s tick t ogether, was v ery g ood w hen wood was p re-treated. The r eason was t hat i f t here i s a l ow concentration solution, when t he f reezing o f t he solution b egins, t he water s tarts t o f reeze o ut a nd i t c auses t he concentration o f t he P EG s olution t o i ncrease, a nd i ncrease a nd i ncrease. What i s t hought t o h appen i s t hat t he concentration o f t his chemical t hat goes r ight i nto t he c ell w alls i s i ncreased a nd t he f reezing i s a ctually e ven h elping t he t reatment. There h as b een a l ot o f r esearch done on t his p roblem r ecently, e xpecially a t t he Canadian Conservation Institute, a nd t he t reatments a re working. F reeze-driers a re n ow w idespread. Atmospheric f eeze-drying h as a lso b een u sed t o r emove water. F reezer b urn does o ccur a nd t here i s a very e legant way o f r educing i t i n a rtifacts. There a re s ome c lasses o f wood t hat s eem t o d ry v ery n icely w ithout t he p re-treatment t hat was a lways t hought t hey n eeded. Long b ows f rom t he MARY ROSE for e xample, made o f y ew, t reats v ery n icely. At Ketelhaven i n t he Netherlands w recks f rom t he polders h ave b een s ubjected t o s low-drying. There h as b een g reat s uccess w ith a cetone-rosin t reatment o n b oxwood a rtifacts. The t reatment h as p roblems, b ut i t does work v ery n icely on composite a rtifacts. R esearch i s n eeded on t his t reatment b ecause a s m ay b e i magined, t he n ame a cetone i ndicates t hat i t i s a v ery u nsafe t reatment. There a re a lso a f ew other l ittle p roblems t hat come o ut o f i t. A rtifacts t hat l ook f ine o n t he outside come apart. There i s s ome s ort o f i mplosion. That r aises e thical q uestions. I s t he s urface o f t he a rtifact t he goal o f p reservation o r t he i nterior? Now i n t he conservation community e veryone f eels a t h ome w ith t he p roblem o f water-logged wood, and t hey t hink t hat t he r esearch i s going on q uite n icely. The opposite i s t rue o f i ron. Work h as n ow b egun i n a n umber o f p laces, i n England a nd especially a t t he Western Australia Museum i n Perth. Conservators a re t rying t o solve t he p roblem o f how t o s tabilize i rons. I f a n a rtifact were a ble t o b e r educed t hrough e lectrolytic r eduction a nd p roperly c leaned i t m ight n ot b e a p roblem. B ut many o f t he a rtifacts t hat a re r aised a re corroded a nd t heir i dentities a re locked up i n t he s hape o f t he corrosion. S o t he q uestion r emains s hould t hey b e put t hrough, f or i nstance, h ydrogen r eduction w hich on one h and w ill g ive a n a rtifact w ith a n ice

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appearance,but which f rom a metallurgical point o f v iew c an n ot b e p roperly s tudied. So f rom t he s cientific v iewpoint perhaps t his i s n ot t he b est t reatment. I t w ill b e n eccessary and e ven c ritical t o h ave i nformation about t he a rtifact b efore you t reat i t t hat way. People h ave p roposed s team c leaning, f or example, for c annons. P erhaps chemical r eduction i s t he d irection t hat should b e followed w ith t his i ron, t hat i s, s omehow r emoving chloric contamination and possibly e ven changing corrosion p roducts t o make t hem more s table. One o f t he n ice by-products o f t he PEG t reatment o f water-logged wood i s t hat i t makes t he wood much e asier t o s tore. The wood i s l ess r eactive t o change, e xcept d rastic c hanges i n r elative h umidity. I t would b e n ice i f a t reatment c ame a round where i ron a lso could h ave l ess exacting s torage r equirements. I t i s quite l ikely t hat n ot a ll t he chloride o r s ulfate contamination i s b eing r emoved f rom i ron f inds. Chloride l eft w ill a ttract water f rom t he a ir a nd corrosion c an p rocede. It would b e n ice i f t he point could b e r eached where some a ctive sort o f s torage i s not n eeded. As t o t he s carcity o f competent c onservators, t he q uestion o f who i s a competent marine a rchaeologist could b e r epeated t o d eal w ith conservators. There a re p robably b etween 3 0 a nd 4 0 marine conservators i n t he world. They a re mostly working f or governments o r universities a lthough t here a re p rivate g roups a nd t he o ccasional f ree-lance conservator. when a m arine s ite r loes come u p, a rchaeology conservators a re q uite o ften e ager t o r e-train i nto m arine p rofessionals b ut t he ability t o t rain t hem i s l acking. There a re q uite a f ew t raining p rograms t hat exist i n t he world f or conservation a nd i n many c ases t raining must b e t ailored i n o rder t o b ecome marine conservators. There a re v ery f ew p rograms where you c an go d irectly i nto m arine conservation. I t t akes a l ot o f t raining i n c hemistry. Good e yes a nd good h ands a re a lso e ssential. I t i s much l ike t he medical p rofession. The p oint i s t hat i f t he j obs a re not t here i n one form o r a nother t here a re n ot going t o b e m any p eople, who a re potentially good material who w ill b e a ttracted t o t he f ield, o f i n t his f ield d id s o b ecause t hey f elt a c ertain commitment The o ther t hing t hat must b e k nown when t rying t o h ire a conservator i s t hat h e o r s he i s not j ust s omeone w ho i s c leaning your a rtifacts o r p reserving t hem. Half o f t he j ob o f conservators i s examining a rtifacts. These a re n ot j ust d isplay i tems. They a re t here f or t he s tudy o f e veryone. Conservators

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a re n ot only t here j ust t o b ring out t he d isplay qualities i n t hese t hings. They a re t here a s policemen i n a way, t o p reserve t hose a rtifacts, t o p reserve t heir p hysical i ntegrity s o t hat t hey w ill be t here f or t he f uture. Unquestionably t here i s a l ack o f a dequate l aboratories. The p rofessional e thic i s t o do t he least n ecessary. At t he s ame t ime t he e laborate a nd t he d angerous a spect o f most t reatment i s s triking. The s afety a nd t he hygiene p roblems t hat t his work imposes make f or most o f t he e xpense o f t he l abs. Safety and h ygiene a re f ollowed v ery c losely b y t he whole a spect o f what s cientific i nformation i s t o b e obtained f rom t hese a rtifacts. Conservators n eed a lot o f f loor s pace, c lean a ir, l ighting, a nd water. These a re a ll t hings t hat d rive local municipal o fficials t o d istraction when t hey f ind out w hat t he staff i s going t o b e t rying t o do. There i s a lways going t o b e a n eed f or s olvents i n o ne f orm o r another. C ranes a re n eeded t o h elp c arry h eavy i tems a round. W ith t he c hemicals t here i s a lways a d isposal p roblem. I t i s n ecessary t o h ave r adiography i n t he l aboratory i n o rder t o s ee what i s b eing d ealt w ith. Work must b e documented. Archaeologists must h ave t heir own a nalytical l ab or access t o one w ith personnel w illing a nd a ble t o do a b road r ange o f s tudies. The l ast t hing o n t he l ist o f what i s n eeded i n a l ab a re t he t hings t hat most p eople a ssociate w ith m arine a rchaeology s uch a s t he obligatory t anks. These a re a ll t hings w hich obviously cost money and i t i s a mazing h ow m uch money a ll o f t his can cost. The operating b udget o f t he l ab at P arks Canada a lone comes out t o C dn $ 250,000 a y ear. In Canada, t here a re b asically t wo a rchaelogical conservation l abs c apable o f undertaking s ites: P arks Canada a nd t he Canadian Conservation I nstitute. They h ave t errific p roblems w ith d rainage, p lumbing, l ighting, a nd m unicipal authorities. Newfoundland h as f acilities a s d oes t he Northwest Territories. I t i s Newfoundland a nd t he Northwest Territories t hat s eem t o b e i n t he v anguard o f a rchaeol- ogical conservation. The p rovince o f Ontario h as a n u nderstanding w ith Queen's University. Students t here do s ome work. That i s another way t hat work c an b e d one: t hrough t raining p rograms. • B .C. h as a n e xcellent conservation l ab b ut i t i s n ot going t o b e undertaking a ny w et s ite conservation, b y c hoice. The p roblems

l ast p oint w ith r espect t o conservation i s t he l ack o f r epositories. A r epository

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c an b e a museum, a collection o r a s hoe box. It i s h oped t hat we c an t alk w ith confidence about museums and n ot s hoeboxes. What h appens w ith most l egislation i s t hat t he e xcavators g enerally a re a llowed t o hold onto e xcavated material u ntil t ime o f publication, a t l east w ith l andsites. I t s eems t o b e a g entlemen 's a greement w ith material f rom l andsites, however, t his c annot a pply t o m aterial t aken f rom u nder water. P roblems w ith museums a re h igh h umidity l evels, i mproper l ight l evels, i nfestation, l eaking r oofs, a nd s o on. Collections a re n ot n ecessarily a ssets f or museums. Most m useums a re g oing t o consider a collection o f a rtifacts t aken f rom u nder water a s a l iability i n t hat t hey h ave t o b e t reated b ecause t hey a re s o f ull o f v arious contaminants f rom t he u nderwater s ite. Moreover, t he t reatments a re n ot guaranteed t o g ive you s omething t hat i s h ere f orever. They a re going t o b e t erribly unstable. The o ther p roblem f or museums i s t hat a n excavation, by definition, i s going t o t urn out i ncredible q uantities o f material. The w hole i dea o f s ystematic i nvestigation m eans i nclusion of materials t hat may o r may n ot b e d irectly a ssociated w ith t he w recks. I t a ll h as t o come u p for s tudy a nd s omeone h as t o b e t here t o h andle i t. There i s n ot v ery much continuing government i nvolvement i n conservation. Governments a re i nvolved i n p lanning, c ontrols, t he l egal a spects, p roviding s ervices, a nd f unding. Basically, t he legal s ide h as a g reat deal t o do w ith p lanning. By g ranting p ermits o r n ot, p rovinces a re controlling how t heir h istorical a ssets a re b eing u sed. I t i s s urprising t hat n one o f t he f ederal government d epartments a dmit t o a ctually p roviding conservation s evices o ther t han f or i n-house o r f or r esearch purposes. For i nstance, P arks Canada h as a n enormous conservation l ab o f w hich t he a rhaeological l ab i s only one part. But t hey h ire s ome 1 8 conservators t o do a rchaeological work. They h ave got s eparate l abs i n t he b uilding f or wet o rganic materials, s eparate l abs f or m etals, f or c eramics, s eparate l abs f or m aking r eproductions, a s well a s a b ack-up s taff o f s cientists, p lus a v ery l arge r adiographic u nit. For t he t ime b eing Parks Canada conservation d ivision exists f or Parks Canada a lone a nd n ot t o p rovide s ervice f or o ther a rchaeologists. They a re w illing t o g ive a dvice. We h ave c ertainly worked a t K ingston w ith t he g roup ' Save our Ships'. We g ave a f our d ay s eminar t here. The Canadian ' Conservations I nstitute u sed t o p rovide more t reatment f or a rchaeological s ites b ut i t i s doing

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l ess a nd l ess b ecause i ts own p riorities h ave s hifted a nd i t i s b asically i nvolved i n doing r esearch a nd p roviding t raining. That means t hat materials f rom a n u nderwater s ite would b e i nteresting t o t hem f or r esearch, for working o ut a methodology. This y ear, f or example, t hey s eem t o b e doing a l ot o f r esearch on i ron. They would love t o g ive a dvice. They do l ots o f p ublications. But t hey w ill n ot a ctually s tep i n a nd do a s ite. For f unding f rom government f or c onservation, National Museums o f Canada h as s omething c alled t he Museum Assistantship P rogramme w hich i s c alled MAP and t here a re t en p rograms w ithin t hat. Of t hose t en, t here a re t wo p rograms t hrough w hich you c an actually get f unding f or conservation. The conservation a ssistanceship p rograms w ill p ay f or a conservator f or a p roject, p robably over a t hree year p eriod b ut by t he f ourth y ear, f unding f or t hat conservator m ust come f rom t he p roject. So definitely t here a re s trings a ttached. For example, i f t here i s s omeone, p referably e ven a n a rchival conservator, who wants t o b e r etrained a s a marine conservator, money i s a vailable t hrough t he p rogram to s end t hem t o t he p roper f acility t o t urn t hem i nto a conservator. Another p rogram i s c alled t he Up-grading a nd Equipment Assistanceship P rogramme. I t i s p ossible t o apply f or f unds t o g et a conservation l ab o r equipment f or t he l ab, f or upgrading t he e nvironment i n t he b uilding, f or upgrading o f s torage i n t he b uilding o r museum. Funds a re a vailable f or doing a p lanning s tudy o r to get s ecurity u p-graded. The a nnual b udget f or g rants i s $ 1,100,000. The maximum g rant f or an institution i s $ 300,000. The g rantors, t he National Museums, w ill want a conservator h ired b efore g iving money f or a l ab. They b elieve a c onservator s hould develop h is o r h er own l ab. National Museums a re t rying t o e ncourage t he f ormation o f p rovince-wide conservation g roups. National Museums wants a p rovince-wide e ffort w ith p eople s itting down a nd d iscussing w hat i n t he p rovince n eeds c onservation, what a re t he p riorities, a nd t hen m aking u p g rant applications. Now, i f e verybody i n t he p rovince s its down a nd t ries t o f igure out w hat t heir conservation r equirements w ere c hances a re t hey a re going t o b e more concerned about t he p roblems t hat t hey k now a nd h ave, t hat i s t he o nes t hat a re s itting i n m useums r ight n ow. Every m useum h as m any conservation p roblems a nd d irectors a re g oing t o b e looking f or m oney f or t heir m useums t o b ring up t he q uality o f c onservation. P eople a re p robably n ot going t o b e v ery h appy about p utting money i nto a conservation e ffort f or u nderwater a rchaeology. I t

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s eems u nnecessary t o b ring a rtifacts u p and i ncur a ll o f t he f inancial d rain on w hat a re e ssentially l imited r esources, r esources t hat a re b ecoming more a nd more l imited every year. F rom t he g overnment's point o f v iew, a t l east i n t his g ranting p rogram, i t i s doubtful t hat u nderwater a rcheology i s going t o get v ery f ar. So w hat c an b e done? There a re t wo a lternatives. One i s: j ust do n ot d ig. A s omewhat l ess e xtreme option i s l imit a ctivity t o p roper s urveys b ecause a rchaeology does not h ave t o do w ith d igging. I t j ust h as t o do w ith making s ense o ut of o ld o ld t hings. That c an b e done b y t aking photographs a nd doing documentary r esearch, by d oing t he s urveys a nd m aking t he r eports. That i s s till doing r eal a rchaeology. The o ther t hing t hat could b e done i s t o f ound a conservation l ab a nd a p roper museum w ith p rivate f unds. This may s ound o dd b ut i t h as c ertainly b een done i n o ther p laces. I n Scandinavia, a lthough a ll t hose l abs a nd museums a re b asically s tarted out w ith government f unding, t here i s a g reat d eal o f p rivate money t hat goes i nto p rojects. Margaret Rule c an c ertainly speak on t he s ubject o f p rivate f unding. There a re existing a nd o ften abandoned i ndustrial b uildings on t he waterfront s uch a s f ish p lants t hat c an b e made o ver i nto l abs. They h ave t hings " hanging a round" on t he water w ith e asily a vailable s hipping a nd r eceiving doors, w ith c ranes out on t he e nd o f t he wharf t o b ring materials i n a nd s o on. W ith t he good a dvice o f o ther p eople h ere who k now h ow, i t m ay b e possile t o r aise p rivate f unding s o t hat i t i s not n ecessary t o d epend o n t he government a nd e fforts s hould b e d evoted t o g etting t he b est a rchaeology, and t he b est t reatment o f a rtifacts.

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Summary

o f Roundtable Discussions

Dr. Richard W . Unger Dept. o f History 1 297-1873 East Mall The University o f British Columbia Vancouver, B ritish Columbia V6T 1 W4

Neil Cossins, t he Director of t he National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, chaired both t he morning a nd a fternoon d iscussions. The day opened w ith papers by P .J. O ' Keefe and S .B.M. Langley. The chairman s tarted t he f irst o f t he two r oundtables w ith a r ough a genda for dealing w ith t he law a nd nautical a rchaeology. Beginning w ith t he c larification of t he constitutional i ssues s uch a s which government o r governments a re r esponsible f or what. The morning d iscussion t hen t urned t o examine a reas of l egislation and t he f unction o f t he l aw -who s hould do what; r emove a rtifacts, g et t he a rtifacts, have t itle, a nd so on. Then t he a genda t urned t o t he q uestion o f enforcement and how t hat s hould be done; who i s t o enforce, which part o f government. The a fternoon r oundtable followed t he p apers o f S . McClellan, V . Barber and V . Jenssen. The chairman's a genda i ncluded unfinished b usiness f rom t he morning a s well a s matters t o do w ith t he t asks o f government s uch a s t he p romotion, control and f unding o f nautical a rchaeology. Finally, h e was i n s earch of specific r ecommendations g rowing out o f t he exchange o f i nformation f rom a ll t he many and d ifferent s ources p resent. The papers i n t he

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opening s ession were e specially h elpful i n s etting t he context f or t he d iscussion. The s essions a lso b enefitted e specially f rom h aving p resent Russell I rvine, t he Executive D irector o f t he B ritish Columbia Heritage Trust a nd B jorn S imonsen, t he f ormer B ritish Columbia P rovincial A rchaeologist who a dded t he local p erspective t o t he deliberations. The constitutional q uestion o f w hich governments a re r esponsible i s p articularly r elevant i n a n Australian o r Canadian o r possibly e ven American context. I t i s a p roblem n ot only o f who has r esponsibility i n b oth f ederal a nd u nitary s tates b ut a lso who s hould. I s i t a dvantageous f or a f ederal government t o t ake o n t he j ob o r s hould i t d evolve power t o t he p rovinces o r would t he p rovinces s eize t his r esponsibility w ithout t he f ederal government h aving a ny s ay? This i s s omething b eing debated n ow i n t he United States. I t i s hoped t hat n ew American l egislation w ill s ay what i s a n h istoric s hipwreck a nd t hat t hat d efinition w ill apply i n a ll w aters. Then i f t he ship i s w ithin t he t erritorial s ea o r w ithin t he 3 -mile l imit, m anagement o f t hat s ite o r t hat s hip w ill b e l eft t o t he i ndividual s tate. I f i t i s b eyond t he 3 -mile l imit, i t w ill come u nder f ederal j urisdiction. A lso i f t he s tate government f eels i t c annot a dequately p rotect t he s ite, i t w ill b e able t o come t o t he f ederal p rogram a nd a sk t he l atter t o a dd t he s ite t o t heir p rogram. I t i s h oped t hat t here w ill b e a d ivision o f r esponsibility o n a s imply g eographical b asis t o b egin w ith. The f ederal g overnment o f Australia h as d evolved t he r esponsibility f or maritime a rchaeology t o t he s tates. The s tates a t p resent do not h ave t he a uthority t o l egislate f or non-state waters. The matter r evolves a round t he d efinition o f s tate waters. I n f act, t he g overnment i s i n t he p rocess o f g iving b ack t he r esponsibility t o t he s tates i f t hey w ish i t. One o f t he i ssues b eing s tudied a t t he moment i n Australia i s t he r elative merits o f f ederal a nd s tate l egislation. Among t he s tates, Western Australia i s p robably t he most d eveloped i n u nderwater l egislation. Most o f t he other s tates would p refer t o s ee t he f ederal government maintain control. Certainly most s tates would l ike t he f ederal government t o b e i nvolved. I n f act t he d istances i nvolved mean t hat s tate p eople h ave a one-to-one r elationship w ith t he d iving f raternity a nd k now t he a ctual work i nvolved a nd s o s ensibly i t would b e b etter t o have t he c ontrol w ithin t he s tate. There i s a p ractical l ogic i n d ivided r esponsibility f or Australia. Western Australia i s

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now p roposing extending i ts l egislation o ut t o t hree m iles. At t he moment f ederal l egislation applies. It i s t he s ame way a s t he way t he F isheries Department works a t p resent. I t i s a s tate f ishery up t o t hree m iles a nd b eyond t he 3 -mile l imit p rosecution t akes p lace u nder Commonwealth legislation. For maritime a rchaeology, f ederal waters o r n on-state waters p robably would t hen r epresent a bout 1 % o f p otential w reck s ites. For Canada u nder t he B ritish North America Act i nternal w aters a nywhere h ave b een g iven t o t he federal government b ut t he l and u nder i nternal waters a nd t he f oreshore a reas, t he average b etween h igh a nd low t ide l evels, b elong t o t he p rovince. The s ea b ed h as n ot b een a ssigned u nder t he B .N.A. Act b ut t he f ederal government h as a ssumed j urisdiction. Canada c laims a 1 2 m ile t erritorial l imit a s opposed t o t hree. B ecause o f i ts v ery s inuous coastline, Canada h as u sed t he b ase-line method connecting h eadlands w ith i maginary l ines a nd t hen measuring out f rom t here t o d etermine t he l imit. So i n s ome c ases, p articularly Hecate Strait i n B .C., l arge b odies o f water a re not t echnically foreshore b ut t hey a re e nclosed w ithin t he base-line. T hese g rey a reas have c aused m any p roblems u ntil r elatively r ecently. I t was on t his i ssue t his B .C. c hallenged t he f ederal g overnment i n an a ppeal c ourt i n 1 976 a nd won, g aining l egislative authority o r j urisdiction over t he s ea b ed i n t hose a reas. Once i n Territorial waters j urisdiction i s f ederal. Vessels i n a ny c ase a re a lways a re u nder federal a uthority b y t he Canada Shipping Act. W ith vessels, e nforcement b ecomes a p roblem. I t u sually i s done by t he f ederal government t hrough t he Ministry o f T ransport v ia t he Coast Guard. According t o t he Canada Shipping Act t he v essel i s t he s unken v essel o r a ircraft, p arts t hereof, c argo t hereof a nd t he p ersonal possessions o f p assengers. In England i ndividual p ossessions do n ot come u nder t he Merchant Shipping Act o f 1 894 a nd a p erson w ho f inds t hem c an c laim t hem. According t o t he B .N.A. Act a Canadian p rovince which h ad c laimed sovereignty a nd dominion over i ts waters b efore joining Confederation m aintains t hose a nd t hat i s what t he f ederal g overnment i s t rying t o s ever. F inders have t o r eport w recks t o t he R eceiver o f Wreck w hich i s a b ranch o f t he f ederal g overnment. So, t he p rovince owrs t he l and b ut t he f ederal government h as r ights t o t he w aters a nd t he w reck. It c an b ecome a s ticky s ituation i f one o r t he o ther i s obstinate. Usually, b oth s ides a re q uite a greeable.

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I t i s r elatively s imple i n t he United K ingdom. The only p rotection available f or an h istoric w reck i s u nder t he Historic Wreck Act o f 1 973. Under t hat Act, one can r ecommend a s an i ndividual to an a dvisory body t he designation a nd p rotection o f an h istoric w reck. That i s t hen approved i f n ecessary by t he Secretary o f State for T rade. All objects excavated f rom an h istoric wreck under a Department of Trade l icense s till come under t he Merchant Shipping Act of 1 894. I t i s a r elatively s imple s ituation i n t hat t he central s tate s imply o ffers l egal p rotection but does not f und. I n other words an h istoric w reck, once d esignated, cannot b e d ived upon o r worked upon o r d isturbed i n any manner except under l icense f rom t he Department of Trade. How t he l icensee operates o r how t he l icensee f unds t hat expedition i s entirely h is o r her business. In t he United States now, under t he Marine Sanctuaries Act, federal j urisdiction extends t o t he edge o f t he continental s helf a nd t he H istoric Shipwreck Act, t he p roposed n ew law, w ill a lso go t o t he e dge of t he continental s helf. The q uestion o f defining a n h istoric wreck has p roven extremely t horny. There have b een two points of v iew: everything i s h istoric u ntil somebody s ays i t i s not, or, nothing i s h istoric until somebody s ays i t i s. I n Australia, p reviously, under s tate l egislation i n Western Australia, a ll s ites were p rotected u ntil t hey were declared of " no h istoric i nterest." I n t he past s omeone would r eport a s ite and t he Western Australia Museum would i nspect i t and t ry t o define what t he s ite was. The Board of T rustees o f t he Museum t hen r ecommended to t he minister r esponsible t hat t he s ite was o r was not h istoric. Then various p arts o f t he Act would b e i mplemented e ither t o i nvestigate t he s ite a nd r eward t he f inders o r t o d eclare t he s ite o f " no h istoric i nterest." There i s a n i nitial p resumption t hat a s ite i s h istoric a nd f rom t he moment i t i s r eported t o t he Museum i t i s i mmediately protected. The Museum i s r un by t he government o f Western Australia a nd i t h as t ransferred i ts powers t o t he D irector o f t he Western Australia Museum. S imilarly, u nder t he f ederal l egislation, a person f inding a s ite which he b elieves h istoric i s r esponsible for r eporting i t t o t he federal government who t hen r eport i t t o t he Western Australia Museum. But t he s ite i s not p rotected u ntil i t i s declared by t he m inister t o h e o f h istoric s ignificance. This i s one o f t he unfavourable a spects o f t he f ederal l egislation. There i s a n i nterim period where a s ite i s n ot

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p rotected a nd v irtually p eople do what t hey l ike it might b e a f ew d ays, i t might b e s everal months. I t i s d iscovered a nd t herefore exposed t o p ublic k nowledge b efore a ny f orm o f p rotective cover c an apply. I n t he v ery e arly days i n Western Australia, t he Maritime A rchaeology Advisory Committee was established: made u p o f members f rom t he a cademic community, s ome f rom t he general p ublic, s ome f rom t he d iving f raternity a nd personnel o f t he Western Australia Museum. The o ld s tate l egislation h ad a cut-off date o f 1 900. I f a w reck d ated f rom 1 901, i t was not h istoric; i f i t was a s o ld a s 1 900, i t was. The f ederal l egislation h as no c ut-off d ate s o i t i s n ecessary t o a rgue a s ite's value on a n umber o f c riteria s uch a s h istorical s ignificance t o Australia, a rchaeological potential, a nd e ven r ecreational potential. The Advisory Committee makes a r ecommendation b ased on t hose c riteria. I n t he United States i t i s p roposed t hat a ll w recks more t han 5 0 years o ld b e declared h istoric. In o rder t o g et o n t he National R egister o f H istoric S ites, a s ite h as t o b e 5 0 years o ld. I t was t hought, t hat t he s ame s hould a pply t o s hipwrecks. That i s not r eally appropriate. Coming up w ith an a lternative i s n ot b e e asy. Every c ase must b e t aken on i ts own merit. The r eason for i nvestigating s unken s hips i n general i s t o gain k nowledge t hat c annot b e gained i n a ny other way s uch a s w ritten o r p hotographic r ecords. Obviously, for t he 2 0th c entury t he s ituation i s much b etter t han f or t he 1 4th. Beginning w ith t he 1 920' s t here a re l arge n umbers o f d rawings a nd photographic r ecords o f s hips s o t hat i nvestigating s uch vessels a rchaeologically i s n ot as c ritical. A f ixed cut-off date o f 1 920 o r 1 930 makes s ome s ense b ecause i t i s v essels f rom b efore t hat date w here t he most valuable s cientific i nformation c an b e f ound. The u se o f a c ut-off d ate a lso h as t he a dvantage o f c ertainty. I n a court o f law t hat i s a g reat a sset. Trying t o a rgue t hat something i s h istoric o r a rchaeologically i mportant means e ducating t he j udge. The examples o f t rying and f ailing t o do t hat a re f airly n otorious. For example, t he Chief Justice o f Australia s aid t hat Dutch w recks w ere o f no i nterest t o Australia s ince t hey were D utch. A Florida j udge s aid t hat Spanish w recks we e o f n o i nterest t o F lorida's h istory. A o road d e nnition o f h istoric a nd a rchaeologically i mportant s ites magnifies t he t ask o f e ducating judges. The b roader t he definition t he more t he

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j udge i s l ikely t o consider i t t oo v ague and s trike i t down. I t i s t he c redibility, t he r eputation o f t he p erson who a sks f or d esignation t hat i s o ften a t s take. Clear d efinitions i n t he l egislation may s erve t o i nform j udges e ffectively. I n B ritish Columbia law a n h istoric o r a rchaeological s ite, what i s called a n h eritage s ite, i s d efined i n c ertain w ays a nd t he m inister r esponsible u ltimately d etermines whether i t i s h istoric o r n ot. I n o ther words, t he d efinition o f a n h istoric s ite i s a s ite which i s d eemed by t he M inistry t o b e s uch, a nd t hat s hould b e good e nough f or t he j udge b ecause t hat i s w hat t he l aw s ays. Setting a p recise c ut-off d ate i ntroduces i nflexibility. I t does n ot s olve t he p roblem o f a s hip w hich f alls 1 year a fter t he cut-off date b ut which could b e h istorically more s ignificant t han one t hat i s 1 y ear i nside t he l egislation. I t d oes n ot solve t he p roblem o f a v essel which s inks n ow b ut w hich i s c arrying c ultural h eritage material f rom one country t o a nother. I n Australia t here i s a n i nformal f loating 7 5 y ear cut-off. Any s ite t hat i s o lder t han 7 5 y ears i s a utomatically p rotected. S ites t hat a re l ess t han 7 5 y ears o ld a re c onsidered on t heir merits. The o nes r ejected i n t hat r ound a re r econsidered i n f our years. The United States h as h ad a l aw s ince 1 972 t hat a llows a n a gency o f t he f ederal government t o p rotect b oth n atural a nd c ultural r esources o ut t o t he e dge o f t he continental s helf. That has b een done o n one occasion. I n a ddition, Congress i s e xpected t o pass a l aw s oon c alled t he H istoric Shipwreck P reservation Act which w ill a lso h ave a uthority out t o t he Continental S helf. That r aises t he q uestion o f what i s a n h istoric s hipwreck. The o riginal b ill s aid t hat a ny s hip o r w reck t hat i s 5 0 y ears o ld would q ualify a s h istoric. The National O ceanic a nd Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA), t he a gency r esponsible, i s t rying t o g et t hat c hanged t o a s lightly b roader d efinition. The s cientific v alue o f t he e vidence t hat m ight b e obtained f rom a w reck s ite w as s uggested a s a c riterion f or d efining w hat i s h istoric. That c ould appply t o t he s hip, t he t echnology o f t he s hip, i ts h istorical s ignificance, t he p eople w ho were o n i t, a nd t he c argo i t m ight h ave b een c arrying. There i s some confusion b etween r esearch v alue a nd commercial

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value o f an object. For example t he BREADALBANE o r t he BLUENOSE i s s till a n ational t reasure and p eople would l ike t o s ee i t a nd h ave i t r aised. But f or r esearch purposes i t would n ot m ean a nything. I t s till s hould b e p rotected. There i s a g reat d eal o f value i n a rchaeological i nvestigation a nd p reservation o f t he a rtifacts i f n o other example s urvives, e ven i f i t i s o f a r elatively modern d ate. Although now a s hip m ight b e o f n o s ignificant value, l ater g enerations may t hink o therwise. Recently a 1 00-year o ld s hip s ank o ff t he Australian coast. There i s a d ilemma a s what t o do w ith i t s ince t he w reck i s n ew b ut t he s hip i s b eyond t he i nformal cut-off d ate. I ndividual i tems p resent f urther p roblems. Harbours t hat h ave b een u sed f or h undreds o f years contain a h uge amount o f c ultural material o f various s orts. D ivers a re u sed t o harbour g rubbing, and b ringing u p i ndividual i tems. S uch s ites a re not s hipwreck s ites, but can a nd do contain valuable individual a rtifacts o r collections s o s hould t hey not b e designated a s h istoric s ites? I n t he p rovince o f Newfoundland a nd Labrador t he Act p rotects i ndividual i tems a s well a s w recks. I t was s aid t hat t his h as i mpeded a cceptance o f t he Act. In t he p rovince o f Ontario consideration i s b eing g iven t o making t he harbour o f K ingston a n h istoric d istrict m uch l ike h istoric d istricts on l and. No express s tatements h ave y et b een made on how entrance i s t o b e controlled. The h arbour i s b eing i ntensely s urveyed b ecause i t contains a nuf iLer o f wrecks f rom o ver i ts l ong h istory. There i s a p lan t o d evelop s ome f orm o f i nterpretive c entre/resource management p rogram for t hat a rea. S uccess w ill d epend on h ow soon a nd how well t he Ontario H eritage Act i s updated. A h arbour s hould b e considered a s a whole. At R ed Bay, L abrador, f or example t he w hole h arbour contains r emains r elated t o Basque a ctivity i n t he 1 6th c entury a nd a n i ndividual i tem t here c an b e o f v ery g reat s ignificance. One o ther q uestion was r aised on t he p roblem o f defining a n u nderwater h istoric s ite . What s hould b e done about s ites which a re k nown o r s uspected t o exist but which h ave not yet b een f ound? That t ype of w reck i s a n a ttractive p roposition. Generally speaking, s uch s ites a re i nvestigated f or t reasure hunting r ather t han for a rchaeological p urposes. There a re m any examples s uch a s t he D utch East Indiaman i n I celand o r HMS EDINBURGH o r t he BREADALBANE. As l ong a s s uch v essels a re not f ound t hey a re i n f act p rotected. However, a s s oon a s t hey a re f ound t he l aws which b ear upon t hose t hings

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do come i nto e ffect. The t ime b etween b eing f ound a nd b eing d esignated and p roperly worked a nd p roperly e valuated could b e t he f inish o f t he i mportance o f t he s ite. This p roblem i s going t o b e s olved i n t he Canadian Maritime Code when i t c omes i nto e ffect. Historic w recks s hould b e d efined i n t he Maritime Code a s w recks f ound o r b elieved t o b e s ituated i n Canadian waters a nd t hat i n t he opinion o f t he m inister a re o f h istoric s ignificance a nd a re s o d eclared. One hopes t hat t he m inister w ill k now what i s h istorically s ignificant. I n Britain t here i s n o c hance o f d esignating a w reck s ite u ntil i t i s f ound a nd t o s ome extent evaluated. Attempts h ave b een made o n s everal o ccasions t o have a d esignation f or s ites o f non-sensitivity. They h ave f ailed u tterly. A s hip which i s k nown t o h ave gone down, and i s k nown t o b e i mportant a rchaeologically b ut w hose p recise location has n ot b een f ound c annot b e p rotected. Further, i f one k nows t he p recise location b ut c annot p erhaps exactly i dentify t he v essel, e ven t hen t here c an b e a t ime l apse w hile t he matter i s s orted out. R emains which a re not n ecessarily considered a rtifacts s uch a s whale r emains i n R ed Bay h arbour which h ave b utchery marks c an b e w itness t o a c ertain t echnology. Found i n a c ertain p lace, t hey have a s ignificance. They a re c ultural r emains, evidence b ut r ight o n t he f ringe a nd t hey s hould b e p rotected b ecause t hey a re p art o f t he s ite. They a re o f s cientific i mportance. S uch s urviving evidence ought t o b e p rotected w hether i t i s k nown t o b e t here a nd can b e s een o r i f i t i s only a ssumed t o b e t here. The u se o f b lasters b y t reasure h unters c an d estroy n ot j ust a rtifacts b ut many other t hings i ncluding t he s tratigraphy which t ells other p arts o f t he s tory. That i s a l and p roblem t oo, o f course. On p roblems o f l aw a nd e nforcement t he f irst q uestion d iscussed was w ho m ay d ive. I n t he United K ingdom t here a re t wo s teps. T he f irst i s t o h ave a p ermit t o s urvey a s ite which c an b e done b y a purely a mateur a nd r elatively i nexperienced b ody b ut t hey must h ave a n approved a rchaeological a dvisor. A permit o r l icense t o excavate i s g ranted only i f t here i s a q ualified a rchaeological d irector a s a s econd s tage. So t here i s a n a pproved a dvisor In t he c ase o f s urveying a nd a n a pproved a rchaeological d irector i n t he c ase o f e xcavation. That i s t he

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c ase i n most l egislation. I t i s t rue, for example, w ith t he p resent Newfoundland Act. I n t he United States i t i s a b it more complicated. Now, u nder t he Marine S anctuary Program, a s hipwreck i s d esignated a s anctuary f or v arious r easons, f or example, f or r esearch purposes b ecause i t i s a n ational t reasure. There i s a s ystem o f p ermits b ut t he government g ets t he p ermit f or work on a n ational t reasure. Under t he p lanned n ew l egislation a s imilar system w ill exist. P ermits w ill b e g ranted d epending on why t he s hip was d esignated: was i t s trictly f or r esearch purposes, was i t a n ational t reasure, was i t f or r ecreational p urposes. States c an now e lect t o manage a s ite i f i t i s w ithin t he 3 -mile l imit. I t i s p robably t rue t hat i n most s tates i ndividual d ivers c an go down on w recks without p ermission. The n ew l aw w ill c hange t hat. The Canadian s ituation i s complex a nd u nique. There i s no f ederal l egislation per s e p rotecting a ntiquities. All l egislation i s p rovincial a nd t hat i s why t here h as b een considerable f riction b etween t he p rovinces a nd f ederal a gencies, p articularly control o f n autical a rchaeological work. The p rovincial l egislation a t l east a s f ar a s t he p rovince i s c oncerned does p rovide s ome p rotection and a s ystem f or controlling who c an do u nderwater a rchaeology w here t he f ederal s ystem does n ot. I n B ritish Columbia t he p rovince h as more o r l ess maintained t hat i ts p ermit s ystem s hould a pply f or u nderwater a rchaeology. T here i s a p roblem and i t needs t o b e s orted o ut. In Bermuda, l icenses t o d ive a re h anded o ut b y t he R eceiver o f W reck t o a ny p erson t hat h e s ees a s f it a nd p roper. The B ermuda Maritime Museum p ut, t o t he g overnment, l ast year a s et o f r ecommendations. The Museum h as y et t o h ear w hether t hey were r eceived. T he Museum s uggested a s ystem s uch a s t hat i n B ritain; s o t here w ill b e a g reater possibility o f putting q ualified m arine a rchaeologists onto s ites a s a condition o f work. There was s ome c onfusion about Wardens i n Bermuda who s erve a s g uardians o ver w recks. The only g uardianship i n B ermuda comes when a l icense i s g iven t o a n i ndividual w ho t hen i s t he only one who can a uthorize d iving on t hat w reck. I t i s a s ystem of s elf-protection. Wardens w ith t hat t itle a re members o f t he B ermuda H istoric W reck Authority, an a dvisory committee t hat h as, i n f act, n o a uthority whatsoever a s i s b eing s lowly d iscovered. The Authority i s made u p o f h onourary members a nd a dvises t he R eceiver o f W reck. Of course i t can only a dvise o n t hat w hich i s p ut b efore t hem. The

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p resence o f t he Receiver o f Wreck p resents s ome p roblems. Canada i s one example. O ften t he Receiver i s poorly i nformed a nd n ot q ualified t o d etermine who s hould h ave a ccess t o a w reck o r w hat i s t o h appen w ith material f rom t he s ite. In Western Australia t here a re s ome 6 8 s ites t hat a re p rotected u nder l egislation. There i s o nly one r estricted s ite where p eople a re n ot a llowed t o d ive. There i s a v ery l arge maritime a rchaeological a ssociation for p eople w ho b ecome i nterested i n t he f ield. Members o f t he a ssociation a ct a s f ield s taff. Many a re q uite well t rained b ecause t hey have b een t hrough a s m any a s 1 0 y ears o f e xcavation campaigns. Still t o a l arge e xtent excavation w ork i s done b y a government d epartment w ith a c ertain a mount o f s urvey work f armed o ut t o t he a ssociation a nd s ome l imited e xploratory e xcavation t o a ssociation p eople. On t he q uestion o f what h appens t o t he a rtifacts t hen -who may r emove t hem a nd w ho gets t hem- on a p rotected w reck, a nyone can d ive on i t w ith t he e xception o f t he s pecially p rotected one. They may n ot t ake a nything away f rom t hat w reck. The l aw s ays t hat n o one i s a llowed t o i nterfere w ith t he w reck b ut t hey a re a llowed t o d ive on i t a nd t he a gency r esponsible a ctually encourages p eople t o do t hat. I f t hat a ttitude i s not a dopted p eople w ill go a nd t ear w reck s ites t o p ieces which i s w hat t hey w ere doing s ome 1 5 y ears a go. The p rogram i n Western Australia t ries t o e ncourage p eople who a re a ctually i nterested b ut f rustrated. They want t o do s omething b ut l ack d irection. They c an b e b rought i nto t he work f orce, b e u seful t o a s mall d epartment which c an only d o a l imited a mount o f e xcavation work. W ith s uch a ssistance i t i s p ossible t o h ave a s taff o f p erhaps 3 0-50 on a 2 -3 month e xcavation w ith a p rofessional s taff o f a bout 6 p eople. I t i s r ather s imilar t o what h appens i n England on l and. Excavations u nderwater s hould b e d irected b y q ualified p eople b ut what a re t he n ecessary qualifications? Archaeology u nderwater s hould b e d ealt w ith i n t he s ame way a s a rchaeology on l and and t here, t he s ame d ilemma a rose i n e xactly t he s ame way. T rained, r ecognized p rofessional a rchaeologists s hould b e i n c harge o f e xcavation p rojects. That p resents t he p roblem o f i dentifying r ecognized marine a rchaeologists. B asically, a s w ith l and a rchaeologists, t hey s hould h ave t o e arn a d egree i n Archaeology. They must a lso h ave s ome q ualifications t o work u nderwater. The b asis m ust b e, f irst a nd f oremost, t raining a s a n a rchaeologist. Too m any p eople c all t hemselves

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marine a rchaeologists who a re a ctually well-trained amateurs who c an do a l ot o f good work, i n c ertain cases e ven b etter work t han s ome p rofessionals b ecause t hey h ave more e xperience. But t raining a s an a rchaeologist i s n ot t here. At R ed B ay, P arks Canada has f ound over t he l ast s everal y ears t hat t here i s a n i ncredible d ifference b etween t he q uality o f work done b y a t rained a rchaeology student even i f t he s tudent h as only o ne y ear o r even n o e xperience i n d iving, a nd t he d iver w ith no b ackground i n a rchaeology. The q uality o f r ecording and p erformance i n g eneral i s much s uperior. I t u sed t o b e s aid t hat i t i s e asier t o t rain a d iver t o b ecome a n a rchaeologist t han t o t rain a n a rchaeologist t o b ecome a d iver. Experience s hows t hat t o b e w rong. To t rain a n a rchaeologist t o d ive i s r elatively e asy a nd f rom t hat one r eally g ets a rchaeology u nderwater. I f s omeone h as a c areer i n a rchaeology, t he s ense o f r esponsibility i s completely d ifferent. P rofessional a ssociations should look i nto t he p roblem o f q ualifications more and more. I t h as b een done i n t he P rovince o f Quebec t hrough t he Association des Archaeologues. People a re a dmitted a s m arine a rchaeologists but t heir q ualifications have t o b e t he s ame a s l and a rchaeologists. There i s a d anger i n t raining a nd i nforming d ivers i f i t i s n ot done p roperly. Too m any t imes people a re g iven courses a nd t hen t hey b elieve t hey can d o a rchaeology u nderwater. Courses s hould b e l ike t he o ne g iven b y P arks Canada t o t he h ighly s uccessful O ntario g roup, SOS. I t was done o n condition t hat i t was n ot a l icense t o do a rchaeology b ut j ust t o m ake members more a ware o f what t hey w ill f ace, t o a ssist t hem i n p rotection o f s hipwrecks a nd make i t possible f or t hem t o a ssist a rchaeologists f rom Ontario w ith s urveys. There i s a f urther p roblem w ith i nstruction. T raining p eople to i dentify w hat i s v aluable, s omething t hey d id n ot k now b efore, l eads t hem t o g o l ooking f or i t. A f undamental d istinction must b e made b etween looking at; s urveying t he s ite, a nd e xcavating i t; t aking t hings away f rom i t w hich i mplies conservation. Qualifications f or t he t wo w ill b e d ifferent. The d istinction i s o ften a h ard one t o make. I t i s h ard t o t ell where s urvey e nds a nd excavation b egins. A rchaeologists o ften b ring b ack one a rtifact f rom a s ite t o s how t he w reck h as b een found o r a s a n example o f t he s orts o f p roblems t o b e f aced. Then t here i s a q uestion o f what t o do with t he p iece. There a re many s uch o rphans b eing r aised i n Canada n ow a nd conservation l abs, out o f

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t he goodness o f t heir h earts, b ail t hese people o ut. The p ieces b rought up a re n ever t he s imple t hings. They a re t he most complicated a rtifacts one could possibly i magine, c omposite p ieces o f t wo o r t hree d ifferent t ypes o f wood, b rass, corroding i ron, a ll at t he s ame t ime. This i s t he booty which i t i s hoped w ill possibly p romote f uture e xcavation o f t he s ite. They l eave conservators a nd conservation l abs w ith n othing b ut p roblems. That i s t he main r eason w hy i n t he United K ingdom a n a rchaeological a dvisory i s r equired b y l aw. It i s not t o t each t he a mateur h ow t o s urvey. Usually t hat i s q uite s traightforward. I t i s r ather t o monitor t hat s ort o f a ctivity. The p rofessional r eputation o f t he a dvisor s hould n ot a llow h im o r h er t o p ermit t he amateur t o b ring u p material w hich c an n ot b e p roperly conserved. That i s why n othing may n ormally b e l ifted f rom a d esignated s ite w ithout t he a pproval o f t he a rchaeological a dvisor e ven t hough h e o r s he may n ot b e t here on t hat e xpedition a t t hat t ime. Most o f t he work o n t he MARY ROSE was done w ith volunteers a nd non-archaeologists. I t caused a g reat d eal o f s train a nd t ension f or t he p rofessional a rchaeological t eam, b ut otherwise n o a rchaeological p roblem. I t a lso caused an e normous amount o f s tress a nd a nguish f or t he a mateurs working f or b loody-minded p rofessionals. It d id i nvolve a g reat d eal o f t raining a nd e ducation. Much o f t he a rchaeologists' e nergy a nd e nthusiasm was committed t o t raining t he a mateurs t o work correctly. But i n t erms o f work i t was no p roblem. The r atio was a bout r ight. During a ny working d ay, t here b eing a 2 4-hour s chedule, t here was 1 p rofessional t o 3 a mateurs. There a re n ot e nough t rained a rchaeologists t o go a round s o t o do t he t ype o f work done o n t he MARY R OSE volunteers o f v arious s orts w ill h ave t o b e u sed. They s hould however b e under t he control o f a p rofessional e xactly a s h appened on t he MARY R OSE. Archaeology i s t o a nalyse; t o f ormulate t heories a nd hypotheses. A rchaeology i s a t echnique o f h istory. Unfortunately most p eople w hen t hey d efine a rchaeology consider i t o nly f rom t he t echnical point o f v iew o f " getting s tuff out o f t he g round o r out f rom u nder t he w ater." T hat i s o nly p art o f a rchaeology. That must b e r ealized when considering t he d efinition o f a n a rchaeologist a nd i n d eciding what k inds o f work s hould b e done o n a s ite. Anyone w ith s ome t raining can g et a rtifacts out o f t he g round, b ut b y a nd l arge over t he l ast 2 0

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y ears t here h as b een t oo much work f or t oo f ew p eople. The p roblem h as b een t o t rain p eople j ust to d ig t he a rtifacts o ut o f t he g round competently. I t must b e done well i f t he i nformation t hat i s l eft over a fterwards i s going t o b e o f u se t o h istorians o r a nyone e lse. The r esponsibility f or excavated a rtifacts h as b een a b ig i ssue f or l and-based a rchaeology w here huge a mounts o f potsherds, f or example, c ome o ut o f government f unded o r s upervised e xcavations a nd t here i s n owhere t o p ut t hem. The museums s ay t hey cannot cope. The s ame p roblem exists f or u nderwater a rchaeology. In t he United K ingdom, t heoretically material goes t o t he R eceiver o f W reck a nd i s s old a t p ublic a uction. While t hat does t o s ome e xtent solve t he conservation p roblem i t does n ot r eally do much f or t he a rchaeologist. I t i s a d isastrous s ituation a nd t he worst e lement o f t he United K ingdom's l egislation i n t hat material f rom a designated w reck can go a nd b e sold a t public auction. I ndeed t he MARY ROSE i s n ot e xempt f rom t hat. The MARY ROSE m aterial w ill h ave t o b e v alued and t heoretically, a t l east, a s mall p ercentage o f t hat v alue w ill h ave t o b e p aid t o t h Receiver o f Wreck a s a f ee. I t i s a ll h is p roperty. The s tores a nd equipment b elonging t o t he s hip a re d eemed t o b e t he p roperty o f t he M inistry o f Defense a s h eirs a nd successors t o K ing Henry V III. The p rivate possessions a re c urrently b eing l isted i n c atalogues so t he s tate can d ecide o n t heir d isposal. Restitution o f c ultural p roperty i s a p roblem i n a ll a rchaeology b ut o ften more p ressing f or t he n autical t ype s ince s hips t ravel s o w idely. W ith t he Dutch East I ndiamen i n Australia, t he Netherlands a nd Australia c ame t o a n a greement specifically t o cover o ld Dutch s hipwrecks. Whatever r ights t he D utch government h ad a s s uccessors t o t he Dutch E ast I ndia Company were formally t ransferred t o t he Australian f ederal government o n t he condition t hat t here would b e a committee w hich would consider a ll t he material t hat has o r m ight come f rom e xcavations o f t he s ites. The c ommittee meets o nce e very t wo o r t hree y ears t o a ssess t he c ollection. T he b asic guidelines f or t he committee a re t hat t he collection w ill s tay t ogether a nd w ill n ot b e d ispersed. But r epresentative collections w ill b e h eld b y t he Netherlands a nd Commonwealth governments and t he majority w ill b e r eposited i n t he Western Australia Museum. Anything t hat i s t otally unique s tays w ithin W estern Australia. Where t here a re l arge g roups o f s imilar t ypes o f m aterial t hese a re d ispersed b etween

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Australia, t he Netherlands a nd t he s tate government o f Western Australia. P robably a bout 1 0% o f t he collection i s d ivided b etween t he Netherlands a nd Australia. At a ny t ime, t he m aterial c an b e called b ack t ogether f or r esearch p urposes s o i t c annot b e d isposed o f by a ny government. Though t he p roblem o f cultural r estitution h as i n g eneral r eceived i nternational r ecognition t here h as b een no e ffective a ttempt t o d ate t o s olve i t. One o f t he p roblems i n t he p ast i n t he l aw g overning n autical a rchaeology h as b een w ith compensation o f f inders t o e ncourage r eporting. I f t he f inders a re n ot s atisfied w ith t heir compensation t hen l egislation, a s i n t he Australian c ase b ecomes d iscredited w ith t he d iving community a nd many y ears o f work t rying t o e ncourage good d iver/archaeologist r elations c an b e d estroyed l iterally b y one o r t wo s econds o f l ack o f f oresight o n t he part o f t he g overnment. T he n ew Australian f ederal l egislation d id n ot s pecify what was a n a dequate r eward. I n one c ase f inders were r ewarded b ut t hey a ppealed; b oth t hey a nd t he Western Australia Museum f elt t he r eward was i nadequate. The m atter m ight y et go t o a rbitration. O riginally Western Australia h ad s tate l egislation which a ctually specified e xactly what a r eward s hould b e. I t was b ased on t he b ullion o r s ilver v alue o f c oins o r n on-ferrous metal f ound on t he w reck. This was s ubject t o a court c ase which p roved t ht t he s tate was not competent t o l egislate i n t hat a rea a nd Australia t hen d rafted a f ederal a ct. Unfortunately t he a ct d id n ot i nclude a c lause defining a n a dequate r eward. The r eward w as l eft a t t he d iscretion o f a m inister. Most l egislation which h as a r eward p rovision i n i t s hould i nclude t he m echanism f or e stablishing t he v alue o f t he f ind. I f t here i s a n e lement o f d iscretion i nvolved t here s hould b e a s ystem o f a ppeal t o s ome outside b ody. I t i s w rong t o s ay t hat a n u nderwater w reck must b e f ormally d esignated l ike a ny o ther a rchaeological s ite f or a ll t he measures o f t he l aw t o come i nto e ffect. D esignation a s a p osted a rchaeological s ite n eed n ot b e t aken r ight down t o t he o cean f loor. Just s ome s ort o f m arker w ill do. I n England, f or example, s ites a re marked b y s pecial b uoys i dentified w ith g reen-yellow s tripes. There must b e s ome means o f i dentifying t he p osition b ut t hat i s u sually done b y n avigational f ix r ather t han b y a ctually p utting s omething d own on t he s eabed. B ritish Columbia l egislation m ay p rove d ifferent b ut i n n o o ther country i s a p ost i n t he g round, w ith t he n ame o f t he s hip o n i t, a r equirement.

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Archaeologists o ften f ind a w reck t hey k now i s i mportant, a nd k now i s extremely o ld but c annot indicate t he n ame o f t he w reck, t he e xact a ge o f t he w reck, o r even t he o rigin o f t he w reck. I t m ay b e sometime b efore f inal a nswers a re f ound. Archaeologists n eed a way t o p rotect s uch w recks before t hey a re s omewhat i dentified. I t i s a p roblem t hat i s f aced i n d ifferent p laces. The Canadian Minstry o f Transport h as s aid t hey a nticipate a g reat d eal o f d ifficulty i n s etting o ff a reas when a rchaeologists c an n ot i dentify t he w reck. They want confirmation o f h istorical s ignificance b efore t hey a ct. P art o f t heir p roblem i s t hat t he m inistry does not have a p anel o f experts. They h ave no way o f a ssessing w recks b ut t hey i nsist o n a ssessment b efore l egislation w ill apply.

The a fternoon d iscussion opened w ith s pecific questions o n t he t hree p apers b efore r eturning t o t he p hilosophical a nd e thical i ssues r aised d uring t he morning. I t was noted t hat while t he Newfoundland Marine A rchaeology Society i s o ffered a s a n example o f a n i deal a mateur s ociety i n Canada no a rtifacts f rom s ites i nvestigated b y t he Society had e ver b een p ut on d isplay. On t he other h and Parks Canada h as d isplayed a rtifacts f or s ome t ime. The l argest c ontributor t o n autical a rchaeology i n Canada i s t he Federal Government, e specially t hrough Parks Canada. One p articipant q uestioned whether t he money s pent on P arks Canada m ight b etter b e u sed i f i t were d istributed a cross t he country t o v arious amateur g roups s uch a s t he Newfoundland Marine Archaeology Society. I f t here i s a pool o f volunteer l abour, a nd i f i t c an b e t rained and supervised t hen i t c an b e a n i mportant s ource o f work a nd can m ake e ffective u se o f g overnment f unds. In B ritain w ith t he r ecent h igh l evels o f u nemployment, government s chemes h ave m ade i t possible t o t ake on potentially s killed l abour i n museums a nd a rchaeology. Museums h ave a djusted t o t ake a dvantage o f t he s chemes a nd h ave a chieved s pectacularly good r esults. Government a gencies and i nstitutions i n general t end t o b e i nflexible i n t he ways t hey s ee t heir j obs. I n t he e ntire f ield o f museums a nd a rchaeology l imitation o f r esources must b e a ccepted. I t i s n ecessary n ot only t o t ry t o f ind more r esources b ut a lso t o f ind more e ffective ways o f u sing t he r esources a vailable. Employing p rofessional a rchaeologists i s n ot a g oal b ut means t o a n e nd. At t imes s ome m ay lose s ight o f t hat fact. Above a ll i t i s a lways n ecessary t o look for t he b est way t o s pend t he l imited f unds a vailable.

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On t he p roblem o f which p arts o f government s hould b e i nvolved i n t he enforcement o f l egislation. A t Fathom F ive P rovincial P ark, a rchaeology a nd t ourism a re m ixed t ogether i n p ractice a nd i n a dministration. I n general t here i s a potential f or conflict s ince a rchaeological l egislation devoted to p rotection may b e a t o dds w ith t ouristic purposes. The e thical i ssue i s whether t he t wo s hould b e u nder s eparate government departments. I n B ritain a rchaeology i s u nder t he D epartment o f t he Environment w hile t ourism i s t he r esponsibility o f t he D epartment o f T rade. That h as b een a h ighly u seful d ivision w ithin government. P rotection h as b een c arried out w ithout i nternal p ressure f rom t hose d evoted t o p romoting t ourism. Under t he n ew h eritage a ct however a rchaeological s ites a nd heritage b uildings f all u nder a n ew q uasi-non-governmental o rganization which has t he dual r esponsibility o f e nforcing t he p rotective l egislation a nd opening s ites t o t he p ublic, t hereby making t hem a vailable o n a s emi-commercial b asis. Protection a nd u se by t he public h ave b een b rought t ogether. This w ill p robably b e t he c ase i ncreasingly a s h eritage i s s een more a s a commercial a sset. Tourism i s n ow B ritain 's fourth largest f oreign c urrency e arner. Tourists go t o B ritain f or a rchaeology a nd f or h istory s o t he h istorical a sset i s now b eing r ecognized a s a p rimary g enerator o f n ational w ealth. That w ill certainly c reate p roblems. Third World countries w ill b e e specially vulnerable t o f urther pothunting and b lackmarketeering. In t he United States t he t wo f unctions a re s eparate. I n t he p roposed n ew l egislation t he o riginal p lan was t o g ive j urisdiction over h istoric s hipwrecks t o t he government a gency which h as r esponsibility for o ffshore o il a nd gas exploration. That obviously would not work a nd i t n ow appears t hat r esponsibility w ill go t o t he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration w hich i s p art o f t he Department o f Commerce. I n f act NOAA h as v ery l ittle t o do w ith commerce and t here i s n o potential for conflict over i ssues o f t ourism. T here h ave b een e fforts over t he y ears t o g et t he o il and g as i ndustry t o do r esearch f or t he s tudy o f s hipwrecks b ut t he f eeling h as a lways b een t hat i f a company found a s hipwreck t hey would d estroy i t i f i t w ere i n a n a rea w ith p otential f or o il o r g as p roduction. I n t he p rovince o f B ritish Columbia, r esources, h uman a nd f inancial a re i n l imited s upply. That i s not u nique t o B .C. At t he moment t he o ne way a rchaeologists i n t he p rovince a nd e lsewhere s eem to

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b e able t o g et f unds f rom governments i s t hrough j ob c reation o r j ob p romotion. I t would b e a dvantageous i f f unds went d irectly t o t he government d epartments r esponsible f or h eritage conservation r ather t han t o other a gencies. Museums a lready do both, p rotection a nd p romote t ourism a nd p ublic i nterest f or s emi-commercial r easons. They a lso a ct t o u se government f unds f or j ob c reation while p rotecting a rtifacts a nd s ites. Museums c an a nd s hould c arry b oth t he r esponsibility f or enforcing t he l aws o f p rotection a nd f or e ffectively p romoting n autical a rchaeology. Museums t ypically a re n ot i nvolved i n t he d irect e nforcement o f l egislation h owever. They may well a dvise and m ight e ven b ecome a n a gency f or enforcement f or t he government a s w ith t he Western Australia Museum. The l atter does c reate a potential f or conflict i n t hat museum p ersonnel a re i nvolved i n s ite examination, definition a nd management. That may d rive t hem a nd t he museum a way f rom doing e xcavation. I t may i n t he e xtreme l ead t o t he s eparation o f t he t wo f unctions w ith a department f or s urvey work a nd a nother f or e xcavation. The p romotion o f t ourism c an l ead t o vandalism. That h as h appened t o a v ery l imited d egree i n Western Australia. So s hould t he l ocation o f a s ite b e p ublicized? In Western Australia b ecause o f t he good r elations b etween t he Museum a nd t he d iving community s ecrecy h as n ot b een n ecessary. S ites r ather h ave b een opened up a nd d ivers h ave b een e ncouraged t o go down on t hem. Museums h istorically h ave h ad t wo f uncticns; r esearch and c uration on t he one h and a nd p resentation o n t he o ther. There h ave b een c ases i n B ritain i nvolving l ocal a uthorities where governments h ave k ept b uildings o r a rtifacts o ut o f t he h ands o f m useums f or f ear t hat t hey would b ecome i nvolved i n r esearch when t he government w anted t o do s omething commercial. The a ssumption i s t hat museums a nd a rchaeologists c an a nd w ill obstruct what s hould b e done. The b est defense a gainst s uch an a ttitude i s t o h ave a b roadly d eveloped p ublic constituency which u nderstands t he n eed f or t he a cademic s ide o f a rchaeology. Too many museum d irectors a nd c urators f ail t o p resent t heir c ase to t he p ublic. S ites n eed t o b e p rotected a nd i nvestigated a nd t hat r equires f unding. The o nly way t o get f unding i s t o h ave a constituency. The only w ay t o g et a constitutency i s t o g ive t he p ublic s omething. A rchaeologists a re a utomatically c aught u p i n t he conflict. Certainly one t hing t he p ublic does want f rom a rchaeology i s t o p articipate. That e xplains t he s uccess o f voluntary

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o rganizations. That i n i tself

P eople w ant t o do i t t hemselves. i s a n e xploitable a sset.

Many o f t he p roblems a nd i ssues r aised a re a lready f amiliar i n t he m anagement o f n atural r esources a nd s pecifically n ational p arks. The p ark h as c ertain unique f eatures which i s why i t i s m ade a p ark. Advertising c entres o n t hose f eatures a nd t hat i n t urn d raws l arge n umbers o f p eople. L arge b odies o f l ay p eople w ant a ccess t o t hose f eatures j ust a t t he s ame t ime t hat a rchaeologists a nd o ther p rofessionals a re a rguing t hat many f eatures s hould b e s ubject t o t horough r esearch f irst a nd a management p rogram s hould b e s et up t o control a ccess. I n t he l ong r un t he h ope i s t hat t he a gency r esponsible f or t he s ite w ill f und work by p rofessionals s o t hat t hey c an document and e xamine what i s t here a nd g ive s ome k ind o f a ssessment a s t o how a ccessible t he s ite s hould b e. I t i s n ecessary t o r ecognize t hat t he i nformation generated by t he p rofessionals b elongs t o t he p ublic a t l arge w hich i s f unding a ll o f t his work. T here i s a r esponsibility t o r eturn t o t hem, t hrough t ourism, s ome o f t hat i nformation. A ll o f t hat i s a ccomplished w ithin n ational p arks a nd w ithin s ome o ther a gencies. Fathom F ive P rovincial P ark i n Ontario i s a n excellent e xample o f s uch a n operation. The l ay p ublic e ven w ith l ittle o r n o d iving e xperience i s a llowed t o s ee w recks a nd u nderstand s omething about t hem. E ducation o f t he p ublic s hould l ead t o a n u nderstanding t hat s ome s ites o r parts o f s ites r equire p rotection a nd t herefore l imited a ccess. Making w recks a ccessible a s a t F athom F ive does open t he door t o v andalism. I f n ew s ites a re f ound t he Park makes e very e ffort t o do a ll t he n ecessary r esearch b efore opening t hem t o t he d iving p ublic. There a re t wo s ites a lready w ithin t he p ark which a re n ot open b ecause r esearch i s n ot y et complete. Members o f t he p ublic may s tumble o n t hem t hough b efore t hat work i s done. A fter a rchaeologists r aise material s omeone must l ook a fter i t. I t m ay b e t hat t oo m uch material i s r aised a nd c onserved. More e ffort s hould b e put i nto i nvestigating a rtifacts, getting what i s p ossible f rom t hem a nd l ess o n maintaining, s toring a nd c onserving t hem. I t would b e possible t o g et r id o f a g reat d eal o f w ater-logged wood w ith s uch a n a ttitude. What a gencies a re t o l ook a fter a ll t he material r aised f rom t he b ottom o f t he s ea? At R ed B ay e verything, e very p iece, i s s tudied u nderwater, r aised t o t he s urface where i t i s d rawn i n t hree d imensions a nd a nalysed. At l east a t hird o f t he p ieces a nd more a re t hen p ut b ack i nto t he

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mud. They w ill b e p reserved t here a nd a re available. Raising, d rawing, a nd p reserving a re only t he s tart o f t he p rocess. I t i s t hen t hat t he r eal work o f s tudy b egins. I tems a re o nly k ept o ff t he b ottom i f t hey have t he potential f or r eleasing more i nformation o r i f t hey a re g oing t o b e d isplayed. Many b arrels f or whale o il a re l eft b ehind underwater while t he small b oats a re b eing raised b ecause t hey a re u nique. I n t hose cases t he excavation i s worth t he e ffort a nd t he f unds. There i s a constant q uestion i n s uch e xercises o f r esource a llocation s ince e xcavation a nd conservation a re e xpensive. I n Western Australia t here a re n ow s ome f ive s ites which h ave b een i nvestigated s ince 1 972 and a re now covered up. Some b asic t echnical r esearch on t he material must b e done b eforehand t o e stablish w hether r eburial i s t he p roper a nd ethical a pproach on a specific s ite. Archaeologists s hould b e s ure t hat t he s ite b eing e xcavated w ill b e a s afe e nvironment i nto which t o put t he a rtifacts j ust e xcavated. Once a p iece o f wood i s c leaned o f i ts s ilt i t i s t hen e xposed t o v arious f orms o f m arine l ife w hich can c onsume t hat wood. The p rocess i s o ne o f c uration u nder water a nd t hat i mplies s ome t echnical i nvestigation b efore d eciding on t he b est t hing t o do. This i s n ot a nd f or t hat matter s hould n ot b e d ifferent f rom t he a pproach t hat i s t aken i n l and-based a rchaeology. I n b oth c ases i t may b e n ecessary t o a ccept s ome l oss i n t he p rocess, l oss which c an b e s ignificant. Evidence g athering i s a lways more i mportant t han conservation. Archaeologists a nd conservators, i n c oncert, s hould decide l ong b efore g etting t o t he s tage o f conserving a rtifacts e xactly w hat i s t o b e r aised, what s tudy i s t o b e done a nd how much e ffort s hould b e e xpended i n t rying t o s low t he p rocess o f deterioration o f a ny material b eing s tudied. There i s a p roblem w ith r aising a ny i tem i n t hat i t b ecomes s anctified i n s ome w ay. The p rocess i s complete w hen t he a rtifact g oes t hrough t he door of a m useum. That p rocess makes i t v irtually i mpossible t o e ver t hrow t he i tem o ut. There may b e n ational o r l ocal i nterest o r p olitical r easons f or t he s pecial s tatus o f t he a rtifact. Deification i s an e ver p resent danger a nd must b e a nticipated b efore r aising a nything. A t imber which h as n o r eal value t o t he m ission o f a m useum a nd w hich i s s imply a b it o f w ater-logged wood c an e asily b ecome a b urden t o t he i nstitution. I n t he 1 960's t here was a p leasure w ith b eing a ble t o " get a t" material f rom t he s ea f loor combined w ith a f ear t hat s ome d ay

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s omeone might a sk where a c ertain a rtifact might b e. I t i s n ow n ecessary f or a rchaeologists t o move a way f rom t hat approach. Under d iffering c ircumstances d ifferent a rtifacts a re o f d ifferent v alue a nd i mportance. It may p rove b est t o a llow a mateur d ivers t o go a head a nd c arry out e xcavations, u nder s ome s ort o f s upervision, a nd a sk only t hat t he museum o r a s imilar a gency h ave a c hance t o examine everything r aised, make r ecords o f t hose i tems, k eep t he f ew t hings t hat t hey want a nd l eave t he r est o f t he material f or t he a mateurs. This would b e e specially a dvantageous a nd e ven n ecessary i n a p lace l ike Bermuda w here t here i s a l arge n umber o f a mateur d ivers l ooking f or a f ew b its a nd p ieces t o p ut on t heir mantles. S uch a n a rrangement makes n ecessary a ccepting t he p rinciple t hat a rchaeologists a re a fter t he i nformation a nd n ot n ecessarily t he objects. Another possibility i s t o e xcavate only p art of a s ite a nd l eave t he r est. That h as b een n ecessary i n Newfoundland w ith t he Marine A rchaeology Society b ecause o f l ack o f f unding. But t he p roblem i s not exclusive t o Newfoundland. For a l arge s ite i t may not b e possible o r s ensible t o e xamine t he e ntire s ite i n d etail. But doing p artial e xcavation i n t urn r aises t he p roblem o f how t o p rotect what i s l eft on t he bottom. P artial e xcavation i ncurs t he n eed t o c arry on f ollow-up s urveillance o f t he s ite for s ome y ears a fterward. There i s t he chance o f damage t o w hat i s t here, c aused by t he d isturbance a ssociated w ith t he p artial e xcavation. I n s ome c ases complete e xcavation may b e t he only c hoice to i nsure s urvival o f t he s ite a nd t o g et t he i nformation f rom i t. To conclude t he c hairman a sked p articipants for t heir r ecommendations i n l ight o f t he t he p revious d iscussion. There h ad b een a h ighly e ffective e xchange o f i nformation a nd i deas. H e a sked t hat s uggestions b e k ept s uccinct a nd a ddressed d irectly t o t he p roblems r aised. P articipants w ere r eluctant t o o ffer p recise r ecommendations. On t he other hand t hey w ere w illing t o r ecall s ome o f t he i mplied conclusions a lready p resented. A ll a rchaeologists s hould b e p repared t o examine t he l egal q uestions a ssociated w ith work u nderwater. At t he moment i t i s obvious t hat p rofessionals, politicians a nd l awyers a re i n a s tate o f d isarray on s uch q uestions. Some r esolution s hould b e m ade a nd • appears t o b e i n t he o ffing i n t he n ear f uture. While a t t he moment i n B ritish Columbia t here i s no

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moratorium o n t he i ssuance o f p ermits other t han for s urvey t here have b een v ery f ew b ona f ide applicants. The government a gency r esponsible h as a p roductive working a rrangement w ith t he Underwater Archaeology Society o f B ritish Columbia. B ut f or i ndividuals, f or a nyone who wants t o do a n excavation, t he a nswer f rom t he government n ow i s " no." Until t he l aw i s i n h and a nd u ntil t here a re some conservation f acilities a vailable t he government w ill n ot a llow e xcavation o f u nderwater s ites. But p articipants s aid a gain a nd a gain t hat whether t he l aw i s i n p lace o r n ot t hings w ill b e t aken. Institutions, museums, government d epartments o r whoever i s r esponsible a re going to have t o oversee e xcavation whether t he a gency w ants i t t o h appen o r n ot. The i nstitutions must t ake a n a ctive role r ather t han a r eactive one b y anticipating t he p roblems a nd making p rovision f or t hem. R ather t han t rying t o d iscourage p eople perhaps i t would b e b etter t o e ncourage t he p ublic, t o g ive t hem help a nd t ry t o get t hem out t o do survey work. Helping t hem t o d o s omething positive would b oth e ducate t hem a nd a t t he s ame t ime d iscourage e xcavation. This obviously i s n ot a s imple p rocess. Legislation w ill i n r eality t ake some t ime t o b e passed a nd s ome t ime t o t ake e ffect. The l aw w ill g ive s ome f orm o f moral b asis f or continuing w hat i s b eing done. B ut t here w ill r emain a g reat deal t o b e done a t t he g rassroots level w ith d ivers a nd a t t he p rofessional l evel w ith people i n m useums a nd universities. I n s um i t i s c lear t hat t he d iving f raternity n eeds t o b e e ducated a nd t heir work h as t o b e d irected a s b est as i s possible i n a p ositive way w ith o r w ithout t he l egislation. I f t here i s n o e ducation t hey w ill continue t o d ive a nd may d o i rreparable d amage. This point r ecurred a gain a nd a gain. L egislation does i ntroduce s ome r egulations a nd p rocedures a nd t hat i s a c rucial p art o f t he e ducational p rocess. The l egislation, b oth p rovincial a nd f ederal i n a f ederal s tate, s hould b e s uch t hat i t c reates a positive e nvironment. The l aw c annot b e t oo d raconian e ither. Canada s hould e mulate t he s uccess of Australia. With p roper p rovisions a s ocial contract i s c reated b etween t he d iving c ommunity a nd t he government. Legislation i s r equired a nd i t s hould b e s pecific. Adding l aws on n autical a rchaeology t o l aws on o il e xploration o r on l and s ite a rchaeology i s s imply n ot good e nough f or e ither p rovincial o r f ederal g overnments. The l aw w ill b ecome enforced a nd e nforceable not by h aving police boats r unning a round b ut r ather b y

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e stablishing a contract, a d esire on t he part o f t he d iving community t o b e able t o s ay t hat t hey i ndividually a nd a s a g roup a re part o f something b igger. Local r esidents a s well a s t he d ivers n eed t o b e considered a s part o f t he i nterested a nd i nvolved public. They a re o ften aware o f what i s u nder t he water. The f inds a re p art o f t heir h eritage. They a re a lready i nvolved i n t he i nvestigation o f s ites, o ften b efore t he a rchaeologist. They s hould n ot b e f orgotten. Rather t hey s hould b e i ncluded l ike t he d ivers i n t his p rotection o f a rtifacts. Doing t hat does m ean making c lear s ome d irect b enefit t o t hem, for example t hrough e stablishing a museum a t o r n ear t he s ite. I f p rofessionals a rrive, s pend t wo o r t hree s easons excavating a nd t hen l eave t aking t he f inds w ith t hem t hey w ill n ot only c reate a nimosity b ut even potential f or a b acklash a gainst a ll t he g oals a nd p rinciples o f a rchaeology. There must b e a l egislative foundation o n which t o b uild a policy o f e ncouragement. The l aw c an a nd s hould b e u sed a s a n e ducative t ool. The l aw s ets t he parameters o f a ction. The l aw c an o utline t o t he p ublic t he a reas o r l imits w ithin which t hey c an a ct. T hus t he l aw s hould b e w ritten i n s uch a w ay a s t o d irect t hat a ction a long d esired l ines. Whether o r n ot t he l aw i s enforced t he f act t hat i t i s on t he b ooks s hows t he moral r esolve o f t he government. On t he b asis o f t hat t he e ducation of e veryone w ill go f orward. The p rovision f or r ewards i n l egislation c an h ave p r l itiur . f f tg an d so s hould g et c areful consideration. I n Western Australia n o one h as ever b een p rosecuted u nder t he existing a ct nor i s i t t he policy o f t he department r esponsible a t t he Western Australia Museum t o p rosecute. In t he f ield o f r esource management a ll o f t he p roposals a nd r ecommendations p ut f orward a re a lready i n u se. Experience i n t he United States w ith coral r eef s anctuaries s how t hat i f t he l aw i s on t he books a nd a concerted e ffort i s made t o e xplain t o t he public why t he l aw exists, f or 8 0-85% o f t he people who v isit t he a rea i t i s s imply n ot n ecessary t o have a policeman i n a b oat. For t he r emaining 1 5-20% n othing t hat i s done w ill make a ny d ifference a nyway. I f t he a pproach h as b een s o successful w ith p rotection o f n atural h eritage t hen i t i s s imply a matter o f p ersuading t he government t o r esolve t hat i t i s going t o do for h istorical r esources u nder t he s ea t he s ame a s i t now does f or t he n atural r esources. What i s n eeded i s t o a dd cultural h eritage t o t he l ist o f t hose t hings w hich

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a re p rotected a nd which t he p ublic s hould n ot v iolate o r t ake away w ith t hem. I t i s t rue however t hat t he contents o f s hipwrecks o ften h ave more value t han b its o f t he n atural h eritage a nd t hat c an and does c reate p roblems s ince t here a re s ome i ndividuals who s ee a p otential f or p rofit i n excavating s pecific s ites. Archaeology i n f act i s u nique a mong a cademic d iscipline i n t hat i t i s s o e xtensively controlled and c ircumscribed b y l egislation. But w here t here a re n o p rofessional a cademic a rchaeologists i nterested i n working u nder w ater a s i n B ritish Columbia t hen i t appears t here i s m uch l ess p ressure t o p roduce l egislation. I n l and-based a rchaeology p rofessionals h ave n ot p ressed for l egislation s ince t hey h ave f eared t he l aw m ight t hen l imit a nd certainly c ontrol t heir a ctivities. It i s s imple t o s ay t hat s ome government d epartment o r a gency s hould do t he j ob b ut t hat b egs t he q uestion. I t i s t he p rimary r esponsibility o f government t o l egislate a nd r egulate u nderwater a rchaeology b ut n ot n ecessarily t o go o ut a nd a ctively do t he j ob o f e xcavating. I t i s a lso c lear, i f f or n o other r eason t han t he c haracter a nd s cale o f f unding, t hat much o f t he work i s going t o b e done by volunteers. Despite what h ad b een s aid about conservation i t i s c lear t hat museums w ill b e i nvolved b ecause t hey h ave t o j udge w hat i s worth doing. Museums a re m uch more i nstitutions d irectly s erving t he p ublic t han government m inistries s n t he q uestion was r aised o f whether museums c an o r s hould t ake on i n a ddition t o a ll t heir o ther r esponsibilities t he t asks o f e ducating a nd mobilizing v olunteer g roups. The g overnment 's r ole i s t hat o f r esource m anager. I t t herefore h as t he t ask o f p rotecting r esources. I t i s n ot c lear h ow f ar t he government s hould g o i nto r esearch. T here a re o ther a gencies, f or example u niversities, t o do t hat. The g overnment can g et t hose a gencies t o do t he work t hrough i ncentives s uch a s d irect f unding o f d esired w ork. At t he moment t here i s potential for confusion b ecause i t i s n ot c lear w ho does w hat and who i s r esponsible f or w hat. Who does w hat i s d irectly r elated t o l egal j urisdiction. Federal a nd p rovincial j urisdiction m ust b e s orted out i n C anada and e lsewhere b efore i t w ill b e p ossible t o d ecide who w ill do w hat. One w ay o f p romoting u nderwater a rchaeology, was s uggested would b e t o h ave p rofessional underwater a rchaeologists on t he s taffs o f universities, i n t he h ope t hat i t would s timulate

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i t

more work. I t i s d ifficult t o do t hat b ecause a rchaeology d epartments a re t ypically s mall. Underwater a rchaeology a nd i ndeed a rchaeology i n general i s above a ll an a cademic e nterprise. Some conservationists a re p ressing t o h ave t heir f ield moved i nto universities a s well. The r ate o f a cquisition o f material by museums, b ecause o f t he g rowth o f a rchaeology a s a n a cademic d iscipline a nd b ecause o f i mprovements i n t echnology, h as r isen a nd w ill continue t o r ise r apidly. That i mplies a h eavy a nd g rowing r esponsibility o f custody. Also most museums i n t he world a nd s pecifically i n Canada do n ot do r esearch. Most a re s mall, s o s mall t hat a ll t hey can do i s s tore t hings and put t hem on d isplay. Museums a re n ot a cademic i nstitutions a lthough t hey may have b een i n t he p ast. On t he other h and museums s hould t ry t o avoid b ecoming " ivory t owers" a nd t hey s hould i nstead s eek a ctive contact w ith t he p ublic. Underwater a rchaeology a nd museum work t oo a re not j ust a cademic exercises. Both a re a lso public r elations e xercises t o convert p eople t o an appropriate a ttitude. A purely a cademic e nvironment will p revent o r d eter t he mounting o f d isplays o r s hows t hat w ill i nspire s ome p ublic r esponse. Cooperation w ill b e n ecessary b etween a cademics and museums s ince one g roup h as t he a bility t o do r esearch w hile t he other h as t he a bility t o p reserve and c are f or t he a rtifacts. That c reates a s erious p roblem o f coordination. For e xample i f an a mateur g roup continuer . ; t o e xcavate t here may c ome a point where u niversities c an no longer p rovide t he n ecessary r esearch f acilities o r museums can no longel p rovide c uration. There s hould b e a nd must b e s ome m echanism f or coordinating a ll t hese e fforts. Museums, g iven t he pattern o f h eritage a nd a rchaeological r esearch over t he p ast f ew years, w ill n ot b e a ble t o a fford t o k eep a ll t he a rtifacts. Government m ust p lay a r ole by l imiting t he i ssuance o f p ermits only t o t hose w ho can i nsure a dequate s torage a nd c uration f acilities o r, u ltimately, t o t hose who have s ome w ay o f d isposing o f t he a ccumulated a rtifacts. However t he d ecision on what s hould b e p reserved a nd h ow, i s an a cademic one. Universities w ill h ave t o b e i nvolved i n policing o r overseeing t he o utcome o f d igs. The most common s olution i n Canada i s t o h ave a dvisory h oards made u p o f p rofessionals who s upply t heir e xpertise t o government. I n s ome c ases t hey even have t he l ast s ay. The d ecision on w hat t o k eep c an not a nd s hould n ot b e m ade a t t he outset. The

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p rocess s hould b e one o f b uilding u p a maritime h istorical collection a nd t hen a fter one o r t wo years a r eview o f what i s t here s hould l ead t o decisions on d isposition. B ritish Columbia a t l east has t he a dvantage t hat i t does not h ave a l arge mass o f material a lready a nd s o c an d evelop a m aritime h istorical c ollection f rom s cratch. Museums c an a nd s hould follow t he p ractice o f s elling o r g iving a way material when t hey r each t heir s torage l imits. I t i s a n honourable way t o d ispose o f u nwanted collections. A d eaccession component i s n ow v ery much a f act o f l ife i n museums' collection policies. Still i t i s more d ifficult t o d eaccession a n object which comes f rom a specific w reck s ite e xcavated by a rchaeologists u nder controlled conditions. W ith t he l arge masses o f material w hich comes f rom l and work i t i s possible t o apply s tatistical s ampling t echniques a s w ith a rchives b ut i t i s r are t hat t he p roducts o f u nderwater e xcavation w ill r each t hat s cale o r r equire t hat a pproach. At t he c lose t he c hairman t hanked e veryone f or t heir contributions a nd f or t heir good h umour. The q uality o f t he papers h e n oted was a dmirable. They and t he f ollowing d iscussion p roved a g reat education f or h im a nd f or a ll t hose p resent. There was a f eeling t hat a fter t he e xchange a ll p arties u nderstood w hat s hould h e t he l aw o n n autical a rchaeology a nd how g overnment s hould, i n a n i deal world, t reat t he d iscipline.

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A Basque Whaling Ship at Red Bay,

Labrador

Robert Grenier Department o f Marine Archaeology Parks Canada 1 600 Liverpool Court Ottawa, Ontario KlA 1 G2

The wreck o f t he SAN JUAN was d iscovered on r . Ahn i lr Day, 1 9 78. The w reck was found i n 1 0 metres of water. I t was 6 5 metres f rom t he s hore and f rom an oven excavated i n 1 978 by D r. James Tuck o f Memorial University of Newfoundland. I t h ad b een b lown a shore by a s torm. The bow anchor cable was b roken. I t had b een d riven s ideways, a ccording t o t he documents, somewhere on t he s hore o f t he harbour of Red Bay. Agreement was r eached with t he Province o f Newfoundland and Labrador a nd t he p roject was started t he n ext year t o i nvestigate and evaluate t he w reck and i ts potential. This was t o b e done with t he collaboration o f t he Province and led i n 1 980 t o a f ull s cale excavation o f t he s ite. The Basque whalers h ad b een k nown t o experts and t o some h istorians for quite a while but very few details of t he exact methods o r t he i dentity o f t he whales t hey were k illing was k nown. In t he 1 6th and early 1 7th c enturies t he Basques were g reat entrepreneurs but t hey n ever generated t heir own publicity. Also, very l ittle i s k nown f rom w ritten sources about Basque whalers. Very l ittle was known o f t he t echnology u sed i n t hat period except what

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could b e i nferred f rom i nformation f rom a l ater period. Using data f rom other countries, p rincipally England and Holland, i t was possible t o e stablish certain p rocedures u sed by t he Basques. T rips t o Terra Nova b egan, a s f ar a s c an b e told, i n t he 1 520' s. Thus t hese f ishermen were i n Canada before t he o fficial personnel s ent by t he K ing o f F rance. Each t rip by t he whalers t ook 4 to 5 weeks. The Basques l eft t heir country l ate i n t he spring. They r eached Red Bay o r t he Strait of Belle Isle i n t he m iddle o f t he s ummer. They were hunting whales and p rocessing t he f at up u ntil l ate i n t he fall o r early i n winter. Some o f t he whalers could b ecome caught and have t o spend t he w inter i n Red Bay. The whalers d id not l ive t here. I t was not an established colony, a lthough t here were permanent i nstallations. The capital n eeded t o e stablish t his sort of whaling s tation f ar exceeded t hat n eeded for t he cod f ishery. The same t hing applied t o t he ships t hat were u sed for t his sort o f expedition. While 6 0 t o 8 0 t on vessels could b e u sed for cod f ishing on t he Grand Banks, for a whaling v enture t hey u sed galleons o f a t l east 2 00 t ons and up t o 7 00 a nd 8 00 t ons on occasion. A lot of money was needed for t hese expeditions. Merchants f rom t he town of Burgos s upplied i t. Often t he expeditions were undertaken by both t he French Basques a nd Spanish Basques. The Spanish Basques a t t he t ime were much b etter equipped and had more c apital. The Kingdom o f Spain was a t i ts peak a nd t he years 1 560-1575 were t he h igh period o f B a sque h istory and of whaling i n Labrador. Several galleons, often a s many a s 2 0, would go o ff e ach year t o Red B ay and come b ack w ith t heir valuable cargo. Sometimes i n one s eason t hey could e arn e nough t o b e able t o p ay for another g alleon. I ncome was i ncredible. Many of t he Basques p referred t o go t o t he whaling station i n Labrador t han t o go t o South America. Many o f t he s hips t hat a re f ound i n t he West I ndies and a long t he coast o f Florida a re Basque vessels a s u sed at Red B ay a nd i n t he Strait o f Belle I sle f or whaling. The Basques b uilt a l arge p roportion o f t he s hips constructed i n Spain. For a t ime, vessels f rom s outhern Spain were p rohibited f rom t he West Indies t rade and only n orthern, and t herefore predominantly B asque, s hips were a llowed t o t ravel to Spanish colonies t here. A fter a f ew years t he vessels were sold i n Seville and n ew ones were b uilt for t he whale f ishery. The coast o f t he Basque country i s very s imilar to t he coast o f much of t he Maritimes, e specially along t he coast o f Labrador. Leaving t heir homes at

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t he e nd o f w inter, t he B asques must h ave f elt s omewhat a t home a rriving a t R ed Bay. The c limate d id n ot p resent a r eal p roblem t o t hem a nd i s n ot a s b ad a s i ts r eputation. A ll a long t he coast o f t he Basque country t here a re whaling t owns o r v illages s et u p t o a ccommodate t he f ishery. The carvings o n s ome o f t he houses g ive i ndications o f t he e volution o f s hip d esign i n t he 1 6th c entury. Even t he c ities o f t he Basque country a nd t heir a ffluence g ive evidence o f t he s uccess o f w haling. Whaling was n ot n ecessarily t he l argest g enerator o f i ncome. Export o f wool, s hipbuilding, a nd i ron p roduction were a lways i mportant t o t he e conomy. But whaling w as a nd i s e specially i mportant f or t he B asques. Whaling t urns up i n f olklore, i n s ongs, i n t raditions, a nd a ll o ver t heir c ities. In museums t here a re s ome r emains o f t he w haling t echnology. The material t here corresponds t o what has b een f ound a t R ed Bay. I t was a v ery long a nd t edious j ob t o r ender a ll o f t he whales. The f ishermen t ook a n a verage of 1 0 t o 1 5 whales f rom t he l argest galleon i n t he course o f 1 s eason. I n t he 1 5th a nd 1 6th c entury, e specially t he 1 6th c entury i n c ertain a reas a long t he c oast o f t he Basque country whaling was r educed t o p roducing s omething l ike a w hale o r half a w hale p er s eason a nd t hese would h ave b een s maller t han t he ones t aken i n Terra Nova. Moreover, t he v alue o f t he w hale f rom t he Bay o f B iscay w as a l ot l ess t han t he one f rom Labrador. The b est i llustrations o f w haling v essels a nd m ethods c ome f rom t he Netherlands. Looking j ust a t t he t echnology, a t R ed Bay l arge galleons r ode a t a nchor while smaller b oats, c haloupes, were u sed t o c hase t he whales, k ill t hem, a nd t ow t hem b ack t o s hore. I nside t he harbour t he s hip was u sed p artly a s t he b reakwater a nd p artly a s a warehouse. F inally, i t was a t anker t o t ake b ack t he valuable p roduct t o Europe, t o t he markets. The ovens i n R ed Bay i tself would n ot h ave h ad h igh c himneys. They w ere c overed b y wooden s tructures and t ile r oofs which b ecame t he main c lue t o t he p resence o f Basque whalers a ll over t he c oast o f L abrador, e specially R ed B ay, Chateau Bay, C arl' s Cove a nd i n White R iver. A ll t his i nformation a bout t he Basques i n Labrador was n ot r eally k nown u ntil a p ublication i n 1 971 o f a b ook i n Quebec which w as t he f irst r eal work d epicting i n d etail t he work o f t he Basques i n our country. Then a f ew years l ater, M rs. Selma Barkham w ent t o t he Basque country a nd on h er own s tarted t o f ind o riginal documents o f t he 1 6th c entury d epicting t he o rganization o f t hese voyages, t he f inancing, t he i nsurance a nd t echnical d etails about t he i nvolvement o f t he B asques i n

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Terra Nova, a nd t he location o f t he p laces where t hey worked. The p roject h as r eally b een one c reated b y t his u ndertaking b y Mrs. B arkham. S ince t hen a l arge a mount b y documentation h as b een m ade available t hrough t ranscription f rom t he Public Archives o f Canada i n Ottawa. Most o f t he documents were found i n Spain i n u niversity a rchives. The documents a re d etailed e nough t o e stablish where t he SAN JUAN was b uilt a nd which f amily o f s hipwrights built h er j ust s ome 4 0 k ilometres f rom t he university a rchives. Where t he Basques whaled i n t he Strait o f B elle I sle There w ere t wo main h arbours. One was R ed Bay, t he o ther was Chateau B ay a t t he n ortheast e nd o f t he S trait. I t i s a n arrow p assage, b etween 1 3 a nd 3 0 k ilometres a cross w here t he whales h ad t o p ass on t heir m igration. The Basques were c hasing t wo t ypes of w hales, t he R ight ( Balaena g lacialis) a nd t he Bowhead ( Balaena mysticus). The documents p rove t hat t he Bowhead i n t he 1 6th c entury were going t hat f ar s outh. They made u p a t l east 5 0% o f t he c atch by t he Basques. At R ed Bay h arbour t here would b e 5 , 6 , o r u p t o 1 0 galleons w ith 8 00 o r 9 00 B asques i n t he p eak s eason. The local p opulation w as p erhaps only 2 50 p eople. I n t he Bay i s a n i sland called Penny I sland, a r ich a rea f or a rchaeological i nformation going b ack m uch b efore t he Basque p eriod a nd continuing u p t hrough t he e ra o f e xploitation by western m erchants i n t he 1 9th c entury. A lso i n t he Bay i s Saddle I sland, w here a t l east 8 o vens h ave b een l ocated by D r. Tuck's t eam a nd 3 o f t hem h ave b een excavated. The main d anger f or s hips i n R ed Bay h arbour c ame f rom t he l and. Heavy s torms b low down f rom t he mountains a nd i nto t he h arbour. S uch a s torm about 1 4 y ears a go d id b low a shore a s teel coastal b oat. I t was concluded t hat t he g alleon SAN JUAN followed t he s ame p ath, b lown a shore when a s trong w ind s uddenly b roke t he b ow l ine. Two y ears b efore t he P arks Canada s urvey o f R ed B ay a s imilar s torm h ad b lown e verything away. The w ind r eached 2 10 k ilometres p er h our a nd t hen t he w ind m etre b lew away s o i t w as n ever k nown e xactly how f ast i t w as b lowing. I t i s i ncredible a nd f ascinating t o s ee t he s torm c oming v ery f ast. Most o f t he t ime t he warning i s a r ainbow f ar b eyond t he h ill. I t i s not a h arbour w here t he s hips a re b attered b y waves a nd t he p rotection a gainst wave a ction h as b een i mportant f or p reservation o f w recks. Whales a re s till p resent i n t he S trait o f Belle I sle b ut only a f ew i ndividual R ight w hales s urvive, s ighted l ately about 9 0 t o 1 00 k ilometres t o t he s outh i n t he Gulf of t he St. Lawrence. There i s s till a l arge n umber o f Humpback whales ( Megaptera n ovaeangliae) i n t he

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Strait. They s till follow t he f ish a long t he coast a nd s wim a round t he Bay a t a v ery s low p ace j ust a s t hey d id i n t he 1 6th c entury. One o f t he f irst i ndications o f Basque p resence was t he h ighly d urable c eramic t iles u sed h eavily i n t he Basque country i n a ll t he b uildings. The system u sed by t he Basques for t heir b uildings i n Red B ay i s s till not u nderstood. We a ssume t hat t iles w ere u sed a s much a s t hey were b ecause t he owners wanted t o k eep t heir r ights t o t he b uildings. Excavation h as r evealed t hat whale bones, t he b aleens, were u sed a s a construction m aterial; a s s ome s ort o f c rossmember t o h old t he t iles i n p lace, a nd p ossibly a s i nsulation. Some o f t he b ones e xcavated h ave d rilled holes a nd t hey a re t he s ame s ize a s holes u sed on t he SAN JUAN f or c ertain p lanks. The d istance b etween t he holes corresponds t o t he b asic measurement u sed by t he Basques o f t he p eriod. T his i s f inal p roof t hat t hey u sed w hale b ones a s construction material. I t i s doubtful t hat t hey continued t o do t hat a fter t he u se o f b aleen b ecame f ashionable i n Europe. Excavation on l and h as e stablished much a bout t he m ethods u sed t o p rocess t he whales. Ovens o n land were b uilt o f s andstone a nd l imestone, o riginally b rought a s b allast on t he galleons. T hey were f ueled w ith wood f rom t he l and s ide. On t he s ea s ide was a p latform, where The operators, o r b utchers, would s tand, c utting t he fat i nto s mall p ieces, a nd dumping t hem i nto t he c auldron. The whale o il was p ut i nto large wooden v ats for b oth f iltering a nd weighing. Late l ast s eason, D r. Tuck was a stonished t o f ind t he f irst r emnants o f t he Basque whalers who d ied i n a n i ll-fated Labrador e xpedition, possibly 1 576-1577, when many were f orced t o w inter over a t Red Bay. The r emains were f ound a t t he northeast t ip o f S addle I sland. They f ound over 7 0 b odies, s tocky B asque s ailors, s ome o f t hem s till d ressed, a f ew o f t hem hastily b uried a nd s ome j ust dumped o ne o n t op o f t he other. The e xcavation continues t o y ield more evidence o f t he extremely l ong and extensive o ccupation. The l arge q uantity o f t iles e xcavated e verywhere a re e vidence f or t hat. When t he SAN JUAN was found i n 1 978, only a f ew b its o f t imber were s howing c overed w ith k elp. I t was only t he expertise o f one o f t he d ivers working a t t he t ime t hat t he s hip was l ocated. I t could have b een m issed v ery e asily a s i t i s e ntirely b uried i n t he s ilt. Working i n a p lace l ike

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Labrador the Parks Canada research vessel for such large-scale excavations proved invaluable. It has been used on several sites but nowhere has it been as useful as in Red Bay. Fourteen or 15 divers are used on the site in waters which range from -1 c. to +6 C. but are usually around O C. or +l C. Dry suits were used but were found to be inefficient. To work properly in this sort of environment, offshore drilling equipment, that is the hotwater suit designed and produced in San Diego, was employed. It has proven very successful. The efficiency of the crew went from 1200-1300 hours per season to over 3000 this season. The quality of the work has increased by a factor of 3:1 at the same time. The Parks Canada vessel or barge offered facilities for drawing and report writing in the cabin on the top story. There is a kitchen on the first level along with the recording room. There is extensive room for dressing, a workshop, and an engine room for the operation of the two large generators and the large low pressure compressor used to activate the airlift. Starting last season a recompression chamber was established on board the barge following the new Canadian regulations. Though working in only 10 metres of water, the danger of embolism is actually very great. Red Bay is often inaccessible to air rescue so there was no choice but to resort to this equipment, and train our personnel to operate it. A crane is used for lifting the main material from the ship and installing individual pieces of equipment. The fr 1t of the barge is used for drafti�g op0�ations and for photography. On the barge are two large vats used for the storage of timber during the process of recording along with smaller ones for small pieces of the ship or the small boats or for temporary storage for a few hours of artifacts before they get to the laboratory. The laboratory used for conservation work is in a building which used to be the general store in Red Bay. It has a wet lab, darkroom, office, recording space, and storage space. The barge is anchored on the port side of the SAN JUAN. The stern of the SAN JUAN faces the shore of Saddle Island, while the bow faces the village to the North. Each operation under water takes place within a grid system of 2 metres by 2 metres. The equipment for diving ismainly a unisuit, drysuit, and a hot water system which allows some operators especially the young archaeologists, to work under water for over 8 hours in one day. On good days for visibility it is possible to see a measuring tape on the ship itself.

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In 1980, the stempost of a small boat we called a chaloupe was found. This was a "speed boat" used by the Basques for whaling. The New Englanders always claimed that they invented the whaling boat which became accepted and is found in many parts of the world. But the Basques actually were first and their 16th-century design was copied by the New England whalers. The two designs are very close. This boat was crosswise underneath the SAN JUAN itself beneath the starboard side of the stern and was crushed by the rudder and a part of the transom. It was only this season that it was possible to free the small boat by dismantling the large vessel since the centre of the ship was free of the grid. Excavation and mapping were completed last year. The same methods of recording were applied underwater as are employed in land archaeology as should be the case. Loose remnants of the wreck itself had been located, mapped and brought to the surface, until last year when it was decided to dismantle the main wreck. Items brought to the surface are recorded in three dimension in great detail including photographs. Archaeologists examine items for information about the design and construction techniques used. They also look for damage done to the ship in sinking or over the years underwater The mapping under water follows traditional techniques. Despite attempts to use new and more dramatic methods nothing can replace the trained eye of the archaeologist to take note of features underwater. Experiments were done with stereographic techniqJes and though there w��e some advantages there were too many limitations and hence these were not used at Red Bay. Excavation to date shows many features of the 16th century ship, for example the smooth curve of the stempost. It was very pleasing to find the stempost since it was one of the first clues that actually was compatible with a 16th-century vessel. There is a mast step carved inside the keelson with some sort of butress or support on either side. Similar arrangements are found on medieval and other 16th-century wrecks. The stern has a square tuck with a v-shaped design and a single gunport which is somewhat suprising. The keel turns up at the stern to become part of the sternpost with the upper portion scarfed to the rising piece of the keel. This is a very old technology and similar arrangements have been found on other excavated wrecks. The ceiling planking or floor of the vessel was partially removable to get at the waterway which ran across the middle of the ship. The side of the ship was not covered by any planking or ceiling

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p lanking s o a ll t hat could b e s een h ere were t he f irst f uttocks. There was a pump well j ust a ft o f t he k eel w ith a b ig hole carved i n t he k eel which makes n o s ense. I t was d ecided, s tarting l ast y ear, t o d ismantle a l arge portion o f t he s hip. T he r ationale was t he r ealization, a fter a f ailure i n t he i nvestigation i n 1 980, t hat t here were t wo o r t hree l ayers o f h ull u nderneath t he b asic h ull i tself. I ce a ction h ad a ccelerated t he d estruction o f t he v essel, t he upper s ide o f t he v essel f alling down f irst. The s hip d rew s trength f rom t he f uttocks a nd t he f irst b reak t ook p lace w hen t he f irst f uttocks f ell d own f ollowed b y t he s econd r ow, and t hen t he l ower portion o f t he v essel f ell d own covering e verything. I f t he v essel h ad n ot b een d ismantled b etween 7 0% a nd 8 0 % o f t he i nformation would h ave b een lost. The d ecision h as p roven t o b e t he r ight one a s s hown w ith t he excavation late l ast s eason a nd t he b eginning o f t his s ummer. A lso, t his way a l ot more d etail h as b een r ecovered t hat would not h ave b een possible t o r ecord about t he a rchitecture a nd d esign o f t he s hip. I t i s a v ery long p rocess a nd i t w as a lmost a d isaster t his s eason when i t was r ealized t hat t he s hip was e ven s tronger t han h ad b een anticipated. A 1 2-ton hydraulic j ack was u sed t o p ry out t he t imbers f rom t he wooden t reenails without damaging t he wood. At t imes a portion o f t he j ack was b ending u nder p ressure, t he t reenails b eing extremely s trong. It was a t edious p rocess, but n ecessary t o a void cutting t he w reck apart. A p rinciple was e stablished t o t ry t o avoid c utting a nd i t was s ucceeded b y c utting only t wo p lanks over t he entire t hree s easons t o date. The l ifting o f t he t imber f rom t he p lanks a nd f inally t he cutting o f t he t reenails h as b een done w ith s pecial t ools and w ith l ittle damage t o t he wood. The operation h as gone very s moothly a nd e ven a t reenail c an b e r eassembled i f n eeded l ater on. The cuts made were e xtremely c lean. After l ifting, t he t imbers a re t hen moved t o a t emporary s torage s pace on t he s ite, e ach t imber b eing i dentifified a nd located on t he map f irst b efore s urface r ecording a t a l ater s tage. As s ections o f t he s ides a re d ismantled, t he f uttocks f irst a nd t hen t he f rames, s lowly t he e ntire s tructure u nder t he h ull appears. Very r ecently i nformation was r eceived t hat t he compass o f t he v essel has b een f ound t wo l evels down w hich corresponds t o a h igher l evel o f t he s hip. I t i s only by d ismantling t hat i t i s possible t o g et

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a ccess t o s uch i nformation. R ight a fter t he r emoval o f t he p lanks w ithin a f ew m illimetres o f s ilt, s ome f eatures a ppear. In t he l ast f ew y ears t he t echnique o f moulding t he e ntire w reck u nderwater h as b een d eveloped on t he s ite a t Red B ay. I n t he P rovincial Museum i n St. John 's t here i s a mould, a r eplica o f t he oven excavated b y D r. Tuck o n t he Saddle I sland s ite. I t was d ecided t o develop a t echnique t o do t he s ame u nder water. I n t his way e very f ine d etail o f t he wood t exture, a nd e very d etail o f t he f asteners o n t he s hip c an b e r eproduced, a nd a t t he s ame t ime s o c an t he s hape o f t he overall s hip a s a w reck, not a s t he o riginal s hip which n o l onger exists. I n t he f uture t his t echnique w ill i nsure p reservation o f t he w reck b y f inal r ecording t hrough t his moulding p rocess. This w ill a llow r eproduction o f portions o f t he v essel making t hem a vailable f or r esearch o r f or p ublic d isplay i n museums f or years t o come. The moulding p rocess u nderway w as a messy operation, t he t echnician d isappeared i n t he white material a t certain p oints. Through t he c ourse o f t he R ed B ay operation, b ecause o f extremely good v isibility, i t was possible t o f ollow t he s tratigraphy of t he d eposit on t he s ite v ery p recisely a nd most o f t he t ime more p recisely t han could b e done on t he l and s ite e xcavated by D r. Tuck. For u s, t his i s a v ery i mportant p oint. Too o ften marine a rchaeology i s r eferred t o a s t he a rchaeology o f t he w reck. This i s n ot t rue. I n R ed B ay a n i nvestigation o f Basque a ctivitic . , 1 - L abrador, i n Terra Nova i n t he 1 Gth century i u nderway a nd t he s hip i s o nly one portion o f t his i nvestigation. A comparison o f t he p rofile o f t he d ifferent s trata going f rom t he land s ite down t o t he s hip s hows not only t he r elationship b etween t he l and s ite a nd t he s hip i tself b ut a lso t he d ifferent l evels o f o ccupation a nd development a nd d estruction o f t he s ite o ver t he course o f t hat c entury o f occupation. Work on t he s hip h as r evealed a r ather s trange p henomenon. Before t he s hip w ent down t he c hannel o f t he s hip was b locked by s ome d eposits o f c lay. They were b ringing a lot o f c lay a s c argo f or t he construction o f t he o vens. Somehow t he deposit o f c lay a nd s ome b ranches b locked t he hole solidly. Very l ittle d etail i s k nown a bout t he construction o f 1 6th-century v essels a nd e xcavation and r econstruction h ave s hown t hat s hipwrights must h ave h ad command o f s ophisticated t echniques. For o ne w inter, i t was a p uzzle how b uilders f ashioned t he l ower portion o f t he t ransom. I t changes f rom t he f lat portion t o b ecome a l ateral s ection o f t he s hip

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going forward a nd up. F inding a s mall f ragment o f t imber l ike a s mall f rame o f a b oat r evealed t hat t hese a ctually were c arved p lanks, c arved f rom a k nee-shaped p iece o f t imber r unning a round f rom t he s ide o f t he s hip t o t he a ft e nd. This c reated a v ery s trong l ink w ithout t he p roblem o f s eams t o caulk o r t o b e l eft open d uring t he working o f t his s tructure. I t s eems n ow t hat t his t echnique i s b eing r evealed on o ther v ery a ncient v essels. The f ashion p iece o f t he s tarboard s ide was f ound. The fashion p iece o f t he port s ide was v ery b adly damaged and t he u pper p ortion was f ound t his s ummer. The s ternpost i s one o f t he s trongest a nd most i mportant e lements i n t he s tructure o f t he s hip. It i s one o f t he f irst i nstalled d uring t he construction p rocess, i nstalled on t he t op o f t he k eel a t t he s tern a nd i t h as b een possible t o s tudy t he c onstruction o f t he one o n t he S an Juan i n g reat detail. There a re d ifferent n umbers o f p ieces o r e lements on t he s tarboard a nd port s ides. This vessel s howed n o s ign o f s tandardized construction s o s ometimes one s ide o f t he s hip i s s lightly d ifferent f rom t he o ther a t l east i n s ome d etails. Details o f p ieces o f wood s how t he h igh q uality o f t he p reservation o f t he wood over 4 20 y ears. Some p ieces a re a lmost complete d espite t he potential f or wear. I t i s p ossible t o d istinguish t reenails made b y t he s hipwright h imself a nd b y a n apprentice o r a ssistant. Some a re v ery p recise, very f inely made while others a re c rude. One c rude one s hows s igns t hat t he s hipwright m ade i t a s a t eaching device. I t h as a g reat d eal o f s cribing i ndicating w here t he a ssistant was t o c ut. A n umber o f s trange t hings h ave b een f ound. For e xample t here a re m arks l eft b y o ne o f t he r ats on b oard, t eeth marks o n t he wood. There a re s igns o f l iving i n s ome s pecific p arts o f t he s hip. One o f t hem was found e ating h is l ast meal i n a b asket o f c od f ish b elonging t o o ne o f t he s ailors. Forward i n t he s hip h uge b olts f astening f loor t imbers t o t he k eel h ave b een r ecovered. We a re r ealizing n ow t hat many o f t hese v essels a re c lues t o t he p rocess o f t he d evelopment o f t he modern s hip i n Europe. We f ound s igns o f t he e volution f rom s hell-first construction w here p lanks were a ssembled f irst w ith t he f rames coming a fter t o g ive s ome s trength a nd more r igidity t o t he l ater design, t o s keleton-first construction w hich made i t possible t o b uild l arger v essels which i n t urn were u sed t o develop America a nd g o much f urther a round t he world. T here a re s ome c lues t o t his c hange i n t he Red Bay v essel. I n t he c entre o f t he s hip t here

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a re 1 4 f rames which a re p reassembled i n a way which i s i ndicative o f modern t echniques u sed i n t he 1 7th a nd 1 8th c enturies. But only t he 1 4 a re built l ike t hat a nd t hey a re f ixed t ogether forward and a ft. The f rames were p recisely p reassembled on t he f loor o f t he s hipyard a nd t hen p ut r ight on t he k eel a nd put t ogether, i n t he p rocess s haping t he main portion o f t he centre o f t he v essel. As far a s t he r est o f t he construction goes, i t appears t o b e partly s hell-first b ut a t t he s ame t ime i t h ad t o b e f rame f irst construction. I t i s s till n ot c ertain a s t o t he way i t went. So t he SAN JUAN i s a v essel s howing various t echniques, going b ack t o Roman t imes, a nd modern t echniques which would have b een f ashionable and i n u se a ll t hrough t he 1 8th and 1 9th centuries. The cargo o f t he v essel was mainly whale o il s tored i n b ig c asks containing 2 25 l itres on average. The c asks were f irst a ssembled i n t he Basque country t hen i nscribed w ith s piral marks a ll a round a nd t hen d ismantled a nd r eassembled i n Red Bay o r a nywhere on t he coast o f Terra Nova where whalers were t o u se t hem. A 3 00-page r eport on t he t echnology o f b arrel m aking by t he Basques h as b een p roduced f rom t he evidence on t he SAN JUAN. The s trange t hing i s t he way t hat t he casks were s tored i n t he v essel. The b allast was s tored i n t he b ottom, i n t he b ilge a nd t hen t he cargo was put o ver t op. I n t he c ase o f t he Red Bay w reck t he casks were put on t he f loor o f t he v essel o r ceiling p lanking and one r ow was r ight a bove t he k eelson i tself. We have b een able t o r econstruct p artially some o f t he b arrels. Shippers' marks, makers' marks a nd t esting marks a re a ll over t hese b arrels. Vessels l ike t he SAN JUAN c ame t o t he Labrador c oast w ith a f ew guns, p erhaps s ix m edium s ize guns a nd t welve t o s ixteen s maller g uns u sed a s p ersonal weapons. Only one o f t he l atter h as b een f ound a t Red Bay. The a rmament was n eeded t o p rotect t he v ery valuable c argo. P ieces o f t he r igging, s ome o f i t b eing very s imilar t o t hat o f t he MARY ROSE h ave b een f ound. A lso r ecovered were p ersonal b elongings s uch a s a c eramic j ar, s hoes, a j ug p robably u sed f or w ine o r c ider o r e ven f resh water. They come f rom t he hold n ear where t he s ailors s eem t o h ave b een l iving. There a re many s igns o f l ife on board s hip i n t he s urviving a rtifacts. T here i s a g reat d eal o f l eather material. The Basques f ishing i n Terra Nova m ade m en o f other countries j ealous b ecause t hey were, i t was s aid, b etter equipped a gainst t he water, t he r ain, a nd t he cold w ith t heir l eather

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garments. The Basques were mountain p eople originally a nd t hey u sed many woolen p roducts. Very l ittle i n t he way of c eramic goods h ave b een found. Some games, o ne very c lose i n design and appearance t o a c hessboard were r ecovered. R ight b eside t he chessboard were r ecovered.was found a l ittle s liding door f it i nto a s mall g uide. I t was q uickly r ealized t hat t his was t he b innacle. Later t he p ilot' s hourglass and r ight b eside i t t he r eel for calculating t he speed o f t he s hip was f ound. Recently t he log, t he p iece o f wood t hat goes on t he end was found. Not many o f t hese exist i n t he world f rom t hat period. The compass which was u sed i n t he b innacle has j ust b een f ound. The s ilt on t he bottom i s g ray and t here i s a g reat deal o f white material which i s a ctually barnacles f rom t he hull o f t he s hip which f ell o ff when t he ship was d isintegrating. The u pper decks fell o ff f irst and were covered by at l east t wo layers o f w reckage. That i s why t he t op o f t he s hip i s now underneath other w reckage and why t he compass was f ound so f ar down. I t was s urprising t o f ind t he compass i nside t he layer o f g rey s ilt. I t i s quite amazing t hat a very i mportant p iece o f material ended up t here. One o f t he major f inds a t Red Bay was t he small boats. One w as r aised l ast year. I t was a small working boat. Another was a c haloupe u sed for whaling. I t had a k eel i n t he centre and a t t he bottom well-preserved f rames. The s ternpost, t he s tempost and t he k eel o f t he small v essel were a lso i n good condition. This chaloupe was, i n some ways, a s i mportant a s t he galleon. I t was t he f irst example o f t he Basque whaling boat which has b een n icknamed t he ' Formula 1 ;' t he speedboat o f t he period. I t was a v ery l ight vessel designed f or speed and m anoeuvrability. Both ends o f t he k eel were r aised s o t hat i t could t urn very q uickly. I t was r eally a one-of-a-kind d esign for a very special purpose. The i nvestigation i s n ot l imited t o t he s hipwrecks, s mall o r l arge. The overall activity of t he Basque w halers i n Red Bay i s b eing s tudied. I t appears t hat t hey were b utchering s ome o f t he whales r ight b y t he s heds o r by t he s hore. A long t he s horeline r emains o f t he whales a re i ntermixed w ith construction material, for example wood c hips r elated t o b uilding on t he s hore, a nd cod hones, which i ndicate t hat t he Basques while whaling were quite heavily i nvolved i n cod f ishing, t hough not necessarily o n a commercial l evel i t i s q uite

9 5

obvious t hat t hey were doing a l ot. Techniques f or i dentifying t he w hales, t hat i s t o d istinguish b etween t he Bowhead a nd t he R ight w hale h ave b een d eveloped. Astonishingly, s ome o f t he B asques w ere e ating Polar b ear ( Ursus m aritimus), which i s q uite s urprising a s f ar s outh a s R ed B ay. There were s igns t hat t he polar b ears were a ctually cooked, t he b ones b eing b urnt. These d iscoveries were m ade t hrough a p rogram o f s urveying t he R ed B ay h arbour f or cultural r emains i ndicative o f t he p rocess u sed by t he Basques i n t heir w haling. Two w eeks a go a s econd g alleon was found i n R ed Bay, a r esult o f t he p rocess o f s urveying t he harbour. I t was f ound a t a s pot where i t was k nown t hat t here h ad b een s ome whaling a ctivity f rom t he r emaining t iles, a p iece o f wood a nd w hale bones. S till a nother was f ound i n t he s ame way. Through work w ith t he SAN JUAN, t echniques f or r eading t hrough t he s ilt h ave b een d eveloped a nd s o f eatures i ndicative o f t he t echnology i n u se c an b e i dentified. For example, b y comparing t he s cantling a nd t he a ngle o f t he parallelogram s hape o f t he t imbers, i ndicating t hey were a ft o r f orward o f t he mainmast, i t was possible w ithin a n hour o f d iving t o f ind t he mainmast o f t he v essel. T he mainmast a nd mast s tep h ad many o f t he s ame f eatures a s t he SAN JUAN. T he m ast s tep was c arved w ithin t he k eelson w ith s upports on e ach s ide, t hat i s w ith f our s upports exactly t he s ame a s w ith t he SAN J UAN. There i s a mark which may h ave b een f rom t he f amous coin t hat was s upposed t o b e put u nderneath t he mast. There was n o c oin t hough. Finally, a p innance, a s mall working b oat; a s ailing v essel, w ith p ossibly t wo m asts was f ound. It l ooked a t f irst l ike s ome l ocal f ishing v essel. But a fter i nvestigation, c learing a way a l ittle b it o f t he s and a nd d igging w ith t he d redge, i t w as r ealized t hat i t was a h efty v essel, about 9 m etres long w ith a s olid b eam i n t he c entre t o s upport t he m ast. The s ame c onstruction o f a p innance i n t he Basque country. A ll t he b eams i ndicate t hat t he b oat was u pside down. The s tempost h ad a hole f or a r ope t o t ie up t he boat. A n umber o f o ther d etails o f t he construction o f t he v essel were d iscovered, which i ndicate i n t his c ase a s i n o thers t he u se o f v ery a ncient t echnology. I n s um, a t Red Bay n o a ttempts a re b eing made t o r aise t he v essel. The p rogram i s e ntirely d ifferent f rom t he one d escribed by Margaret Rule f or t he MARY ROSE. The goal i s n ot t o r ecreate t he SAN JUAN, b ut t o l earn t he t echniques u sed i n

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designing a nd b uilding t he vessel. For t hat d rawings o f a ll t he d ifferent p ieces o f wood a re u sed. There a re over 1 200 o f t hem s o f ar i n 3 d imension w ith a ll t he details i ndicated. The p ieces w ill b e carved t o s cale a nd s o t he s hip w ill b e r ecreated a s a model a b it l ess t han 4 m etres long. The r emains o f t he San Juan a re b eing s tored i n t he mud o f Red Bay f or f uture generations t o do so.raise i f t hey want t o do s o. I n t his case, i t i s f elt t hat t he goal o f r ecreating t he t echnology o f t he Basques i n t he 1 6th c entury i s s ufficient. A s imilar t echnique i s u sed a t t he I nstitute o f Nautical Archaeology located a t Texas A&M University under D r. G eorge Bass. R ichard S teffey has b een e specially s uccessful. H is t echnique o f b uilding models has p roven i ncredibly valuable i n demonstrating t hat o ur i deas a bout s hipbuilding were w rong. Only t hrough r econstruction o f t he s hip p iece by p iece i s i t possible t o f inally r ealize how t he s hip was put t ogether a nd what were i ts l ines. I t i s s till not k nown i f t he SAN JUAN was a galleon o r a n ao. We call i t a galleon b ecause i n most documents t he t wo words a re u sed i nterchangeably. Whatever i t i s, t he v essel i s a g reat w itness t o t he t echnology u sed by t he Basques for opening n ew t erritories a nd f or e xporting t he i t has wealth o f America. F inally, i t has b een r ealized t hat Red Bay was t he Saudi A rabia o f Europe i n t he 1 6th c entury. This i s not a n exaggeration. The Basques h ad a monopoly. They had control over a ll o il p roducts at t he t ime. I t was only l ate i n t he 1 6th and e arly i n t he 1 7th c entury t hat t heir monopoly was b roken w ith o ther n ations copying t he t echniques a nd d eveloping t heir own whaling s tations mainly i n Spitsbergen. The w hales d isappeared f rom R ed Bay b ecause t he B asques were t oo good a t c hasing t hem a nd d estroying t hem. There were political r easons t oo f or t he d ecline o f t he whale f ishery. The e mpire o f Spain f aced i ncreasingly g reater p roblems and New F rance was e stablished i n t he Gulf o f t he St. Lawrence. There w as no s ingle r eason b ut a s eries o f r easons f or t he d ecline o f R ed Bay a s a p rime w haling s tation f or t he Spanish Basques This i s a n i ncredible p roject for Canada. I t i s helping t o develop marine a rchaeology, t o devlop expertise. B eing c reated a t Red Bay w ith s ome s tudents, e specially f rom Memorial University, i s t he f irst g eneration o f r eally p rofessional marine a rchaeologists. People f rom a ll over t he country, f rom Vancouver, f rom c entral Canada, f rom Cape B reton a re a lso b eing t rained, a p rogram l ike t his i s i nvaluable f or c reating expertise s ince i t c annot

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b e d eveloped i n s chool a s s uch. I t h as t o b e done on t he s ite i tself. I t i s i mportant t hat p ractice l ike t his s hould b e made a vailable. I t i s t he o nly way t hat e ventually t he u se o f a mateurs w ill p rove s atisfactory. I n t his country o nly a t eam l ike t hat at Parks Canada c an c arry on s uch a p rogram. P arks Canada c an d raw o n e xtensive h uman a nd f inancial r esources. I t c an u se p eople f rom a ll a cross t he country. Guided s upervision o f a ppropriately t rained m arine a rchaeologists i s e ssential. I t h as b een demonstrated i n R ed B ay a nd i s r ealized t hat i t i s by f ar much more p ractical a nd e fficient t o t rain land a rchaeologists o r a s tudent i n l and a rchaeology t o b ecome a good m arine a rchaeologist t han i t i s t o t rain a d iver t o b ecome a n a rchaeologist. There i s no doubt about i t a fter t his p roject. I n c losing, one o f t he b asic p roblems i n o ur f ield i n Canada i s t hat we have only a l imited heritage a nd t hat h eritage i s s o t hreatened. Canada does not h ave t he r iches t hat t he Netherlands e njoys and which R einder R einders d escribes. The p roblem i s t hat t here i s v ery l ittle, a nd t he l ittle t here i s i s b eing t hreatened b y t he d iving community. R egardless o f what h appens w ith l egislation which i s a p roblem i n Canada, e xpertise i s b uilding u p a nd must continue t o b uild u p a lthough i t i s s till n ot a dequate. The main p roblem i s t o f irst communicate w ith e ach other a nd r aise t his p roblem a nd s how t hat a p roject i nvolving i n-depth i nvestigation i s t he only way t o r estore t o t his country i ts s ubmerged heritage.

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Excavations

on

Reinder

t he Former

Seabed

Reinders

Ministry of Transport and Public Works I jsselmeerpolders Development Authority Smedinghuis Lelystad

Introduction For centuries, t he Z uiderzee i n t he northwestern and central parts o f t he Netherlands has b een an i mportant a rea for i nland t ransportation and f ishing. I t u sually was a r elatively calm i nland s ea, b ut many t imes r ough weather h as p roved to b e d isastrous t o small s hips, a s w itnessed by t he hundreds of w recks t hat have s unk here i n t he course o f t ime. F rom t he 1 6th t o t he 2 0th century Amsterdam, s ituated south o f " Het I J," was t he centre o f shipping on t he Z uiderzee. O riginally, Amsterdam was a f ishing v illage t hat i n t he 1 6th and 1 7th century developed i nto a commercial c entre o f i nternational importance. I ts s ituation was favourable e specially for t ransportation o f goods within t he country. Until well i nto t he 2 0th century, f requent s hip-services t o a ll i mportant t owns i n t he Netherlands were operated b ecause t ransportation by r oad was s till i nadequate.

9 9

For l arge s hips t he location o f Amsterdam w as u nfavourable, b ecause o f t he s hallows a long t he s hipping r oute a nd t he long d istance t hey h ad t o go t o r each t he open s ea. Until t he b eginning o f t he 1 9th c entury, s hips going f rom Amsterdam t o t he North S ea h ad t o t ake t he Z uiderzee-Waddenzee r oute. After t he construction o f t he Noordhollands k anaal a nd t he Noordzeekanaal, l arge s hips d isappeared f rom t he Z uiderzee. I n t he course o f t he 2 0th c entury t he Z uiderzee g radually l ost i ts i mportance f or t rade a nd f ishing, a s a r esult o f t he e xecution o f t he Z uiderzee-project a nd t he i ncrease i n t he s cale o f t he u nits f or c argo t ransportation a nd f isheries. Food s hortages d uring t he F irst World War a nd f lood i n 1 916 l ed t o t he decision t o s eparate t he Z uiderzee f rom t he North Sea a nd t o r eclaim f ive polders ( Smits). The a ims o f c losing a nd p artly d raining t he Z uiderzee were: a . b . c . d . e .

a

i ncrease i n s afety b y t he construction o f a n e nclosing dam, l and r eclamation f or t he p roduction o f more f ood, i mprovement o f water control, control o f s alinity, i mprovement o f communication.

The f irst p older, t he Wieringermeer, was d rained i n 1 930, t wo years b efore t he completion o f t he Afsluitdijk. Three polders h ave b een r eclaimed s ince: t he Noordoostpolder i n 1 942, Oostelijk F levoland i n 1 957 a nd Z uidelijk Flevoland i n 1 968.

Archaeological

R esearch

Shipwrecks i n t he Z uiderzee w ere d iscovered a s s oon a s l and r eclamation was u ndertaken. I n t he Wieringermeer, d rained i n 1 930, 1 6 s hipwreck s ites w ere r eported, b ut no d ata on t hese s hips was r ecorded. A fter t he r eclamation o f t he Noordoostpolder, i n 1 942, t he G roningen University was t he f irst t o s tart s hip a rchaeological r esearch. S ince 1 942, s ome 3 50 s hips have b een f ound, o f which 1 50 h ave b een s ystematically i nvestigated a nd 1 00 r emoved; a nother 1 00 h ave b een located a nd a re waiting t o b e i nvestigated o r p rotected a gainst deterioration. The i nvestigations i n t he p olders were c arried out by t he f ollowing i nstitutions: a . b .

University o f Groningen, 1 941-1947 ( Ministry o f Education a nd Science); State Service f or Archaeological I nvestigations, 1 948-1953 ( Ministry

1 00

c .

of Welfare, Public Health and Culture); I jsselmeerpolders Development Authority, Scientific Department, f rom 1 954 on ( Ministry o f T ransport a nd Public Works).

The Government h as a ccepted r esponsibility f or t he i nvestigation o f t he s hipwrecks b efore t he d evelopment o f t he polders, s ince 1 942. Excavation o f t he s hipwrecks was necessary b ecause t he d raining o f t he polders causes a lower g roundwater-table, r esulting i n t he p enetration o f oxygen and t he development o f f ungi t hat a ffect t he wood of t he shipwrecks and o ften make i t r ot away w ithin 5 -20 years. Currently,

t he

following

p rogram

i s

b eing

carried

o ut: a .

b .

c .

d .

e .

Reconnaissance, by d igging t rial t renches and r ecording t he p rincipal characteristics o f t he s hipwrecks; P rotection o f t he main objects, b y localized r aising o f t he g roundwater-table; Excavation o f t he l ess i mportant objects and t he w recks whose p rotection i s i mpossible; Conservation and r estoration o f t he main s hipfinds ( Jong 1 982) and t he i nventory o f a ll t he i nvestigated shipwrecks; Exhibition o f t he f inds i n t he Museum for Nautical Archaeology a t Ketelhaven.

Only r ecently a method has b een developed t o p rotect t he s hipwrecks. Where t he s eabed consists of soft c lay, a s hip completely s inks i nto i t, sometimes a s deep a s 4 m . After t he polder i s d rained and t he s eabed has d ried up, t wo changes i n environmental conditions s everely a ffect t he oak t hat most o f t he s hips a re made o f: a. b .

t he s oil s urface s ubsides, t he g roundwater-table i s lowered.

Before t he d raining, t he wood s tays r elatively i ntact b ecause t he s eabed i s a lmost a naerobic. After t he d raining t here i s penetration o f oxygen, a llowing a erobic f ungi to d evelop, and t he wood w ill be deteriorated i n an a ccelerated way. Since 1 979 about 2 0 i mportant p rotected i n s itu. The s hipwrecks

1 01

s hipwrecks have b een a re s urrounded by a

vertical p lastic foil, p reventing t he water a round t he s hip f rom r unning away. The t hick l ayer o f c lay on which t he s hips r est i s a lso l eakproof, s o t he water cannot run away i n t hat d irection e ither. In t his t ub t he g roundwater-table i s h igher t han t he o riginal l evel o f t he surrounding l and. So an a naerobic environment i s maintained and t he wood c annot be a ffected by a erobic micro-organisms. Groundwater s amples a re t aken t o establish t he content o f oxygen.

Excavations The o ldest o f t he 3 50 f inds i n t he I jsselmeerpolders dates f rom t he 1 3th century. Below, only a general outline i s g iven o f t he excavations o f different v essels, dating f rom t he period 1 200-1900. a .

b .

c .

d .

e .

f .

Medieval cargo vessels o f t he 1 3th and 1 4th century s how cog-like characteristics; t hey a re f lat-bottomed amidships and s harp i n f ront and r ear. Compared t o t he Bremen cog t hey a re mostly r ather small vessels. Fishing boats, called " waterschepen", 2 0 m long a nd 6 m w ide were u sed on t he Z uiderzee f rom 1 4th century until about 1 830. The vessels had a " bun" amidships, a f ish-tank, where t he hull was p ierced, a llowing t he water t o enter, t o k eep t he f ish f resh ( Reinders Cargo vessels o f t he 1 6th century for i nland t ransportation, h ad a full bow and a s harp r ear, l eeboards, a nd r ound hatches t o cover t he large opening of t he hold ( Reinders 1 982). Working boats, dating f rom medieval t imes until t he 2 0th century, have b een found. For example mud barges, built i n 1 664, for t he t ransportation o f mud, d redged f rom t he Amsterdam harbour ( Reinders 1 981). Also, merchantmen o f t he 1 7th and 1 8th century. One o f t hese vessels i s on d isplay i n t he Ketelhaven Museum ( length 2 7 m ), a nother one i s p rotected i n s itu ( length about 4 0 m ). Inland cargo vessels, 1 7th until 1 9th century, a re f or t he g reater part t jalken. These vessels have a large hold, a nd a re f lat b ottomed w ith

1 02

b lunt e nds. The w reckage o f t wo o f t hese v essels has b een a scertained by newspaper-reports and o ral t radition: D E Z EEHOND, w recked i n 1 886 and t he LUTINA, w recked i n 1 888.

Recent Finds:

Cogs

Until r ecently, l ittle was k nown about medieval s hipfinds i n t he Netherlands. Only during t he l ast f ive y ears a l arger n umber of medieval s hips has b een found a long t he south coast of t he f ormer Z uiderzee. Many of t hese showed t he c haracteristics o f a cog. I n 1 981 t he r emains o f a medieval s hip were found a t lot O Z 3 6 i n F levoland. A t rial i nvestigation p roduced a c ross-beam t hat had b een p rotruding t hrough t he hull. I n e arlier I jsselmeerpolders-wrecks, no b eam o f t his t ype had ever b een found but i t i s a k nown f eature i n t he B remen Coq. A s t he w reck was s ituated j ust b eneath t he s urface, a nd p art of t he wood a lready had s tarted t o decay, i t was d ecided t o excavate t his s hip i n 1 983. Despite i ts w retched condition, many parts o f t he v essel had b een p reserved, so t he s cattered f ragments w ere a djusted and measured t o get a n i mpression o f t he s hip 's s hape. Measured d rawings were made o f a ll t he i ndividual e lements -frames, hull p lanks, s tringers- with t he exact position o f f astening holes, nails and c uttings, s cale 1 :10. After t he excavation a carpenter w ill make a 1 :10 s cale model i n o rder to t ry t o e stablish t he o riginal s hape o f t his w reck; a s we d id for a s imilar w reck i n 1 981. In 1 983, a s a p reparation for t he cog excavation, a ll data were gathered f rom p revious excavations s howing c og-like characteristics. We found, t hat s ince 1 942 a lready n ine cog-like ships o r f ragments o f t hem had been e xcavated i n t he I jsselmeerpolders, dating f rom t he 1 3th a nd 1 4th c entury. There a re d ifferences b etween t hese v essels on t he o ne hand a nd t he B remen cog on t he other, hut a n umber o f c onstructional e lements s how g reat r esemblances: a .

b .

C

P lank k eel, i nstead o f a T-shaped k eel a s was u sual f or t he medieval vessels i n Poland a nd England, a nd t he vessels of t he Viking p eriod a nd a fterwards i n Scandinavia; Stem a nd s tern " hook", a k nee s haped t imber u sed a s a t ransition b etween t he p lank k eel and s tem and s tern posts;

.

1 03

d .

e .

f .

F lush-laid b ottom p lanking a nd overlapping s ide p lanking; Bottom p lanks f astened i n a r abbet, a nd s ide p lanking e nclosing s tem a nd s tern, f astened a t t he f ront; F astening o f t he overlapping p lanks w ith t wice b ent n ails, i nstead o f r ove a nd r ivet, a s was u sual i n Poland, England a nd Scandinavia; Caulking w ith moss h eld i n p lace b y a l ath a nd i ron c lamps;

and d ifferent s olutions f or t he construction o f m aststep a nd t he c rossbeams: g .

h .

t he

The maststep i n a s hort k eelson o r i n a t ransverse f loor t imber, a nd t he maststep i n a long k eelson a s w ith t he B remen cog; Small v essels w ith c ross-beams f astened t o t he s ides w ith k nees, a nd c ross-beams p rotruding t hrough t he hull i n t he l arger v essels.

Compared t o t he Bremen cog t he I jsselmeerpolders-wrecks a re smaller, a lthough s ome h ave t he s ame l ength/width r atio. The s ides o f t he B remen cog were much h igher, which m ay b e a n i ndication for t he d ifference b etween s ea-going a nd coastal v essels. Another d ifference was t he position o f t he m ast: a lmost h alf way i n t he B remen cog a nd well f orward f rom amidships i n most v essels t hat h ave b een f ound i n t he former Z uiderzee. Considering t he constructional e lements, t he v essels f rom t he I jsselmeerpolders a nd t he B remen Cog s how g reat s imilarities s o i t i s a ssumed t hat t hey b elong t o o ne a nd t he s ame s hipbuilding t radition. T he d ifferences, l ike t he position o f t he mast, t he p rotruding b eams, a nd t he d imensions may b e r elated t o t he f unction a nd t he r igging o f t he v essels.

R eports Only r ecently a s tart h as b een made i n t he publication o f t he m any s hipfinds ( Reinders:In P ress). So f ar, t hree r eports a bout s even e xcavations i n t he I jsselmeerpolders a nd a lso a long t he r iver R hine h ave b een p ublished i n t he s eries " Flevoherichten" o f t he I jsselmeerpolders D evelopment Authority. T hese p ublications a re i nterim r eports, w ith a d escription ' of t he construction o f t he v essels i n D utch a nd a s ummary in English. A ll r eports i nclude n umerous d rawings o f t he

1 04

v essels ( scale 1 :50), and photos and d rawings o f t he a rtifacts. It i s obvious t hat s hip a rchaeological r esearch i n t he I jsselmeerpolders can contribute t o t he s hipping h istory o f t he former Z uiderzee, a s well a s t o t he s hipbuilding h istory of Western Europe i n medieval a nd postmedieval t imes.

S ummary Since 1 942 about 3 50 s hipwrecks have b een found i n t he I jsselmeerpolders -the r eclaimed s eabed o f t he former Z uiderzee- o f which 1 50 have been systematically e xcavated and 1 00 r emoved before t he development o f t he p olders. Another 1 00 have b een located and a re waiting t o be i nvestigated o r p rotected a gainst r otting. About 2 0 shipwrecks have b een p rotected i n s itu by r aising t he g roundwater-table a rtificially and c reating a n ( almost) a naerobic environment where a erobic micro-organisms will l ess a ffect t he wood. The o ldest s hipfinds i n t he I jsselmeerpolders date f rom t he 1 3th century. Ships f rom l ater t imes i nclude c argo vessels, f ishing boats, working boats and m erchantmen. Recently a n umber o f medieval cargo vessels cogs- have b een excavated, dating f rom t he 1 3th a nd 1 4th c entury. Compared t o t he B remen cog t he w recks f rom t he I jsselmeerpolders a re smaller, b ut considering t he c onstructional e lements, we a ssume t hat t he v essel b elong t o one and t he s ame s hipbuilding t radition.

Bibliography

Jong,

J . de, W . Eenkhoorn, and A .J.M. Wevers, 1 982. " The conservation o f s hipwrecks a t t he m useum o f maritime a rchaeology a t Ketelhaven," F levobericht 1 99 ( 1982), M inisterie van Verkeer e n Waterstaat, Lelystad.

Reinders, H . R . ( et a l), " Verslag van het onderzoek v an een v issersschip op k aval W 1 0 i n Oostelijk Flevoland," F levobericht 1 40, Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, Lelystad. Reinders,

H .

R .,

1 981.

" Mud-works,

Amsterdam i n t he 1 7th International Journal ( 1981), 2 29-238.

d redging

c entury," o f Nautical

n

t he port of

Archaeology

1 0(3),

Reinders, H . R ., 1 982. " Shipwrecks o f t he Z uiderzee," Flevobericht 1 97 ( 1982), Ministerie van Verkeer e n Waterstaat, Lelystad. Reinders, H . R ., In Press. " Drie middeleeuwse r ivierschepen, gevonden b ij Meinerswijk ( Arnhem)," Flevobericht ( In Press), Ministerie van Verkeer e n Waterstaat, Lelystad. Smits, H ., " Land Reclamation t he Netherlands."

i n

1 06

t he

former

Z uyderzee

i n

) NOORD-HOLLAND

WADDENZEE FRIESLAND

IJSSELMEER

Figure 1: The separation of the zuider Zee from the North Sea led to the reclamation of five polders.

107

WADDENZEE

IJSSELMEER

. ·:··..,·.,.i:: . \J. ...::·: . .. ........... ·r- :·'

Figure 2: Sites of the main ship finds in the Ijsselmeerpolders.

-108

. . y ru ndwa te r tab le w i th in t u be • d i t ch

( 1 , 1 0,„ 4 7 777

g r nandwa te r ta tA o ui s i d e

d ay

Figure

3 :

Method o f

p rotecting w recks

1 09

i n s itu.

u b

F igure 4 : Merchantman o f t he 1 7th d isplay i n t he Ketelhaven Museum.

1 10

century,

on

Figure 5: Excavation of a Medieval cog in Flevoland. Summer 1983.

111

2m

Figure 6: Cross-section of a small cog; plank keel, flush-laid bottom planking, overlapping side planking, cross-beam with knees, and maststep in short keelson.

112

The Caesarea Harbour Excavation Report

John Peter

Oleson

Department o f Classics University of Victoria Box 1 700, Victoria, B .C. V8W 2 Y2

Sebastos,

t he

Harbour

of Caesarea Maritima

The s ite of Caesarea Maritima ( 32 ° 3 .5' N , 3 4 °5 3.5' E ) i s located ca. 4 5 k m s oyth o f Haifa on t he Mediterranean coast of Israel. ( I) The s andy wasteland covering a l arge portion o f t he c ity i s managed by t he National Parks Service o f I srael, while t he r emaining a rea i s occupied by t he f arms, residences and i ndustries o f K ibbutz S dot Yam. The Phoenicians controlled t his coast i n t he Hellenistic period, and i n t he fourth century B .C. t he S idonian k ing ' Abd-astart ( Hellenized as Straton), built a small fortified port called Stratonos Pyrgos, Straton' s Tower. Portions ol— t he Hellenistic harbour structures h ave b een i dentified 2 00 m north of t he Roman h arbour and within t he modern harbour basin. This Phoenician harbour, mentioned a lready i n t he t hird c entury B .C. Z enon papyri, was conquered a nd destroyed by t he Hasmonean k ing Alexander Jannaeus l ate i n t he s econd c entury B .C. Pompey t he Great r emoved t his portion o f t he coast f rom Jewish r ule i n 6 3 B .C., but early i n t he r eign of Herod t he Great ( ruled ca. 4 0-4 B .C.) Augustus

113

g ranted h is c lient k ing t he coast Dor, 1 5 k m t o t he n orth.

a lmost

a s

f ar a s

B etween 2 2 a nd 1 0/9 B .C., Herod constructed t he i mmense harbour called S abastos ( the G reek equivalent o f t he t itle Augustus) t o s erve h is n ew c ity o f Caesarea. The o fficial n ame was K uloapia n n po( TW GE(3 0 ,0 T W X lpevi ( "Caesarea by t he harbour S ebastos"); t he t erm " Portus Augustin appears o n t hird-century coins. This n ew p ort, t he e arliest k nown t o have made u se o f Roman concrete t echnology on a l arge s cale, was i ntended t o s erve a s a conduit f or e conomic and cultural e xchange w ith t he r est o f t he Roman e mpire. The h arbour f acilities, described i n s ome detail by t he f irst c entury A .D. h istorian Josephus ( Jewish War 1 :408-414; Jewish Antiquities X V:331-341) were magnificent i n s cale a nd e laboration. The o uter b asin a lone, d efined b y t wo a rtificial b reakwaters b uilt o f concrete b locks o n a r ubble f oundation ( Figure 1 ), e ncompassed a n a rea o f c a. 2 0 h ectares. There was a n i nner b asin a s w ell, now s ilted i n, a nd Josephus d escribes w ide q uays, v aulted d isembarking o r s torage a reas, a nd t owers, some o f t hem s upporting c olossal s tatues. Having calculated t he r elative s ize o f t he harbour ( limen ) a s w e h ave s tated, h e l et down s tone b locks ( lithous) i nto t he s ea t o a d epth o f 2 0 f athoms ( ca. 3 7 m ). Most o f t hem were 5 0 f eet long, 9 h igh, a nd 1 0 wide ( 15.25 m x 2 .7 m x 3 .05 m ), s ome e ven l arger. When t he s ubmarine foundation ( to h yphalon) was f inished, he t hen l aid out t he mole ( teichos) a bove s ea l evel, 2 00 f eet a cross ( 61.0 m ). Of t his, a 1 00 f oot portion was b uilt o ut t o b reak t he f orce o f t he waves, a nd consequently was c alled t he b reakwater ( prokumia). The r est s upported t he s tone wall ( teichos) t hat e ncircled t he harbour. At i ntervals a long i t were g reat t owers ( pyrgoi), t he t allest a nd most magnificent o f which was n amed D rusion, a fter t he s tepson o f Caesar. There w ere n umerous v aulted c hambers ( psalides) f or t he r eception ( katagoge) o f t hose e ntering t he h arbour, and t he w hole c urving s tructure i n f ront o f t hem was a w ide p romenade f or t hose who d isembarked. The e ntrance c hannel f aced n orth, f or

1 14

i n t his r egion t he north w ind a lways b rings t he c learest s kies. At t he harbour e ntrance were colossal s tatues, t hree o n e ither s ide, s et up on columns. A massively-built t ower ( pyrgos) s upported t he columns o n t he port s ide o f b oats e ntering h arbor, t hose on t he s tarboard s ide, t wo u pright b locks o f s tone yoked t ogether, h igher t han t he t ower on t he other s ide. ( Jewish War 1 :411-413) To correct t his d rawback i n t he t opography, h e l aid out a c ircular h arbour ( limen ) o n a s cale s ufficient t o a llow IT iT ge " f leets t o l ie a t a nchor c lose t o s hore, a nd l et down e normous b locks o r s tone ( lithous) t o a d epth o f 2 0 f athoms ( ca. 3 7 m ). Most were 5 0 f eet l ong, not l ess t han 1 8 feet w ide and 9 f eet h igh ( 15.25 i n x 5 .49 m x 2 .7 m ). The s tructure which h e t hrew up a s a b arrier a gainst t he s ea was 2 00 f eet ( wide). Half o f t his opposed t he b reaking waves, warding o ff t he s urge b reaking t here on a ll s ides. Consequently i t was called a b reakwater ( prokumia). The r est comprised a s tone wall ( teichos) s et a t i ntervals with t owers ( pyrgoi), t he f .A ll A t o f which, q Uite-ä beautiful thing, was c alled D rusus, t aking i ts n ame f rom D rusus, t he s tepson o f Caesar who d ied young. A s eries o f v aulted c hambers ( psalides) was b uilt i nto i t for t he r eception ( katagogai) o f s ailors, a nd i n f ront o f t hem a w ide, c urving q uay ( apobasis) e ncircled t he w hole harbour, v ery p leasant f or t hose who w ished t o s troll a round. The e ntrance ( eisplous) o r mouth ( stoma) was b uilt t owards t he n orth, f or t his w ind b rings t he c learest s kies. The foundation ( basis) o f t he whole e ncircling wall o n t he port s ide o f t hose s ailing i nto t he h arbour was a t ower ( pyrgos) b uilt up on a b road b ase t o w ithstand t he w ater f irmly, while on t he s tarboard s ide were t wo g reat s tone b locks ( lithous ), t aller t han t he t ower on t he opposite s ide, upright and y oked

1 15

t ogether. ( Jewish Antiquities X V:334-338) Most o f t he o uter b asin o f Sebastos b ecame u nusable when t he b reakwaters s lipped 5 -8 m b elow s ea l evel a s a r esult e ither o f s eismic a ction on a n orth-south f ault l ine t hat parallels t he coast j ust o ffshore, o r o f g radual compaction o f s ub-bottom s ediments. Determination o f t he date o f t his c atastrophy, which h as b een p laced anywhere b etween t he f irst a nd t he t welfth c enturies, has b een a h igh p riority o f t he p resent excavations. The n ature o f t he p rocess i s a lso under i nvestigation. Caesarea s erved a s t he p rosperous a nd c rowded capital o f Roman a nd Byzantine Palestine u ntil i ts conquest by t he Moslem a rmies i n 6 39. The C rusaders o ccupied t he c ity a nd i ts s hrunken port f rom 1 101 u ntil 1 291, when t he Sultan a l-Ashraf Khalil l evelled t he s ite t o p revent Christian r esettlement.

Modern Research The i mportant r ole p layed by Caesarea i n Christian a nd Palestinian h istory a ttracted t he a ttention o f t he e arly t ravellers, p ilgrims, a nd s cholars v isiting t he r egion. I n 1 738 D . R . Pococke v isited t he s ite and m ade some u nsuccessful a ttempts t o locate t he harbour on s ome p lans h e d rew o f t he c ity. Other s uperficial harbour surveys were u ndertaken by Mansel, w ho made t he f irst n avigational m ap o f t he n earby coastal waters i n 1 865, and by t he s urveyors o f t he Palestine Exploration Fund i n 1 873. LehmannHartleben s eems t o h ave correctly i ndentified t he b reakwaters f rom a erial p hotographs, i ncorrectly t aken d uring World War I , but R eifenberg, who a lso h ad t he u se o f a erial p hotographs, i ncorrectly p laced t he h arbour i n t he s outh b ay i n 1 951. Haefeli a lso s elected t he s outh b ay, i n 1 923. Only i n 1 960, w hen E . L ink a nd a g roup o f d ivers v isited t he s ite i n a r esearch vessel, were t he main f 2etures o f Sebastos i dentified and p artly s urveyed. ( z) I n 1 975, Dr. Avner R aban o f t he Center f or Maritime S tudies b egan a n u nderwater a rchaeological s urvey o f t his v ast s ite, s earching, among other t hings, f or e vidence o f o ffshore f ault l ines. I n 1 978 P rofessor R . L . Hohlfelder a nd D r. J . P . Oleson a greed t o cooperate w ith D r. Raban i n t he excavation o f Sebastos, a nd t he Caesarea Ancient Harbour Excavation P roject ( C.A.H.E.P.) was formed t he following year. D r. R . L . Vann j oined t he p roject i n 1 982. E xcavation h as b een c arried o ut e very year s ince 1 980, a nd a n umber o f a nnual r eports a nd s pecial s tudies h ave appeared. ( 3) Dr. R aban s erves a s overall p roject director i n collaboration w ith t he t hree North American co-directors. The sponsoring i nstitutions a re t he C enter for Maritime Studies o f t he University o f Haifa, t he

1 16

University o f Colorado a t Boulder, t he University o f Maryland, a nd t he University o f Victoria. Volunteers f rom I srael, t he United Stated, Canada, Australia, I taly, P eru, and Sweden h ave s erved a s d ivers. Funding h as b een r eceived f rom t he f our u niversities i nvolved, t he C aesarea Foundation, t he Caesarea Development Corporation, t he National Endowment for t he Humanities, t he National Geographic Society, t he Social S ciences a nd Humanities Research Council o f Canada, a nd n umerous p rivate donors. One f urther f ield s eason i n 1 985 w ill a llow t he p reparation o f a f inal r eport volume.

The Study o f

Roman Harbours

The u ltimate goal o f C .A.H.E.P. i s documentation o f t he d esign, t echnology, a nd h istory o f Herod's h arbour, i ts r elation t o t he s maller ports t hat p receded a nd f ollowed i t, and i ts i nvolvement i n t he e conomy a nd h istory of t he c ity o f Caesarea. A g reat deal i s k nown o f t he l ife o f G reco-Roman ports and h arbour c ities f rom a ncient l iterary s ources. Until r ecently, however, t here h as b een r elatively l ittle a rchaeological excavation o f s uch s ites, even i n comparison w ith t he excavation o f a ncient s hipwrecks. Harbour s ites, a lthough apparently e asier o f a ccess t han s hipwrecks, p resent n umerous s pecial p roblems f or t he a rchaeologist. Not i nfrequently t he Greek o r Roman h arbour s tructures h ave b een b uried o r t otally destroyed b y l ater a ctivity, u sually f ostered by t heir naturally p ropitious t opography o r by t heir l ocation on obvious t rade r outes. Stone b locks i n good c ondition c an b e loaded d irectly on r afts o r b oats f or t ransport t o n ew b uilding s ites. Furthermore, e ven a bandoned h arbours s uffer b adly f rom t heir position a t t he i nterface o f l and and s ea, where t heir s tructures a re s ubject t o t he h azards a nd s trains o f both e nvironments. M any a ncient harbours have b een a lmost t otally d estroyed b y t he s ea, while o thers have b een s o d eeply b uried b eneath s ilt o r s and t hat t hey a re lost o r i naccessible. F inally, t he s cale o f most Roman h arbours makes complete e xcavation v irtually i mpossible. Sebastos, t he harbour o f Caesarea, r epresents a u nique opportunity f or t he underwater a rchaeologist, i n p art b ecause o f i ts own character, a nd i n part b ecause i t i s an exception t o many o f t he p roblems o f h arbour e xcavation n oted a bove. Most s ignificant i s t he e arly s lumping o f t he s ea f loor, which put t he l arger portion o f t he outer b asin a nd i ts b reakwaters f ar e nough b elow s ea l evel t o b e s afe f rom both l arge-scale human i nterference and major d ispersal by t he s ea. S ubsequent h arbour a ctivity h as b een m inimal, a nd even t he deposit o f s and by t he l ong-shore current has n either obscured t he outlines o f t he b reakwaters nor made t he d etails o f

1 17

t he harbour d esign i naccessible. Only t he i nner b asin i s now buried, b ut i t l ies on d ry l and, where soundings can b e carried out w ith r elative e ase. It i s particularly f ortunate t hat Sebastos h as b een s pared. Herod was a n ambitious p atron who h ired s ophisticated e ngineers a nd p rovided f unding for i mportation o f t he b est building materials a vailable, most n otable v ast amounts o f m arble f or a rchitectural v eneer a nd o f v olcanic s and a nd t uff f or t he p roduction o f hydraulic concrete. Some h arbour i nstallations i n Republican Italy b uilt o f concrete a re much earlier t han Sebastos, b ut e ven t he Roman emperors d id n ot a ttempt a nything comparable i n s cale a nd e laboration until C laudius constructed Portus, t he port o f Rome, 6 0 y ears l ater. The Palestinian harbour was b uilt at a c ritical moment i n t he d evelopment o f Roman construction t echnology. Fortuitously, t he p roject a lso possesses t he t wo long descriptions o f t he h arbour by Josephus n oted a bove, w ritten i n t he l ast q uarter o f t he f irst century A .D. These passages r epresent t he b est contemporary, e ye-witness d escription o f a n a ncient harbour on t he Levantine coast o f t he Mediterranean, and t he most d etailed a mong t he f ew t hat s urvive f rom t he G reco-Roman world. This combination o f l iterary a nd a rchaeological e vidence concerning Caesarea w ill p rovide a s complete a p icture o f a major Roman h arbour a s we c an e ver e xpect t o have, a nd t he h arbour can s erve a s a paradigm o f R oman i mperial culture and m aritime t echnology.

Equipment a nd P rocedures Most excavation a nd s urvey work at S ebastos was c arried o ut f rom a p refabricated b arge. The b arge w as a ssembled on s hore a nd i n s hallow water a t t he b eginning o f each s eason, t hen t owed t o a position a s c lose a s possible t o t he major a reas o f excavation a nd a nchored. A l arge d iesel compressor on t he s hore f ed compressed a ir t o t he b arge t hrough a main a ir l ine a nchored t o t he h arbour f loor, a nd a b ank o f valves on t he barge t hen s upplied a ir t o t he a ir l ifts b y m eans o f b ranch l ines. The s ystem was a lso d esigned t o a ccommodate t he u se o f hookah a pparatus ( a d emand b reathing s ystem f ed f rom t he s urface r ather t han f rom a portable t ank), and f illed a l arge r eserve t ank on t he b arge t o s mooth out any i rregularities i n a ir s upply o r d emand. Several r ubber Z odiac b oats p rovided t ransportation b etween t he s hore a nd t he e xcavation a reas, which s ometimes were 5 00 m d istant, a nd communications w ere m aintained by means o f t wo-way r adios. Survey a nd d rawing outside t he main e xcavation a reas were c arried out b y d ivers u sing s tandard S CUBA gear a nd 8 0 f t3 a luminum t anks.

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The a ir l ifts a nd water-jet p robes u sed were o f a d esign s tandard a t most u nderwater e xcavations. The a ir-jet p robes, h owever, d eserve description. S ince t he p robing had t o b e carried out i n s everal w idely s eparated a reas o f t he s outh b ay, t he decision was made t o u se a portable a ir-jet p robe r ather t han a water o r a ir-jet f ed b y a s tationary compressor. These p robers, composed o f 2 .0 m l engths o f 0 .02 m d iameter i ron p ipe a ttached e nd-to-end b y s crew j oints, were f ed a ir f rom s tandard S CUBA t anks t hrough a yoke and f lexible p lastic t ube. The r ecorder carried t he t ank, working t he on/off valve a t s ignals f rom t he i ndividual h andling t he p robe. Operating a long marked l ines l aid out a long t he s ea b ottom, t he pair would p robe t he p ipe t hrough t he s and u ntil a s tratum o f b locks o r r ubble was e ncountered. The t eam t hen r ecorded l ine coordinates, depth o f water, and d epth o f s and a bove t he b uried f eatures. In t he 5 -8.0 m d epths i nvolved, t his p rocedure a llowed a t eam t o c omplete 1 5-20 p robes o f j r. 0-2.5 m i n t he course o f one d ive, expending t wo 8 0 f t' t anks o f a ir f or t he p robe i n t he p rocess. I n a variation developed i n 1 983, t i qe s ystem was a dapted t o work o ff a s et o f t wo 8 0 f t t anks worn on t he p rober' s b ack, a nd p roviding h is a ir s upply a s well. This a rrangement l eft t he a ssistant f ree t o r ecord depths. The s implicity and mobility o f t his s ystem makes i t a dmirably s uited t o t he s urvey o f a l arge h arbour w ith a s andy f loor.

The P rogram o f Survey

a nd Excavation

The excavation strategy o f C .A.H.E.P. has b een g uided p rincipally b y t he vast s cale o f t he s ite, b y t he c haracter o f t he s ubmerged a rchitectural f eatures, a nd b y t he nature o f t he s ea b ottom. The major goals h ave b een: 1 .

2 .

3 .

4 .

t he p reparation o f l arge-scale b athymetric a nd f eature maps o f t he harbour s tructures p resently submerged, t he p reparation o f l arge-scale maps o f t he s horeline a djacent t o t he harbour a nd extending s everal h undred metres north a nd s outh, t he p reparation o f d etailed local s ite p lans and s ections o f v isible o r excavated a rchitectural f eatures a t o r b elow s ea l evel i n t he h arbour a rea, a nd t he e xcavation o f s elected a reas i n t he h arbour and a long t he s hore t o e lucidate chronology o r s tructural design.

1 19

The e mphasis on s imple g raphic r ecording o f a rchitectural f eatures has n ecessitated t he d evelopment o f a l arge t eam o f d iving a rchitects a nd d raftsmen, u nder t he d irection o f D r. R . L . Vann. Virtually a ll d atable c eramic material r ecovered i n t he h arbour h as b een c atalogued, a long w ith a ll o ther c ultural a rtifacts a nd, i n a ddition, b ones, worked wood, a nd m iscellaneous o rganic materials. All s ignificant cultural r emains w ill b e p ublished i n t he f inal r eport on C .A.H.E.P., b ut t he c hronology a nd o rigins o f t he b ulk o f t he pottery, which comes f rom d isturbed contexts, w ill only b e s ummarized . Full p ublication w ill b e r eserved f or t he f ew s ealed pottery deposits t hat have a ppeared d uring e xcavation.

Excavation Results, A .

1 980-83

South Bay

It h as b een s uggested i n s ome p revious s tudies t hat t he b ay s outh o f t he outer b asin o f H erod's h arbour s erved a s a s econdary dock a rea f or s hipping. Certainly i t was u sed a t l east a s a n a nchorage a s l ate a s t he e ighteenth c entury. I n a ntiquity, b locks o f vaulted warehouses extended t he l ength o f t he s horeline h ere, and up a s f ar a s t he b asin o f t he i nner h arbour. At p resent t he bay i s demarcated on t he s outh only by t he s tubby k urkar ( the local n ame for t he c arbonate-cemented, q uartz eolianite b eds) p romontory i nto which a Roman f ish t ank ( piscina) h as b een c ut, a nd on t he n orth b y t he c urving s outhern b reakwater a rm o f S ebastos. Patterns o f r ock spill c learly v isible on t he s ea b ottom, h owever, h ave l ed s ome observers t o s uggest t hat t his b ay t oo once e njoyed t he p rotection o f a rtificial b reakwaters. A l ong, n arrow f eture p rojecting 7 5 m i n a s outhwest d irection f rom t he b ase o f t he s outhern b reakwater o f S ebastos, and a w ide, b lunt p attern on t he s and p rojecting westward f rom t he s hore i n t he c entre o f t he b ay have r eceived particular attention. I f t hese t wo f eatures were a rtificial, t hey p resumably would h ave been d esigned e ither t o p rovide s ome p rotection f rom t he waves o r t o s erve a s s imple unloading q uays for u se i n c alm weather. They a re n ot, however, p roperly o riented t o p rovide s ignificant p rotection f rom s torm waves. Portable a ir-jet p robes were u sed t o r ecord t he d epth o f s and a round e ach o f t hese f eatures. In e very case, t he s urvey r ecorded t he continuation b elow t he s and of t he s ame gentle s eaward s lope c haracteristic o f t he v isible portions o f t he p romontories. G iven t heir awkward o rientation , t he a bsence o f a ny s harp d rop-offs a long t heir p eriphery, and i n v iew o f t he s mall s ize • of t he r ubble composing t he v isible s ections a nd t he a bsence o f worked b locks, i t i s unlikely t hat a ny o f t he

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s ubmerged f eatures i n t he s outh b ay s erved a s major h arbour f eatures. The s horeline a long t he c entral p art o f t he b ay m ay o nce h ave e xtended 1 0-15 m f arther w est, b ut i n general t he s ubmarine p rofile p robably w as m uch t he s ame a s t oday, t he r ubble a nd b edrock p romontories l ying u nder 3 -5.0 m etres o f w ater. I n s uch c ircumstances t he s outh b ay c annot h ave s erved a s a nything more t han a f air-weather a nchorage i n a ntiquity. I n f act, o ne s tone a nchor o f t he Late B ronze Age w as r ecovered f rom t he e dge o f t he n orthern f eature, s uggesting s uch u se l ong b efore Caesarea e xisted. Numerous modern i ron a nchors c an b e s een i n t he s ame a rea o f t he b ay. B .

Southern B reakwater

The s outhern b reakwater o f S ebastos i s a massive, c omplex s tructure c entral t o t he f ormation a nd f unctioning o f t he Roman h arbour. At p resent i t i s v isible a gainst t he s andy s ea f loor a s a n i rregular p attern o f c oncrete a nd k urkar b locks a nd r ubble s pill c urving outward f rom t he s hore w est a nd n orth t o t he h arbour c hannel ( Figure 1 ). F rom t he w estern e nd o f t he k urkar p romontory t hat a nchored t he b reakwater t o t he s hore and s till p rotects t he s mall modern h arbour, t he s tructure r eaches a round f or n early 5 00 m . T he p resent s pill o f r ubble v aries f rom 8 0 t o 2 20 m i n w idth, b ut t he o riginal d imensions o f t he b reakwater s eems t o h ave b een c a. 7 0 m ; Josephus m entions a w idth o f " 200 f eet" ( ca. 6 0 m ? ; Jewish Antiquities X V:335; Jewish War 1 :412). T he v ariations i n t he p resent w idth iTET III EaTh f rom t he c ollapse o f s tructures o riginally b uilt o n t op o f o r i nward f rom t he main b reakwater mass a nd f rom t he s pread o f r ubble g enerated b y t he d ecay o f t he b reakwater, m ost n oticeable c lose t o i ts n orthern t erminus. S urvey a nd e xcavation s ince 1 980 h ave i dentified s everal s ubdivisions o f t he o verall s tructure a nd h ave p rovided i nformation o n m aterials a nd c onstruction p rocedures. The e xternal f ace o f t he b reakwater w as b uilt o f s taggered r ows o f i mmense c oncrete b locks, m any w ith a v olume o f 3 0 m , s ome a s l arge a s 1 00 o r 1 25 m , l aid o n a c ushion o f s mall r ubble ( ca. 0 .50 m i n d iameter) a nd p ebbles. This f oundation, w hich s till a ppears i n modern r ubble b reakwaters l aid o n s andy b ottoms, i s d esigned t o p revent u ndercutting 9g t he b reakwater mass t hrough m ovement o f t he s and. " ) The t echnique f or p roducing t he c oncrete b locks, m any o f which s till p reserve t races o f t heir f ormwork, w ill b e t reated b elow. The i nner f ace o f t he b reakwater i s o ccupied b y v arious q uay w alls a nd p latforms b uilt o f k urkar b locks. 1 )

" Subsidiary B reakwater"

A w ell-defined w all b uilt o f k urkar b locks a nd r ubble, a nd i ncorporating a f ew l arge m asses o f c oncrete,

1 21

s prings f rom t he s outhern f ace o f t he main mass o f t he b reakwater c lose t o i ts e ast e nd ( Figure 1 , A rea E ). It extends f or a pproximately 1 30 m i n a s traight l ine t o t he n orthwest u ntil p etering out i n a s mall h eap o f r ubble s urrounded b y s and. The l evel u pper s urface o f t his f eature, a t a d epth o f c a. 6 .0 m , v aries f rom 4 .0 t o 8 .0 m i n w idth a nd s tands 1 t o 2 metres a bove t he p resent l evel o f t he s and. The t op 1 .0 m o f t he n orth a nd s outh f aces, c omposed o f i rregular masses o f k urkar c a. 1 .0-1.5 m i n d iameter, i s r egular a nd n early v ertical, but t he lower p ortions, consisting o f s maller p ieces o f k urkar r ubble, s pread o utward markedly t o a t otal w idth o f 1 0 t o 1 4 m , d epending o n t he a rea. Water-jet a nd a ir-jet p robes t o a d epth o f 2 .0 m b elow t he s and y ielded n o e vidence f or a ny s tructural c onnection b etween t his wall a nd t he main m ass o f t he b reakwater 2 0-40 m a way. I t i s v ery u nlikely t hat t his w all i s a n a ccidental f eature c reated b y t he d estruction t hrough wave a ction o f a portion o f t he main s outhern b reakwater. The m issing p ortion i s t oo l arge, t he d epth o f s terile s and t oo g reat, a nd t he r esulting p attern t oo r egular t o b e t he r esult o f s uch a p rocess. F urthermore, s ections a cross t he main b reakwater i n t his a rea s how t he s ame p atterns o f materials a nd c onstruction t hat a re f ound f arther a long i ts l ength: i t i s a g reat h eap o f t umbled k urkar r ubble f aced o n t he i nside b y k urkar b locks a nd o n t he o utside b y c oncrete b locks. The p urpose o f t his wall i s n ot y et e ntirely c lear, b ut i t m ay possibly h ave s erved a s a s ubsidiary b reakwater c ausing w aves t o b reak s ome d istance a way f rom t he main b reakwater. The wall would n ot h ave h ad t o b e a t s ea l evel t o c ause s wells t o c rest a nd b reak, d issipating s ome o f t heir e nergy, s o i ts r elatively f limsy c haracter i s n o i mpediment t o s uch a f unction. By t heir v ery d esign, r ubble-mound b reakwaters o f t he t ype u sed e lsewhere i n t he Mediterranean i n a ntiquity b ring a bout t his s ame " premature" b reaking o f w aves, a nd t he p rinciple i s s till a pplied i n h arbour d esign t oday. The R oman a rchitects o f S ebastos, a fter d eciding t o u se a v ariation o n t he more c ompact, u pright-wall t ype o f b reakwater f or t he main s tructure, may h ave b ecome concerned a bout t he s tability o f t his s outhwest p ortion, which would b ear t he f orce o f t he worst s torms. A k nowledge o f t he s poiling e ffect o f t he b road s houlder o f t he r ubble-mound d esign may h ave s pawned t he i dea f or t he s ubsidiary wall d escribed a bove. 2 )

I nner P latforms o r Landing Stages

It i s p ossible t hat s everal w ide, p rojecting p latforms o r l anding s tages w ere c onstructed o f k urkar b locks a long t he i nner f ace o f t he s outhern b reakwater

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t o

i ncrease docking c apacity. F rom t he v ery s tart o f t he C .A.H.E.P. p roject, n otice was t aken o f w hat s eemed f rom a erial p hotographs t o b e t he r emains o f a n i mmense r ectangular p ier c a. 4 0 m o n a s ide, p rojecting i nto t he h arbour b asin h alfway a long t he l ength o f t he s outhern b reakwater. I n 1 983 e xcavation w as c arried o ut a long t he s outhern e dge o f t his f eature t o d etermine i ts n ature ( Figure 1 , t he w estern-most A rea N ). A t rench 2 .5 m w ide was d ug t hrough t he r ubble a lmost d ue s outh f or a d istance o f 1 5 m i n s earch o f a c oherent s tructure. W hat i n f act was r evealed w as a m ixed l ayer o f k urkar r ubble v arying i n d iameter f rom . 30-1.0 m , r esting d irectly o n t he w hite s and o f t he s ea b ottom. This l ayer g radually i ncreased i n t hickness f rom n orth t o s outh f rom c a. 1 .0 t o 1 .5 m , u ntil i t r eached t he more s teeply s loping mass o f l arger r ubble f orming t he i nner f ace o f t he b reakwater mass. I n v iew o f t he a bsence o f a ny p roper f oundation o r s haped b locks, i t s eems l ikely t hat t his r ectangular f eature a ctually i s a n a ccidental p attern o f r ubble s pill pushed o ff t he main b ody o f t he b reakwater b y t he w aves. Structures b uilt e lsewhere a long t he i nner s ide o f t he b reakwater w ere f aced w ith l arge k urkar b locks. 3 ) Quay Wall A s tructure c onsisting o f a s ingle c ourse o f r egular a shlar b locks o f k urkar ( 1.8 x 0 .7 x 0 .6 m ) l aid a s h eaders extends f or 1 50 m a long t he i nner f ace o f t he n orth/south s ection o f t he s outhern b reakwater, b ending occasionally t o f ollow i ts c urve ( Figure 1 , A rea A -B). T he i nner f ace o f t his course o f b locks, l aid o n t he t ypical g ravel f oundation, s tands c a. 1 2 m i nside t he h uge mound o f k urkar r ubble a nd c oncrete b locks f orming t he mass o f t he b reakwater. At s everal p oints t here a re t hree parallel r ows o f h eaders, w ith a t otal w idth o f 5 .0 m . This w all p robably h ad s everal u pper c ourses h olding r ubble packing t hat f ormed t he b ulk o f a q uay, a nd c arried p aving f orming t he w ide p romenade d escribed b y Josephus i n t he p assages q uoted a bove. H e c alls i t a h undred f oot w ide " stone w all t hat e ncircled t he h arbour" ( Jewish War 1 :412), a nd a n a pobasis ( "disembarking p lace,' 9 7 : lay," Jewish Antiquities X V:337). O nce t he u pper courses o f t he w all w ere d estroyed o r s alvaged f or r e-use i n l ate a ntiquity o r t he Medieval p eriod, t he r ubble packing a nd t he p aving would r apidly h ave b een d ispersed b y t he w aves. I t may n ot b e a n a ccident t hat t here i s a w ide, t hin l ayer o f r ubble s pread o ver t he s ea b ottom a long t his e ntire s ection o f t he b reakwater. 4 )

B reakwater S urvey a nd Section D rawings

In 1 980, a f ew marked s urvey l ines were l aid o ut f rom A rea A ( toward t he s outh e nd o f t he q uay wall d escribed a bove) a cross t he mass o f t he s outhern b reakwater, a llowing t he p reparation o f r econstruction

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s ketches o f t he b reakwater c ross-section. In 1 983 e ight s uch s urvey l ines w ere completed a s p art o f a p roject t o p repare a comprehensive s et o f d etailed s ectional e levation d rawings f or b oth b reakwaters. I n s uch a v ast h arbour s ite, o nly s cale d rawings o f t his n ature c an g ive a p roper i dea o f t he a rrangement o f t he b reakwater s tructure a nd o f t he materials o f w hich i t i s c omposed. Only a s ummary o f t he r esults c an b e p resented i n t his r eport. The l ines w ere p lastic-covered, s teel a irplane c ables w ith coloured t ape e very m etre. B ase points w ere c hosen a nd t he b earings o f t he v arious l ines c alculated s o t hat t heir c ourses would extend o ver s elected a rchitectural f eatures a nd r un more o r l ess p erpendicular t o t he a xis o f t he b reakwater. The z ero p oint o f e ach l ine w as a ttached t o a s take pounded i nto t he s and 1 0.0 m i nside t he i nner f ace o f t he s outhern b reakwater, t hen t he l ine w as l aid o ut a long t he s elected b earing f rom a p ortable r eel c arried by t wo d ivers, a nd a nchored ca. 1 0.0 m b eyond t he v isible o uter e dge o f t he b reakwater. T he l ines v aried i n l ength f rom 9 0 m . I t was n ecessary t o a nchor t he l ines o nly a t e ither e nd, s ince t he c able i s h eavier t han w ater a nd l ies o n t he b ottom. Teams o f t hree d ivers g athered d ata for s ectional e levation d rawings b y working a long t he l ine w ith t wo 2 -metre poles marked i n c entimeters, c onnected b y a 1 0 m l ine m arked i n m etres. Two d ivers s et • t he poles o n t he s urvey l ine 1 0 m a part a nd d rew t he 1 0-metre l ine t ight, a llowing t he t hird d iver t o l evel i t w ith a b ubble-level b y s liding t he e xtremities u p o r down t he m arked poles. This l ast d iver t hen n oted t he e levation o f t he t emporary b ase-line a t e ither e nd, t he location on t he s urvey l ine, a nd r ecorded e levations a long t he b reakwater mass b eneath i t a t 1 .0 m i ntervals. For e ach 1 0 m u nit t he d iver r ecorded 1 0 e levations, p repared a s ectional e levation s ketch, a nd n oted materials. The a ir-jet p robe w as u sed t o p rovide d ata on t hose p ortions o f t he b reakwater c overed b y s and. A more d etailed c heck o f m aterials l ater w as c arried o ut b y s eparate t eams o f d ivers u sing h ammers t o r emove s urface concretions a nd t ake s amples, a nd a ll t he d ata w ere e ntered on a p reliminary d rawing. This d rawing t hen w as c hecked a gainst t he s urvey l ine i tself b y t he a rchitects w ho l ater p repared t he f inal s ectional e levation d rawings. P reliminary a nalysis o f o ur 1 983 s urvey l ines r eveal t hat t he s outhern b reakwater was b uilt o f l arge p ieces o f k urkar r ubble o r r oughly-shaped b locks p laced o n a c ushion o r a pron o f s maller k urkar r ubble a nd s and. T his core o f r ubble w as r evetted a nd p rotected b y i mmense b locks o f k urkar a nd c oncrete a long i ts c rest a nd o uter f ace, a nd b y s maller b locks o f k urkar a long t he i nner f ace. The s ubsidiary b reakwater w as b uilt s imultaneously

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t o p rotect t he s outh f lank, and s ome s ort o f r ecess w as c onstructed i n t he west f ace. A l ong q uay wall was b uilt i nside t he main b reakwater mass. There i s e vidence f or t he ancient s ea f loor a round t he s outhern b reakwater a t a l evel o f c a. 8 .0 i n : i t c an b e d iscerned i n t he s terile s and b eneath t he r ubble b edding i n Area E , a l ayer o f v iscous c lay i n Area N , a nd i n t he e rosion n otch o n a t ower i n A rea K ( discussed b elow ). I n t he h arbour c hannel t he c lay l evel o ccurs a t a d epth o f c a. 1 0.5 m . I f an o riginal h arbour d epth o f 2 .5 m i s r estored, i t a ppears t hat t he w hole a rea h as s lumped 5 .5 i n . But l owering p resent s ea l evel 5 .5 m would s till l eave most o f t hat portion o f t he s outhern b reakwater s urveyed i n 1 983 a t o r s lightly b elow s ea l evel. Some o f t he b etter p reserved s ections would s tand c a. 1 .5 m a bove. Obviously a g reat deal o f t he b reakwater s uperstructure h as b een destroyed. The t ip o f t he s outhern b reakwater, a nd t he e ntire n orthern b reakwater, a re b etter p reserved, p erhaps b ecause t hey a re partly s hielded f rom most s torms. They w ill b e s urveyed i n 1 984 5 )

Concrete Towers o r Statue B ases

Approximately 5 0 m n orthwest o f t he h arbour e ntrance, t wo l arge, r oughly s quare concrete f oundations o r t owers p rotrude f rom t he s andy s ea b ottom c a. 6 .0 m a part and 8 .0 m n orth o f t he c urving outer f ace o f t he s outhern b reakwater ( Figure 1 , Area K ). The w estern o f t he pair, approximately 6 .0 m on a s ide, r ises 3 .0 m f rom t he p resent s ea b ed t o a s loping upper s urface marked by a g reat n otch. The e astern t ower has more r egular vertical s urfaces, c a. 4 .0 x 3 .0 i n i n p lan, a nd 4 .0 m h igh. The r ough u pper t ermination o f t his t ower i s only ca. 1 .20 i n b elow mean s ea l evel. The f abric o f t he t wo s tructures i s concrete, c omposed o f a p eppery g rey-green mortar containing i rregular l imestone a nd k urkar r ubble a ggregate. The p resence o f s quare, r oughly horizontal p assages t hrough t he t owers, l eft by decayed t ie b eams, s hows t hat t he concrete was poured i n wooden f ormwork. A irlift t renches r evealed t hat t here was n o s tructural connection b etween t he t wo t owers o r b etween t he t owers a nd t he b reakwater. There can b e l ittle doubt t hat t hese t wo r elated s tructures a re t he t owers t o t he r ight o f t he h arbour e ntrance mentioned b y Josephus i n connection w ith a t ower a t t he end o f t he n orth b reakwater: . .. a t t he h arbour e ntrance w ere colossal s tatues, t hree on e ither s ide, s et u p on columns .., t hose o n t he s tarboard s ide s upported by t wo upright b locks o f s tone yoked t ogether, h igher t han t he t ower on

1 25

t he

o ther

s ide." ( Jewish W ar

1 :413)

Josephus' s m istake i n confusing masses o f concrete w ith cut s tone monoliths i s u nderstandable, but i t i s more d ifficult t o comprehend w hat h e means b y s unezeugmenoi, " yoked t ogether." S ince t he t owers a re c a. 6 .0 m a part, i t i s u nlikely t hat t hey could h ave b een " yoked" t o e ach o ther b y a p latform s upporting t he t hree p illars a nd t heir s tatues. Perhaps Josephus i ntended only " paired," b ut i n t hat c ase, how would t hree s tatues b e d ivided b etween t hem? Further e xcavation may p rovide t he a nswer. I n v iew o f t heir p rominent position a nd t heir u se a s b ases f or t he d isplay o f s tatuary, a t l east t he u pper portions o f t hese t owers must h ave b een c lad i n t he g leaming marble mentioned b y Josephus e lsewhere a long t he s ea f ront ( Jewish War 1 :408, 4 14; Jewish Antiquities X V:331, 3 39). No o ther more p ractical f unction for t hese s tructures has y et b ecome a pparent. I t would have b een logical t o locate a l ighthouse a t t his point, o r a t t he t ip o f t he northern b reakwater, w here e ven t oday m assive b locks r ise c lose t o t he s urface, b ut Josephus does not m ention a ny s uch f acility i n t he h arbour. C .

Northern Breakwater

a nd Harbour Channel

The n orthern b reakwater, a l ong r ectangular s tructure s pringing f rom t he k urkar b edrock a t t he n orth e nd o f t he h arbour b asin, i s b etter p reserved and t hus more r egular i n outline t han t he s outhern b reakwater ( Figure 1 ). F rom t he b edrock on s hore t he s tructure, b uilt o f concrete a nd q uarried k urkar b locks, extends 2 40 m west t o f orm o ne s ide o f t he h arbour c hannel. I t i s about 6 0 m w ide. The f lat u pper s urface o f t he b reakwater, f ramed b y t he s teep, well-delineated n orth a nd s outh f aces, s lopes downward t o t he west, f rom s ea level a t i ts b ase t o ca. 3.0 m a t i ts t ermination. C learly t he b reakwater has b een s ubject t o t he s lumping a ffecting t he r est o f t he h arbour, b ut t o a l esser d egree. A s urvey o f t he geology o f t he b reakwater b egun i n 1 983 r evealed t hat outcrops o f k urkar b edrock p rotrude t hrough t he s urface o f t he b reakwater r ubble a t l east up t o 8 0 m f rom i ts b ase, a nd possible a s f ar out a s 1 40 m . The p resence o f a b edrock foundation, o r location o f t he b reakwater e ast o f a f ault l ine, a pparently s aved i t f rom t he s lumping t hat d estroyed t he s outhern b reakwater. I n a ddition, t he p resence o f t he s outhern b reakwater, e ven i n i ts r uined condition, h as p rotected i t f rom w ave damage. S everal parts o f t his s tructure a nd o f t he a djacent h arbour c hannel h ave b een e xcavated, a nd a complete s urvey i s p lanned f or 1 984. 1 )

Western Termination

1 26

Excavation o f t he western t erminus o f t he n orthern b reakwater ( Figure 1 , Area D ) b egan i n 1 980. At t his t ime s everal v ery l arge, r ectangular k urkar b locks ( L c a. 7 .0 m , H 1 .30m, W 1 .30 m ) were u ncovered a t a d epth o f 3 .60-5.40 m . The e nds o f s everal o f t he b locks h ad b een carved i nto half-lap joints, t he f lat f aces o f which c arried l arge c ircular d epressions. Several o f t hese m assive b locks, a nd s ome a dditional s horter r ectangular b locks i n t he s ame a rea, a lso h eld s quare l ead s ockets ( 0.08 m s quare, 0 .12 i n d eep). These h ad apparently b een p oured a round i ron c lamps t hat have n ow d isappeared. For r easons o f s ecurity, s tructural s tability, a nd a rchitectural d isplay t his p ierhead must h ave b een one o f t he most i mportant points i n t he harbour b asin. Even t hough i t was p rotected by t he s outhern b reakwater f rom t he g reat s outhwesterly s torms t ypical o f t his a rea, d amage t o t he h ead o f northern b reakwater would h ave e xposed t he l ess coherent i nterior f ill a nd put t he whole s tructure i n j eopardy. As a r esult, Herod' s e ngineers b uilt t he channel f ace o f a n i nterlocking m ass o f h uge b locks held t ogether w ith c lamps. Although t he b locks h ave b een s haken out o f position, t heir v ery s ize a nd weight have k ept t hem s tacked i n a s teep p ile. I n c ontrast, t he t ermination o f t he s outhern b reakwater, a bout 2 0 m away, now appears a s a l ow p ile o f s maller r ubble, with a g entle s lope. 2 )

The Harbour Channel In 1 982, excavation was b egun i n t he harbour channel ( Area D 1 ) i n an a ttempt t o determine i ts o riginal w idth and d epth. The s and f ill i n t he channel, containing s ea-worn s herds o f v arious d ates and i ntrusive modern material, was r emoved b y m eans of a irlifts, exposing a s loping s tratum o f concrete and k urkar r ubble washed o ff t he body o f t he southern b reakwater. The lowest l evel o f r ubble, a t ca. 1 0.0 i n b elow s ea l evel, i ncorporated a r ich deposit o f p ottery dating f rom t he e arly Empire t o t he Byzantine p eriod. Beneath t he r ubble, an i rregular s tratum o f c lay w ith l enses o f s and r ested directly on v irgin s and. This l ayer o f c lay contained n umerous i ntact a nd n early complete pottery vessels f rom t he e arly f irst century A .D., and c an b e a ssociated with t he e arliest p eriod o f harbour u se. Well-preserved p ieces of r ope, miscellaneous b its o f worked wood, a nd a n i ntact wooden s heave b lock a lso w ere r ecovered, a long w ith a pewter a ryballos, b ronze spikes, a nd l ead s heeting and n et weights. A s econd t rench ( Area D2 ) 2 .0 i n w ide was l aid out f rom t he s outh e nd o f t he f irst, extending west up t he s loping f ace o f t he r ubble spill. The

1 27

n aturally concreted r ubble w as r emoved i n s teps down t o ca. 1 0.0 m b elow s ea l evel f or a d istance o f 1 5.0 m west o f a point on t he e ast f ace o f t he c hannel, i n an a ttempt t o f ind t he west f ace. This f eature p resumably was constructed o f l arge k urkar b locks s imilar t o t hose u sed f or t he e ast f ace. Unfortunately, t he t rench d id n ot e ncounter a ny coherent s tructural r emains, a nd excavation w ill be continued i n 1 984 t o d etermine t he w idth o f t he h arbour e ntrance. F rom p arallels e lsewhere i n t he a ncient Mediterranean, i t s eems l ikely t hat t he e ntrance c hannel was approximately 2 0-30 m w ide. 3 )

Concrete B locks

a nd Foundation

In contrast t o t he e ast f ace o f t he h arbour e ntrance, t he n orthwest t ip o f t he n orthern b reakwater, which i n a erial p hotographs appears a s a l arge, s quare p rojection a t t he west e nd o f t he n orth f ace, was b uilt o f concrete. Even b efore e xcavation i n 1 982, t he outlines o f e roded concrete b locks could b e s een, t opped by t he r emains o f what may have b een l imestone paving b locks. During t he 1 982 s eason, s and and r ubble w ere r emoved b y h and a nd w ith an a irlift a t t he n orthwest corner o f t his a rea ( termed A rea G ) i n a n e ffort t o determine t he n ature o f t he s tructure. Excavation u ltimately r evealed a concrete b lock ca. 1 1.50 m w ide ( East t o West) a nd 1 5.0 m long, w ith a n i rregular, e roded upper s urface ca. 4 .0-5.10 m b elow s ea l evel ( Figure 2 ). Where exposed, t he v ertical f aces o f t he b lock were w ell p reserved, and extensive r emains o f t he wooden formwork i nto w hich t he concrete had b een poured were found o n t he e ast, w est, a nd north s ides. The l ower s urface o f t he b lock, exposed only a t t he s outhwest corner, was l evel a nd s mooth and r ested d irectly on s terile s and ( at 6 .4 m b elow s ea level). No wooden f looring designed t o f orm t he b ottom o f t he f orm was observed a t t his point, despite r emoval o f t he f ill for a d istance o f 2 .0 m i n f rom t he e dge o f t he b lock, a nd i t s eems u nlikely t hat i t can h ave existed. A s eries o f c hannels a nd holes i n t he upper part o f t he b lock once held w ooden t ie b eams t hat c rossed t he f ormwork a t r egular i ntervals f rom e ast t o west a nd north t o s outh. There s eem t o h ave b een a f ew v ertical s upports w ithin t he f orm a s well. The formwork, b est p reserved a t t he n orthwest corner, was b uilt on massive p ine s leeper b eams ca. 0 .29 m s quare t hat r an a long t he b ase o f e ach f ace o f t he b lock a nd i nterlocked a t t he corners w ith s imple l ap j oints. A s eries o f f ir uprights ( ca. 0 .12-0.15 m x 0 .23 m ), morticed i nto t he horizontal b eams a t c a. 1 .60 m i ntervals c arried a n external a nd i nternal wall o f horizontal p ine and s pruce p lanks 0 .08 m t hick and 0 .14 m w ide. The lowest o f t he p lanks on t he i nner f ace o f t he

1 28

f ormwork i s i nset s lightly i nto t he upper s urface o f t he l arge s leeper b eam. The s eams b etween t he various p lanks a nd b eams making u p t he f ormwork p resently a re f illed w ith a s andy, white mortar. This s ubstance may b e i ntentional p acking, b ut i t could a lso b e c ement t hat was f orced i nto l oose s eams when t he i nterior o f t he f ormwork a nd i ts hollow walls were f illed w ith concrete a nd m ortar. The hollow s paces formed b y t he lower b eams, u prights, a nd double wall o f p lanks were f illed with a b lue-green, s andy mortar containing l arge particles o f t uff, pumice, a nd l ime. Striations i n t he mortar s how t hat t he s ubstance was poured i n q uickly i n a s emi-liquid s tate and puddled a s i t f illed t he c avities. The f abric o f t he b lock i s c omposed o f t he s ame material, b ut w ith t he a ddition o f a h igh p roportion o f a ggregate consisting o f i rregular c hunks o f k urkar and s eaworn boulders o f a h arder l imestone. Chunks o f t he g reenish, g ranular t uff ( concreted volcanic a sh), a nd f ibrous pumice u sed i n t he mortar were r ecovered f rom t he f ill i n t he h arbour c hannel. They c urrently a re b eing s ubjected t o n eutron a ctivation analysis a t t he University o f Victoria i n an a ttempt t o d etermine t heir p lace o f o rigin. The exact s pecies o f wood u sed i n t he f ormwork has b een e stablished only for s ome e lements m ade o f spruce ( Picea e uropea), b ut i t h as b een determined t hat t he p ine ( Ti i i i ig), f ir ( Abies), and poplar ( Populus), l ike t he s pruce, a re of m id-European o rigin. The wood y ielded a C 14 date o f 1 970 7 0 B .P., appropriate f or f elling w ithin Herod' s r eign. s ince t he r ange o f t hese i s f ar t o t he n orth and w est o f Levant, t he t imber must have b een i mported for u se i n t he harbour. The volcanic material u sed i n t he mortar may a lso h ave b een i mported, most l ikely f rom c entral I taly o r t he Aegean. I t would h ave b een more d ifficult f or Herod' s e ngineers t o t ransport construction materials i n bulk by l and f rom t he n earby volcanic s trata i n t he Galilee r egion t han t o s hip t hem f rom s easide quarries i n c entral I taly o r t he Aegean. Josephus h imself r eports ( Jewish Antiquities X V:332): " But what was w idely a dmired a bout t he construction w as t hat he d id n ot obtain f rom t he p lace i tself t he materials s uitable f or s o g reat a work, b ut completed i t a t g reat e xpense w ith i mported materials." The d etails o f t he a rgument a re p ublished e lsewhere a nd cannot b e r eviewed here, but i t s eems t hat a t Caesarea t here i s a conflation o f t he t wo t ypes o f f ormwork d escribed by t he Roman a rchitect Vitruvius ( Vitruvius 1 2:2-6), i n a special a daptation for a t hird t ype of s ituation. Herod's engineers k new f rom t he s tart

1 29

t hat t hey were working w ith a n hydraulic concrete t hat could b e poured d irectly i n s ea water, but e ither t he exposure o f t he s ite t o t he open s ea o r t he character of t he s andy s ea b ottom ( or b oth) made i t d ifficult t o f ix p refabricated f orms t o t he bottom b y means o f p ilings. In consequence, b ottomless, double-walled wooden f orms were constructed on s hore a nd f loated t o t heir f inal positions. Once t he f ootings h ad b een c leared a nd leveled, mortar was poured i nto t he s ections o f t he hollow wall, with c areful a ttention t o b alance, until t he b uoyancy o f t he wood was overcome a nd t he f orm s ettled i n position on t he p repared s urface ( Figure 3 ). While t he i nundated form was b eing f illed w ith t he c ement a nd a ggregate, r ubble was a lso dumped a round t he periphery to p revent s hifting o f t he f ormwork p rior t o t he c uring of t he concrete, o r s ubsequent u ndermining o f t he f inal b lock. The p resence o f t ie b eams p assing t hrough t he mass o f t he concrete would have p revented s alvage o f t he formwork i ntact, b ut portions may w ell h ave b een p ulled f ree f or r e-use: n o t races o f t he double wall o r i ts mortar p acking w ere f ound, f or example, a long t he n orth f ace o f t he b lock a t Caesarea. Mortar would have b een p referable t o s tones a s b allast, b ecause i t was u niform i n weight, easily handled, and would f ill completely t he s ections i nto w hich i t was poured. S uch a p rocedure would have a llowed a r apid and f lexible s chedule o f construction. The most complex part o f t he j ob, p reparation o f t he f ormwork, could h ave b een carried out conveniently on s hore o r i n s hallow w ater, w ithout t he danger o f damage t o p artially c ompleted f ormwork b y s torms. D .

The Inner Basin

The i mmense o uter h arbour f ormed by t he northern and s outhern b reakwaters w as s upplemented by a p rotected i nner b asin demarcated by t he b ase o f t he s outhern b reakwater, b y t he mainland on t he e ast, a nd by a p rojecting k urkar h eadland o n t he n orth ( Figure 1 ). Josephus may a llude t o t his b asin i n t he p hrases " having w ithin i t l anding p laces ( katagogas) a nd s econdary anchorages ( deuterous h yphormous)" ( Jewish Antiquities XV:332) a nd " having other d eep a nchorages ( hormous ) i n i ts i nnermost r ecesses ( muchois)" ( Jewish War 1 :410). This p rotected loading a rea, a bove w hich s tood t he t emple o f Augustus, s eems t o have s ilted u p r apidly i n l ate antiquity, and t he p resent water l ine i s 1 00 m west o f i ts o riginal position. The C rusaders h ad t o construct a quay o f s alvaged Roman columns l aid s ide by s ide a long t he k urkar r idge t o t he n orth t o r each water o f a navigable d epth. The e ast f ace o f t he b asin i s marked by a p latform p aved w ith white marble b locks ( Figure 1 , Area I ), p resently a t 1 .6 m above s ea l evel. A s ounding m ade i n 1 976 r evealed t hat t his paving w as l aid over a w all

1 30

b uilt o f a shlar b locks o f k urkar l aid i n a lternating courses o f headers and s tretchers 0 .40 m h igh. At ca. 0 .2-0.3 m a bove p resent s ea l evel a n e rosion notch was found, encrusted w ith marine ostracea. A s econd s ounding made i n 1 983 f arther n orth a long t he s ame wall l aid b are a horizontally p ierced k urkar mooring s tone b uilt i nto t he s econd course f rom t he t op o f t he wall, t he c enter o f i ts perforation ( D 0 .20 m ) ca. 0 .50 m above t he e rosion notch. This mooring s tone, t he f irst f ound i n s itu a t Caesarea, p roves t hat s hips t ied u p i n t his i nner b asin, a lthough t he h eight o f t he r ing above t he a ncient water l evel s eems more appropriate f or small b oats t han ocean-going f reighters. Further excavation i s p lanned f or 1 984. This b asin may, i n f act h ave i ts o rigins i n a t ypically Hellenistic l imen k leistos ( fortified harbour) of Straton' s Tower. I n 1 977 t he foundations f or a c ircular t ower 1 3.0 m d iameter, built o f carefully l aid a shlar b locks, was d iscovered i n 1 .5 m o f water 2 0 m west o f t he p resent b each, within t he modern harbour b asin ( Figure 1 , Area T ). The design o f t he t ower i s s imilar t o t hat o f two possibly Hellenistic t owers at t he north wall o f Caesarea a nd t o t hat o f s ecurely dated Hellenistic t owers at Samaria-Sebaste and Tel Akko. A s econd century B .C. cooking pot was r ecovered f rom t he f ill adjacent t o t he outer f ace o f t he t ower. This s tructure would h ave overlooked a n arrow channel connecting t he outer h arbour w ith t he p rotected i nner b asin described a bove. The e xistence o f a h arbour f acility e ven i n a r uinous s tate may have enhanced t he a ttractiveness o f t he location a s a s ite for Caesarea. Herod may have b uilt upon o r i ncorporated s urviving f eatures o f a Hellenistic harbour i n h is design. I f t he r ound t owers o f t he c ity wall a re Herodian i n d ate, a s Frova a sserts, Herod may s imply have based t he design o f h is i nner b asin on Hellenistic p ractice.

Conclusion The C .A.H.E.P. excavations over t he past t hree y ears h ave p roduced s atisfying r esults. The overall d esign o f t he harbour and o f i ts s ubsidiary parts now h as b een documented. S ignificant evidence has b een a ssembled f or t he materials u sed i n t he construction o f t he h arbour, f or t heir a rrangement, and f or t he p rocedures - s ome o f t hem q uite sophisticated- u sed i n a ssembling t he s tructures. New evidence has a ppeared f or t he Hellenistic harbour o f Straton 's t ower, a nd for t he c hronology o f Herod's h arbour, i ts p eriods o f i ntense u se, and l ater e fforts a t r econstruction. Our p rogram o f geological r esearch s hould p rovide n ew data a llowing r esolution o f t he q uestions concerning t he c hronology,

1 31

t he extent, and t he mechanism of t he submergence o f Herod' s outer harbour. In 1 984, t he l ast i n t his s eries of C .A.H.E.P. excavations, attention will b e focused on a survey o f t he northern b reakwater, determination o f t he width o f t he entrance channel, completion o f t he s urvey of t he southern b reakwater, and i nvestigation o f t he large r ecess i n t he outer face of t he southern b reakwater. I n 1 985, a s tudy s eason i s p lanned t o permit preparation o f a f ull r eport on t he excavations u p t o t hat point.

Notes

1 .

The Caesarea Ancient Harbour Excavation Project ( CAHEP) was initiated and i s conducted by t he Centre for Maritime Studies, Haifa University, j ointly w ith t he University o f Victoria, t he University o f Colorado at Boulder, and t he University of Maryland. The p roject d irector i s Avner Raban, Chairman o f t he Centre for Maritime Studies; co-directors a re John Oleson, Victoria; Robert Hohlfelder, Boulder, and R . Lindley Vann, Maryland.

For

full d iscussions o f t he h istory of Caesarea, w ith exhaustive b ibliographies, s ee A . Frova, Scavi d i Caesarea Maritima ( L'Erma d i Bretschneider: Rome 1 966), L .I. Levine, Caesarea Under Roman Rule ( Brill: Leiden 1 975), i dem, Roman Caesarea. QEDEM, Monographs of t he Institute o f Archaeology, Hebrew University, 2 ( Hebrew University: Jerusalem 1 975), J . Ringel, Cesaree de Palestine ( Editions Ophrys: Paris 1 975).

2 .

R . Pococke, A Description of t he East and s ome other Countries ( J. and R . Knapton: London 1 743-45), vol. I I 5 7-60. The Admiralty Chart i s r eproduced i n Frova, op. c it. ( in note 1 ) f ig. 8 . C . R. Conder and H .H. Kitchener, Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of t he Topography, Orography, Hydrography, a nd Archaeology ( Committee of t he Palestine Exploration Fund: London 1 881-83) vol. I I 1 3-29. K . Lehmann-Hartleben, Die antiken Hafenanlagen des Mittelmeers. K lio, Beitrage z ur a lten Geschichte, Beiheft 1 4 ( 1923) ( repr. Scientia Verlag: Aalen 1 963) 1 80. L . Haefeli, Casarea am Meer. Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen, 1 0:5 ( Aschendorffschen Verlagebuchhandlung: Munster

1 32

9 23)

1 5,

7 7.

A .

Reifenberg,

" Caesarea:

A Study

i n

t he Decline of a Town," IsExpJ 1 ( 1950/51) 2 0-21, 2 4. The work by Link i s published s uperficially i n C .T. Fritsch, " The Link Expedition t o Caesarea," Yearbook of t he American Philosophical Society ( 1961) 5 41-545, I . Ben-Dot, " A Marine Expedition t o t he Holy Land," AJA 6 5 ( 1961) 1 86, K . MacLeish, " Sea Search i nto History at Caesarea," Life vol. 5 0:18 ( 5 May 1 961) 73-82, and C .T. Fritsch and I . Ben-Dor. " The Link Expedition to I srael," BiblArch 2 4 ( 1961) 5 0-56. Some early work on a harbour survey i s published by E . Linder and 0 . Laenhardt, "Recherches d ' archeologie sous-marine sur la cote mediterraneenne d 'Israel," RA ( 1964) 4 7-51. 3 .

See A . Raban, "Recent Marine Archaeological Work i n I srael," ( Hebrew) Qadmoniot 1 4 ( 1982) 8 0-88, R .L. Hohlfelder, " Caesarea Beneath t he Sea," Biblical Archaeology Review 8 :3 ( 1982) 4 2-47, i dem and A. Raban, " Underwater Excavations at Sebastos: The Harbour Complex of Caesarea Maritima ( Israel); The 1 980 Season," i n G .P. Watts Jr. e d., The Challenge Before Us. Proceedings of t he 1 2th Conference on Underwater Archaeology ( San Marino, CA 1 981) 2 67-275, i dem and J .P. Oleson, " Sebastos, the Harbour Complex of Caesarea Maritima, Israel," i n M. Sears and D . Merriman eds., Oceanography: The Past ( Springer Verlag: New York 1 980) 7 65-799, i dem, " Caesarea," in D .W. Roller, " Newsletter f rom t he Levant, 1 981," AJA 8 7 ( 1983) 1 91-192, i dem and J .P. Oleson, A . Raban and L . Vann, " Sebastos: Herod' s harbour at Caesarea Maritima," Biblical Archaeologist 4 6 ( 1983) 1 33-143, J .P. Oleson, " The Caesarea Ancient Harbour Excavation P roject ( CAHEP): 1 982 Season of Excavation," Old World Archaeology Newsletter 6 :3 ( November 1 982) 1 2-14, i dem, " Excavation i n t he Roman Harbour of Caesarea Maritima, I srael: 1 982 Season," AJA 8 7 ( 1983) 2 48, i dem, "A Roman sheave b lock f rom t he harbour of Caesarea Maritima, Israel," I JNA 1 2:2 ( 1983) 1 55-170, i dem, " The Caesarea Ancient Harbour Excavation Project ( CAHEP): 1 982 Season of Excavation," Classical Views 2 7, n .s. 2 :2 ( 1983) 1 59-167, A . Raban -w dhi6r ifE lde a rcheologique," RBibl 8 5 ( 1978) 410-415, i dem, " Notes and News: Caesarea," I JNA 1 0:2 ( 1981) 1 57-160, i dem, "Maritime Archaeological Research i n Israel," I JNA 1 0:4 ( 1981) 2 92-293, i dem and R .L. Hohlfelder, " The Ancient Harbours of Caesarea Maritima," Archaeology 3 4:2 ( 1981) 5 6-60, i dem and E . Linder, i r Eäegäreä : The Herodian Harbour," IJNA 7 :3 ( 1978) 2 40-243, L . Vann, " Herod' s Harbour ' Construction Recovered Underwater," Biblical Archaeology Review 9 :3 ( 1983) 1 0-14. The

1 33

r ecent a rticle by H .K. Beebe, " Caesarea Maritima: I ts Strategic and Political S ignificance t o Rome," JNES 4 2 ( 1983) 1 95-207 shows no knowledge o f any r esearch on t he harbour s ince 1 960. 4 .

See for example P . Brunn, Port Engineering. 2 nd ( Gulf Oil Company: Houston 1 976) 9 5-98, a nd U .S. Army Coastal Engineering Research Centre, Shore Protection Manual ( U.S. P rinting Office: Washington, D .C. 1 977) I I 7 .211-7.212.

1 34

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1 35

CAHEP Excavations,

e

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Caesarea Maritima,

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1 36

1 2

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F igure 3 : Caesarea Maritima, Double-walled Wooden Form.

1 37

CAHEP Excavations,

The MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary In Perspective

Dr.

Nancy Foster

Chief Sanctuary P rograms Division Office o f Ocean and Coastal Resource Management National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 3 300 Whitehaven St., N .W. Washington, D .C. 2 0235

Abstract Experience gained i n t he management o f t he MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary has assisted t he Sanctuary P rograms Division o f t he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) i n development of a management model t hat r ecognizes h istoric shipwrecks a s an i rreplaceable and non-renewable marine r esource. Building upon t he data b ase o f p revious s hip r ecovery p rojects, and s imilar t o t he f ramework u sed for other f ragile " living" marine r esources s uch a s coral r eefs and f ish habitats, t he model focuses on t he decision-making p rocess t hat emphasizes a balance b etween t he p rotection and w ise u se o f a r esource for t he maximum b enefit o f t he American public.

1 38

I ntroduction

The a nnouncement i n 1 974 t hat t he w reck s ite o f t he U SS MONITOR h ad f inally b een l ocated s ome s ixteen m iles s outh-southeast o f Cape Hatteras, North Carolina concluded more t han 2 5 y ears o f mystery s urrounding t he w hereabouts o f t he f amous i ronclad. D ue t o t he MONITOR 's r enowned e ngagement with t he M ERRIMACK ( CSS V IRGINIA ) i n t he f irst b attle b etween i ronclad warships d uring t he American Civil War, a nd i ts s ubsequent l oss i n t he " Graveyard o f t he Atlantic" a s hort while a fterwards, t he d iscovery o f t he w reck w as g enerally r egarded a s s ome s ort o f " prize" b y t he v arious s earch g roups looking f or i t. I n 1 953, t he U .S. Navy f ormally abandoned t he v essel r elinquishing a ll c laims t o t he wreck s o a s n ot t o i mpede p rivate i nterests i n t he s earch a nd e ventual s alvage o f t he v essel s hould t he wreck b e l ocated ( Fogler 1 953). As a r esult, n umerous c ompeting g roups s ought t o l ocate t he i ronclad i n w hat t he Navy S upervisor o f S alvage r eferred t o a s t he " Great MONITOR Sweepstakes" ( Searle 1 968). It s hould n ot h ave b een s urprising, t herefore, t hat t he r elentless e nthusiasm f or t he MONITOR spilled o ver i nto t he e nsuing i ntense a nd s ometimes heated d ebate over w hat would b e done w ith t he w reck now t hat i t h ad b een f ound. The a rguments s panned a s pectrum f rom t hose c alling f or i mmediate r ecovery by s ome e ager t o a ssert t heir " salvage" c laim, t o t hose calling f or t he w reck t o b e l eft u ndisturbed i n t he n atural e nvironment.

National Marine Sanctuary P rogram

The q uestion o f w hat would b e d one w ith t he w reck, a nd i n p articular t he i ssue o f t he desirability o f s alvage, h ad r emained moot a s l ong a s e fforts t o l ocate t he w reck w ere u nsuccessful. However, w ith t he w reck's d iscovery, t he n atural s hroud o f p rotection h ad b een s tripped a way a nd a n i mmediate c oncern a rose a s t o t he b est method t o p rotect i t f rom r elic h unters a nd d isjointed r ecovery e fforts. Soon a fter d iscovery, a meeting i n Washington, D .C. b etween concerned g overnment a gencies a nd u niversities d etermined t hat d ue t o t he s ite location 1 6 m iles S .S.E. o f Cape Hatteras, i t was b eyond t he j urisdiction o f t he State o f North

1 39

Carolina a nd t hat other existant f ederal l aws d id not a dequately p rotect t he s ite ( Dept. o f t he Interior 1 974). The n eed f or s uch p rotection w as d ramatically u nderscored b y a p ress r eport o f a d redging i ncident i n a n a ttempt t o r ecover a rtifacts t hat same month ( Ringle 1 974). As a r esult, i t was t he concensus t hat p rovisions u nder a n ewly e stablished l aw, T itle I II o f t he Marine Protection, R esearch, a nd Sanctuaries Act o f 1 972, a fforded t he b est p rotection f or t he w reck. S ubsequently, t he s ite was nominated b y t he Governor o f North Carolina a nd a fter a p rocess o f r eview a nd public hearings, w as designated a s t he n ation's f irst marine s anctuary by t he Secretary o f Commerce on January 3 0, 1 975, t he 1 13th a nniversary o f t he vessel's l aunching. T itle I II o f t he Marine Protection, Research, ansd Sanctuaries Act o f 1 972 a uthorizes t he Secretary o f Commerce, w ith P residential a pproval, t o designate o cean waters f rom t he s horeline t o t he edge o f t he continental s helf, i ncluding t he G reat Lakes, a s marine s anctuaries for t he purpose o f p reserving t heir d istinctive c onservation, r ecreational, e cological, c ultural, a nd a esthetic values. This was i nterpreted t o i nclude h istoric o r cultural r emains o f w idespread public i nterest s uch a s t he MONITOR. The National Marine Sanctuary P rogram i s managed by t he Sanctuary P rograms D ivision o f t he National Oceanic a nd Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA). The m ission o f t he Program i s t o e stablish a s ystem o f n ational marine s anctuaries b ased o n t he i dentification, designation, a nd comprehensive management o f s pecial marine a reas f or t he long-term b enefit and e njoyment o f t he p ublic. The overall goals o f Sanctuary P rogram a re to :

t he National Marine

Enhance r esource p rotection t hrough t he i mplementation o f a comprehensive, long-term management p lan t ailored t o t he s pecific r esources. Promote a nd coordinate r esearch t o e xpand s cientific k nowledge o f s ignificant marine r esources a nd i mprove management d ecision-making.

1 40

Enhance public awareness, u nderstanding, and w ise u se o f t he marine e nvironment t hrough p ublic i nterpretive a nd r ecreational p rograms. Provide for maximum, compatible, public a nd p rivate u se. ( NOAA 1 982) The Program e nsures a b alanced a nd comprehensive a pproach t o t he p rotection a nd w ise u se o f s eleced marine a reas. The Program i s not l imited t o r egulating particular marine-related activities o r p rotecting s ingular r esources, b ut i ncludes n on-regulatory p rovisions for i dentifying a nd comprehensively managing marine a reas b ased on t heir various r esource a nd human-use qualities. The f ocus i s on d eveloping coordinated r esearch p rograms t o evaluate a nd monitor t he overall condition o f t he r esources a nd t o a ssess t he c umulative i mpacts o f a ll a ctivities a ffecting t hem. The P rogram a lso p rovides an e ducational a nd i nformational s ervice t o i ncrease public a wareness a nd understanding o f t he value a nd i mportance o f marine r esources ( General Accounting Office 1 981). The Program r epresents a n i nnovative approach t o o cean management; one b ased on p lanning, a nalysis, and decision-making t hat p romotes multiple u se o f r esources while o ffering p rotection by r ecognizing t he i nterplay o f h uman activities a nd t he n atural e nvironment. When conflicts a re i dentified b etween conservation and r esource u se, a management s trategy i s d eveloped t hat a ssures a d ecision t hat p roduces t he maximum s ocial b enefit. For n early 1 00 years t he United States h as r ecognized t he i mportance o f p rotecting special a reas o f i ts public lands. Yet t hese e fforts have b een d irected a lmost e xclusively t o t errestrial a reas abocve t he h igh water mark o f t he o ceans a nd Great Lakes, l argely i gnoring t he more t han 4 3% o f t he n ation 's l ands which l ie offshore ( Blumm a nd Blumstein 1 978).

Historic Shipwrecks

a s Marine Resources

Throughout h istory, t he s hip h as t raditionally b een one o f t he l argest a nd most complex machines p roduced by man ( Muckelroy 1 978:3). As s uch, t he s hip a nd i ts contents s erve a s a d iscernable " fingerprint" o f t he society t hat p roduced i t at t he t ime i t was built.

1 41

A s hip i s b uilt for a s pecific p urpose a t a d istinct point i n t ime. The s hip a nd i ts contents were specifically s elected f or a n arrowly d efined p urpose a nd d esigned t o b e s elf-sufficient a nd t o maintain a shipboard community f or extended p eriods o f t ime ( Lenihan 1 983). The d ecisions made b y t he b uilders w ith r egard to t he d esign, s election o f materials, a nd method o f construction p aints a n a ccurate p icture o f t heir t echnology a nd i ndustry, while t he s hip 's contents r eveal a g reat d eal about t heir e conomy, s ociety, a nd c ulture. Normally, t his t ransient r ecord i s d ispersed a t t he e nd o f t he l ast v oyage when t he c argo i s s old, t he c rew r eturn t o t heir h omes, a nd t he s hip i s e ventually b roken up. I t i s o nly w ith t he e vent o f a s hipwreck t hat t he whole u nit -ship, c argo, a nd s hipboard community- i s d eposited on t he s eafloor, c reating a material r ecord t hat i s a rchaeologically r ecoverable ( Muckelroy 1 978). The v alue o f t he a rchaeological r ecord i s t hat i t i s a more d irect s ource o f evidence about a specific s hip t han a ny other f orm o f h istorical d ata. While i t i s s ubject t o t he i nterpretations o f t he a rchaeologist, other s ources s uch a s t he documentary o r t he p ictoral a re equally s ubject t o t wo f ilters, t hat o f t he contemporary r ecorder a nd t hat o f t he modern i nterpreter. The f act t hat t he d eposition was t otally a ccidental and unintentional i ncreases t he s ignificance i n t hat t he r emains s how w hat a ctually existed, r ather t han w hat was t hought t o b e t here, o r t hat s hould h ave b een t here a t s ome r andom p oint i n t ime ( Muckelroy 1 978). The s tudy of a s hipwreck p rovides a n i nvaluable opportunity, f rom s everal d isciplinary p erspectives, t o s tudy t he p hysical r emains o f man 's a ctivities on t he s ea. I n many i nstances t hese a re r emarkably well p reserved a nd r elatively u ndisturbed by t he marine e nvironment. The s cope o f t he s cience o f marine a rchaeology i s i nherently l inked t o t he potential a nd t o t he l imitations o f t he marine e nvironment, b oth a s a medium f or t he p reservation o f r emains, a nd a s t he s etting i n which f ieldwork i s u ndertaken ( Muckelroy 1 978). The potential f or t he p reservation o f material b eneath marine s ediments was r ecognized a s e arly a s 1 832 when Charles Lyell, a p ioneer i n g eology, concluded t hat, i t i s p robable t hat a g reater n umber o f monuments t o t he s kill a nd i ndustry o f man w ill i n t he course o f t he a ges b e collected t ogether i n t he b ed o f t he o cean, t han w ill e xist a t a ny one t ime on t he s urface o f t he

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Continents. ( Lyell

1 832:258)

The l imitations i mposed b y t he marine e nvironment a re d irectly r elated t o m an's d evelopment o f t he n ecessary t echnology f or i ts e xploration, b eginning w ith t he i nvention o f S CUBA i n 1 942, a nd t he d evelopment o f t he p roper t ools a nd methodology t o c onduct a rchaeology a t d epth. This b egan w ith t he p ioneering work o f D r. George B ass i n 1 960. An h istoric s hipwreck s hould b e v iewed a s a v aluable m arine r esource f or p rimary s ource d ata o n m an 's m aritime a ctivities t hat a re n ot a vailable e lsewhere. T he p otential o f t his r esource i s r estrained only b y o ur t echnology a nd o ut a ttitudes t oward i ts v alue a nd u se. T he s tudy o f t his m arine r esource w ill c onstitute a n i mportant e lement i n t he s earch f or a g reater u nderstanding o f m an 's p ast a nd m erits c areful m anagement t o a ssure maximum b enefit f rom i ts u tilization. An u ndisturbed s hipwreck h as b een d escribed b y a rchaeologists a s a " time c apsule" c ontaining a m icrocosm o f h istorical a nd cultural i nformation f rozen i n t ime a t t he i nstant t he s inking o ccurred. While t he e xcavation o f a s ubmerged s ite h as b een l ikened t o " an i rreversible a nd u nrepeatable s cientific e xperiment" t hat i s i nherently d estructive o f t he r esource a nd j ustified o nly w ith t horough d ocumentation a nd r eporting Morrison 1 981). The awareness t hat a s ubmerged a rchaeological s ite i s a n i rreplaceable a nd n on-renewable marine r esource f osters t he r ecognition t hat t he " prize" o f d iscovery i s, i n r eality, a b urden o f r esponsibility t o p roperly p rotect a nd p reserve t he r esource a nd t o a ssure i ts w ise u se. The a ct o f d iscovery o f h istoric s hipwrecks i n t he p ast h as a ll t oo o ften r esulted i n t heir e ventual d estruction. Whether t his h as b een d ue t o t he l ack o f k nowledge a s t o h ow t o d eal w ith s ubmerged s ites o r d ue t o m isplaced motivations t oward s ome s ort o f " reward" f or t he o ften considerable e ffort r equired t o l ocate a w reck i s o f l ittle c onsequence w hen o ne c onsiders t he l oss o f i nformation i n a rchaeological o r h istorical t erms. Should e xcavation a nd t he r ecovery o f s ubmerged m aterial b e s elected a s t he a ppropriate option, t hen t here must b e a k een a wareness o f t he e xtent o f t he r esponsibility t o p rovide f or t he p roper documentation, c onservation, p ublication o f r esults, a nd p erpetual c are o f t he a rtifact c ollection, i f t here i s t o b e a ny l asting v alue t o t he p roject. To a v ery l arge e xtent, t he e ffectiveness o f t he c onservation e ffort w ill d etermine h ow t o t he s uccess o f t he e ntire p roject i s p erceived.

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I f r ecovery o f material i s u ndertaken, t he p roject must b e s ustained t hrough t he l engthy c onservation a nd d isplay phases. However, i f f inancial s upport w anes, d ue t o unforeseen costs o r d ecreased p ublic i nterest, a nd t he conservation i s s topped, due t o l ack o f f unds o r i nadequate t echnical c apability, t he e ntire p roject may b e p laced i n j eopardy. There must b e n o h esitation i n t he c ommitment t o f ollow t hrough w ith t he conservation, i nterpretation,final r eporting, a nd l ong-term c uration o nce e xcavation b egins, i f maximum v alue i s t o b e d erived f rom t he r esource. I f a s hip c an b e d escribed a s a m icrocosm o f t he past s ociety which p roduced i t a nd warrant m eticulous documentation i n i ts s tudy a nd p reservation a s a s hipwreck,then i t i s n ot s uperficial t o s uggest t hat a p roject t o s tudy, excavate, a nd p ossibly r ecover a s hipwreck r epresents a m icrocosm o f t he s ociety c onducting i t i n t erms o f i ts human v alues, cultural b ehaviour, a nd a llocation o f r esources a nd, t herefore, merits equal consideration. I n t he f inal a nalysis, t he manner i n which t he r esource i s managed a nd t he s olutions o ffered w ill d etermine t he u ltimate value o f a p roject, and t o a large e xtent, t he q uality o f t he e ndowment i n cultural h eritage l eft t o s ucceeding generations. Few i ndividuals c an f ully appreciate t he type o f commitment a nd t he l evel o f i nvestment i n t erms o f t ime, e ffort, k nowledge, a nd money o ft ern r equired t o r ecord, e xcavate, a nd s ecure t he physical r ecovery, conservation, and long-term c uration o f material f rom u nderwater s ites. Any p roject considering t he r ecovery o f a n h istoric s hipwreck s hould c arefully s tudy t he Scandinavian e xperience w ith t he WASA a nd t he most r ecent B ritish experience w ith t he MARY R OSE i n c omparison t o t he United States's e xperience w ith t he C AIRO. The WASA i s a r emarkably well-preserved 1 628 Swedish warship r ecovered i ntact f rom Stockholm Harbour i n 1 961. This p roject s erves a s a p rimary model for a ll other ship r ecovery p rojects. I t was t he f irst p roject o f t his t ype and s cale e ver a ttempted a nd, a s a r esult, much o f t he p resent t echnology f or t he conservation o f s ubmerged materials was d eveloped d uring t his p roject. Since t here was n o p revious e xperience o n t he s ame s cale f or comparison, many d ecisions were m ade w ithout f ull k nowledge o f t he consequences i n t erms o f r esults o r f inal costs. Several i mportant l essons c an b e l earned f rom t his p roject. First, once t he d ecision i s made t o r ecover, t here must b e t otal commitment t o conservation i n t erms o f s table a nd s ufficient f inancing. Economic f actors s hould

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not be a llowed t o d etermine when t he conservation p rocess i s complete. S econd, a n i nternationally s ignificant p roject o f t his magnitude r equires s upport f rom t he general public a s well a s government i nstitutions. Third, t he p reservation o f t he s hip equates w ith p erpetual c are a nd maintenance, i f t he s hip i s t o b e a lasting a rtifact. The WASA h as b een u ndergoing conservation t reatment f or over 2 5 years ( Barkman 1 978). A more r ecent example i s t he 1 545 Tudor warship MARY ROSE r ecovered i n 1 982 f rom 4 0 f eet o f water n ear Portsmouth, England. What s tarted i n 1 965 a s a rchaeological e xplorations t o s urvey, r ecord, a nd, i f possible, i dentify a n u nknown a nomally u sing a mateur d ivers t urned i nto a s eventeen-year e ffort t o completely document, excavate, and f inally r ecover t he r emaining s hip 's s tructure a t a cost o f n early $ 7 m illion, supported l argely b y p rivate donation ( Rule 1 982). The MARY ROSE P roject i s a management model f rom t he standpoint t hat i t r eveals t he i ntricate multi-disciplined n ature o f s hip r ecovery p rojects t hat t ranscends normal d isciplinary b oundaries. The p roject demonstrates t he e ssential r equirement for s trong management c losely controlling a ll a spects o f t he p roject encompassing a rchaeology, conservation, e ngineering, museology, a nd a host o f other s upporting d isciplines a nd specializations, t he most i mportant b eing f und r aising. The h ighly p ublicized a nd exciting work o f t he d iscovery o f a rtifacts a nd t he r ecovery o f t he hull i s complete. Now e fforts a re concentrated on s ustaining t he p roject t hrough t he l engthy conservation a nd d isplay phases; e stimated t o t ake a nother 2 0 years ( Clark 1 983: pers. comm.). From t he a rchaeological p erspective, i t s eems unfortunate t hat only t he r elatively s hort, h igh-risk r ecovery p hase i s s ufficiently spectacular t o generate t he c rucial monies a nd e nthusiasm. I n comparison, t he s low toil, long-term e ffort, and considerable expense o f a dequate r ecording, conservation, a nd f ormal publication appear lacklustre a nd r eceive l ittle public a ttention and, i n many cases, l ack t he n ecessary p lanning a nd support ( Morrison 1 981). A l amentable e xample i s t he case o f t he U SS C AIRO, a Civil War gunboat d iscovered v irtually i ntact a nd well-preserved i n 1 956 n ear Vicksburg, Mississippi. The b est i ntentions motivated b y local p ride, e nthusiasm over t he f ind, a nd l ack o f continuity o f personnel, combined t o c reate a catastrophic l oss o f i nformation a nd m aterial i n a rchaeological a nd h istorical t erms ( McGrath 1 981). Poor p lanning f or t he r ecovery r esulted i n t he w reck

1 45

b eing v irtually t orn apart during t he l ifting operations. This was l ater compounded b y t he c omplete absence o f any p lanning for conservation a nd t he l ack o f a dequate f unding t o s upport t he p roject ( McGrath 1 981). A lthough t he National P ark S ervice h as done a n a dmirable j ob o f " salvaging" what otherwise would h ave b een a complete loss, t he " Hardluck I ronclad" i s a mute r eminder o f what c an h appen t o a n i ll-conceived a nd h astily executed s hip r ecovery p roject. The p rinciple d anger t o t he s urviving a rchaeological r ecord, i n most i nstances, i s f rom e xcavators and s alvors who, i n t he p rocess o f u ncovering material, d isrupt t he equilibrium b etween p reservation a nd deterioration. This awareness p laces g reat e mphasis o n t he n eed for p lanning t hat e ncompasses not only t he engineering o f r ecovery, b ut a lso t he conservation, c uration, a nd d isplay o f r ecovered a rtifact collections. I t h as t oo o ften b een t he case t hat the damage i n t he r ecovery a nd s ubsequent t reatment o f material h as e xceeded a ll p revious d amage s uffered by t he object d uring i ts e ntire existence ( Peterson 1 978). The g reatest b enefit f rom s tudying t he p revious p rojects i s t hat t hey f ormulate a n e ssential d ata b ase of collective k nowledge, maturing a ttitudes a nd developing e xperience a s t o how t o p roperly t reat h istoric s hipwrecks. A s hipwreck s hould n ot b e excavated j ust b ecause i t i s d iscovered ( Bass 1 978), a nd most certainly r ecovery i s not t he p roper a nswer i n e very c ase. How i s t his decision made? Who s hould b e i nvolved? What minimum s tandards o f h istorical a nd a rchaeological documentation s hould b e r equired? How s hould t he p rojects b e f inanced? These f undamental q uestions i dentify t he c ritical n eed for t he development o f a cultural policy f or t he t reatment o f h istoric s hipwrecks i n t he United States. Modern t echnology a nd s cience a re p roviding i ncreased a ccess t o t his f ragile marine r esource, a s well a s b etter m eans t o deal w ith i t. How man w ill i mpact t his r esource i s a t i ssue. This u nfolding p roblem i s not l imited t o a ny particular r egion, n ation, o r o cean, b ut has worldwide i mplications a s man continues t o extend h is domain i nto t he d epths o f t he oceans. The MARY ROSE e xample c learly s hows t hat t he s uccessful p roject i ncludes many d iverse e lements a nd r equires t he c areful coordination o f n umerous d isciplines. How t he e ssential c ooperation b etween various government a gencies, d ifferent p rofessionals a nd amateurs i s e licited, a nd t he c rucial outside s upport i s o rchestrated s o t hat t he collective p roject s ucceeds, i s a h armonious melody t hat has s o f ar e luded t he United

1 46

States. The d ifference b etween t he CAIRO P roject and t he MARY ROSE P roject i s not a matter o f l uck, but r ather o f design t hrough policy, management, a nd p lanning. The National Marine Sanctuary P rogram i s b uilding upon t he experience o f past p rojects, hoping t o p rovide s imilar e lements o f success for t he management o f t he MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary, both a s a s uitable requiem to t he " little cheesebox-on-a-raft" a nd t o s erve as a national model for t he t reatment o f h istoric shipwrecks, t hus a dding another f irst t o t he a lready long l ist of f irsts for t his f amous i ronclad. As s uch, t he concentration i s n ot on t he question o f t he r ecovery o f t he vessel per s e, but on t he p rocess o f a rriving at t he decision a s t o what s hould b e done w ith t he s hipwreck, recognizing t hat t he answer t o t he f irst q uestion l ies i n the understanding o f t he s econd.

MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary

Since t he d iscovery o f t he MONITOR i n 1 973 and i ts subsequent designation i n 1 975 a s t he nation's f irst National Marine Sanctuary, an abundance of conflicting v iewpoints have b een expressed about t he u ltimate disposition of t he wreck. Due t o t he i nteraction o f a great number o f p eople, a philosophical b asis has emerged for dealing with t he s ite. The f undamental p remise i s that t he MONITOR i s an a rchaeological s ite, and b ecause of t he ship 's h istorical s ignificance, and t he h igh public interest i n i t, t he p roject warrants careful and deliberate p lanning so t hat a maximum r eturn a nd b enefit can b e derived for t he American public ( Smithsonian Institute 1 976). I n addition t o maintaining s ite integrity for scientific r esearch, equal emphasis has been p laced on maintaining r ecovered a rtifacts, documentation, and other MONITOR-related materials i ntact as a s ingle collection t o b e made available t o researchers and t he public (m ivA 1974). At a National Conference held i n 1 978,the focus was set on t he f undamental question o f what s hould b e done with MONITOR, i n contrast t o what could -4 6 1 i- ig- d esired t o be done. Thus a s ignificant emphasis was p laced on t he process of decision-making i n o rder t o i nsure t he maximum benefit for t he American people, w ithout degrading t he historical and a rchaeological value o f t he s ite. This same approach was r ecommended for other h istoric shipwrecks, specifically for t he w recks o f U SS TECUMSEH and BROWN'S F ERRY, but i ncluding other h istoric shipwrecks whether currently k nown o r yet t o b e d iscovered ( National Conference 1 978).

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Additionally, t here was a general concensus t hat more r esearch a nd information about t he e nvironment and i ts i mpact on t he material condition of t he wreck were n ecessary before any decision could b e made avbout t he u ltimate d isposition of t he MONITOR, i f i t i s t o b e t reated i n a scientific and t echnologically sound manner ( National Conference 1 978). It was r ecommended t hat t he decision concerning what s hould b e dne w ith t he MONITOR b e ongoing, a ccompanied by a r esearch p rogram consisting o f a ssessments and evaluations s tructured t o determine t he t echnical and f iscal f easibility of management options r anging f rom non-disturbance o f t he s ite to complete r ecovery of t he w reck. The objective o f t his r esearch i s t o determine a s f ar a s t echnologically possible, what i s f act, concerning t he a ctual condition of t he wreck; t o avoid decisions b ased on speculation. The understanding o f what i s, a nd not what we hope o r would l ike i t t o b e, i s t he TUndamental i ssue underlying t he development o f any r esponsible and appropriate management option concerning what, i f anything, s hould be done at t he MONITOR s ite. The following Sanctuary:

goals

have

been e stablished

for

t he

To p rotect and p reserve t he MONITOR and a ll i ts a ssociated r ecords, documents, and a rchaeological collections. To i nsure t he scientific r ecovery d issemination o f t he h istorical and cultural i nformation p reserved a t t he MONITOR s ite; t o p reserve a nd develop t he physical r emains of t he mn iv r roR i n a manner which appropriately e nhances b oth t he s ignificance and i nterpretive potential o f t he v essel. To enhance public awareness and understanding o f t he MONITOR a s an h istoric and cultural r esource by p roviding i nterpretive e ducational s ervices a nd materials. ( NOAA 1 982) Future p roposals for on-site work w ill be evaluated for t heir potential a dverse impact on t he r esource by u sing t he following c riteria: SUITABLEt he goals

Does t he proposal o f t he Sanctuary?

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support

F EASIBLE- Are t he a vailable r esources a dequate and do t hey p rovide a ssurance for t he p roper documentation, r ecovery,conservation, r eporting, d isplay, a nd p erpetual care o f a ny r ecovered a rtifacts? ACCEPTABLE- I s t he c ost o f a ccomplishing t he p roposal worth expected r esults?

t he

Since t he d esignation i n 1 975, NOAA h as s ponsored t hree major expeditions t o t he Sanctuary. The most extensive i nvestigation o ccurred i n 1 979 when a t eam o f a rchaeologists conducted 4 9 d ives i n 2 6 d ays f rom a l ock-out s ubmersible. The major a ccomplishment was t he completion o f a t est excavation t o collect a rchaeological s amples a nd engineering d ata t o e valuate t he extent o f t he a rchaeological r ecord a nd t he condition o f s tructural members b uried b y bottom s ediments. The e xplorations were a lso h istory making, b eing t he deepest a rchaeological e xcavation conducted by a rchaeologists t o date, i n t he United States. The experience gained i n d eveloping t he p roper methodology and n ew t echniques for working i n 2 20 b .s.l. has b een extremely r ewarding i n t he development o f n ew approaches a nd t ools for d eep water a rchaeology. Additionally, t he i nformation collected b y t he d iver/archaeologists f irst-hand i s vastly s uperior t o t he q uality a nd quantity o f o ther s ubstitute, r emote methods currently available. Perhaps most germane t o o ur u nderstanding o f t he i nteraction of t he w reck w ith t he e nvironment h ave b een t he r esults o f t he s t. . tic equilibrium a nalyc2T .. This s tudy concluded t hat s ections o f t he a rmour b elt a nd a djacent exterior h ull may b e s tressed c lose t o t heir u ltimate s trength, a nd h ave a lready s hown i ndications o f p lastic y ielding ( Muga 1 982). A corollary s tudy t hat compiled a nd a nalysed w hat i s p resently k nown about t he e ffects o f t he e nvironment on t he r ate o f deterioration concluded t hat t he MONITOR i s continuing t o d eteriorate f rom n atural galvanic corrosion due t o i ts continued exposure t o t he marine e nvironment. Unlike other h istoric s hipwrecks t hat have b een well-preserved b y a p rotective covering o f marine s ediments, t he MONITOR h as, i n a ll l ikelihood, b een e xposed most o f i ts h istory a s a s hipwreck t o a n e nvironment characterised a s h ighly corrosive d ue t o t he t emperature, oxygen content, a nd c urrent v elocity ( Miller 1 984).

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This dynamic t ype o f e nvironment a s opposed t o o ne t hat i s s tatic a nd a noxic a nd t herefore conducive t o p reservation o f materials, a dversely a ffects t he s tructural f abric v ia t wo p rimary m echanisms. The r elatively h igh v elocity o f b ottom c urrents t ransport abrasive s ediments which e ffectively e rode t he p rotective e ncrustation b uild-up o f corrosion b y-products t hat n ormally t end t o s low deterioration over t ime. As a consequence, exposed material s urfaces have r eceived l ess p rotection f rom t he i nsulating e ffect o f corrosion by-products t han would b e expected b y comparison t o o ther s ites. This a dverse mechanism i s compounded b y t he continuous f low o f r elatively warm, h ighly oxygenated s ea water which s upplies a v irtually i nfinite s upply o f i ons which " feed" t he corrosion r eaction w ith t he detrimental e ffect o f a ccelerating t he r ate o f c orrosion of exposed m aterial compared t o s imilar m aterial b uried by b ottom s ediments. Thus, t he n atural e nvironment h as b een a major f actor i n t he r ecorded extensive s tructural d eterioration r esulting f rom over 1 20 years o f s ubmersion i n s ea w ater ( Miller 1 984). The a nalysis o f t hese f indings i dentifies a s ignificant t hreat o f collapse t o t he r emaining h istoric s tructure o f t he v essel d ue t o t he u nequal a nd h ighly s tressed s upport p rovided b y t he d isplaced t urret. O ver one-half o f t he existing s tructure i s p resently b eing s upported above t he b ottom b y t he t urret ( Watts 1 982). Due t o t he s tructural l oadings i mposed on t he l ongitudinal members, t here i s a h igh p robability t hat t he s tructure w ill f ail a nd collapse i n t he n ear f uture ( Miller 1 984). This eventuality w ill a dversely i mpact t he r esource by s ubstantially i ncreasing t he r ate o f deterioration o f t he r emaining s hip f abric by exposing n ewly f ractured material s urfaces t o t he corrosive e nvironment. Additionally, t he collapse o f t he s tructure will s eriously d egrade t he a rchaeological and h istorical v alue o f t he s ite by d isrupting a reas o f t he v essel which a re o f h igh i nterest/value f or f uture e ngineering s tudies ( Miller 1 984). The f ull i mpact o f t his t hreat i s b eing f urther e valuated a nd f uture r esearch e fforts w ill a ttempt t o r efine and b etter q uantify t he measurement o f r esidual s trength a nd degree o f s train i n c ritical s tructural members. The r eport concludes:

The management option o f no a ction' does not appear t o b e j ustifiable for

1 50

t he MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary a s i t r isks t he eventual l oss, r ather t han a ssuring p reservation, o f t he valuable cultural r esource i t was established t o p rotect. ( Miller 1 984) Whether o r not any r easonable a ction c an b e t aken t o m itigate this t hreat i s p resently u nknown. Several a lternative management options a re b eing a ssessed. Regardless o f t he outcome, however, t his methodical scientific approach to t he management o f t he r esource h as facilitated a quantum leap i n our appreciation and understanding o f an h istoric shipwreck a s a valuable marine r esource. The management f ramework d eveloped for t he MONITOR p rovides s uitable safeguards to a ssure t hat t he MONITOR question i s approached i n a s cientifically sound manner and a lso p rovides sufficient l atitude for t he opportunity to develop t he n ecessary r esearch a nd managment t ools t o p reserve and p roperly u tilize t he MONITOR w ithin t he context o f a management model for submerged cultural r esources. The s trategy to date has b een s uccessful in t hat t he MONITOR s till l ies i ntact and p rotected w ithin t he Sanctuary. Future s trategies w ill ensure decisions b ased, not on speculation and emotion, but on scientific method and r esearch. Building upon t he extant data b ase pertaining to t he t reatment o f h istoric s hipwrecks a ssures t he adoption of a p lan t hat f ulfills t he p romise o f e stablishing a n ational cultural policy for h istoric shipwrecks i n t he United States.

Bibliography

Barkman, Lars, 1 978. " The Management o f Historic Shipwreck Recovery a nd Conservation a s Experienced f rom t he WASA," National Conference: The MONITOR, Its Meaning and Future. National Trust f or H istoric Preservation, Washington, D .C., 1 01-112. Bass,

G .F., 1 978, " The MONITOR,An Archaeological Venture," National Conference: The MONITOR, I ts Meaning and Future. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, D .C., 1 23-125.

Blumm, M .C. and J .G. Blumstein, 1 978, " The Marine Sanctuaries P rogram: A Framework for C ritical

1 51

Area

Management i n 5 0016-50017. Dept.

t he Sea,"

8 Environmental Law R eport

o f t he Interior, May 1 3, 1 974, Meeting o f Federal Agencies on Legal Status a nd P rotection o f t he MONITOR, Washington, D .C.

Fogler, R .H., S ept. 3 0, 1 953, "Recommendation for Abandonment o f U SS MONITOR," Official Correspondence, Secretary o f t he Navy, Washington, D .C. General Accounting Office, 1 981, " Marine Sanctuaries P rogram Offers Environmental P rotection a nd Benefits Other Laws Do Not," Report by Comptroller General o f t he United States, CED-81-37. Lenihan, D .J., 1 983 " Rethinking S hipwreck Archaeology: A History o f I deas a nd Considerations f or New Directions," S hipwreck Anthropology. R .A. Gould, e ditor. School o f American R esearch, University of New Mexico Press, A lbuquerque. 3 7-64. Lyell, C ., 1 832, P rinciples o f Geology. Murray, London.

Volume

2 .

John

McGrath, H .T., 1 981 " The Eventual P reservation a nd Stabilization o f t he U SS CAIRO," International Journal o f Nautical Archaeology 1 0(2), ( 1981), 7 9-94. Miller, E .M., 1 984, " The Rate o f Deterioration o f t he USS MONITOR, I ts Measurement and Impact," Technical R eport Series, Division o f A rchives a nd History, Raleigh, North Carolina. Morrison, I .A., 1 981, " Editorial," I nternational Journal o f Nautical Archaeology 1 0(2), ( 1981). Muckelroy, K ., 1 978, Maritime Archaeology, University P ress, London. Muga,

Cambridge

B .J., 1 982, " Engineering Investigation o f t he U SS MONITOR," Technical Report Series, D ivision o f Archives a nd History, Raleigh, North Carolina.

National Conference: The MONITOR, I ts Meaning a nd Future, 1 978, " Conference Resolution," National Trust for Historic P reservation, Washington, D .C. National Oceanic a nd Atmosphereic Administration, 1 974, MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary Final Environmental Impact Statement Sanctuary P rograms Division, NOAA, Washington, D .C.

1 52

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1 982a, National Marine Sanctuary Program Development Plan, Sanctuary Programs Division, NOAA, Washington, D .C. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1 982b, MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan, Sanctuary P rograms

Division,

NOAA,

Washington D .C.

Peterson, C .E., 1 978, "Conservation Systems," National Conference: The MONITOR, Its Meaning a nd Future. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, D .C. 9 2-98. Ringle, K ., 1 974, "MONITOR's SOS Unheeded, Geologist Tears Into Sunken Wreck of I ronclad," Washington Post, August 2 5, 1 974, Washington, D .C. Rule,

M., 1 982, " The Raising of t he MARY ROSE," The I llustrated London News, October, 1 982,

London.

Searle, W .F., 1 968, Letter to Vadm. Eller, Historian of the Navy, " Letter to Vadm. Eller, Historian of t he Navy," Official Correspondence, Dept. of t he Navy, Washington, D .C. Smithsonian Institution, 1 976, "Adopted Resolution," National Conference to Develop Philosophical Basis for Managing t he MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary. Washington, D .C. Watts, G.P., 1 982, " Investigating t he Remains of t he USS MONITOR," Final Report: 1 979 Site Testing i n t he MONITOR National Marine Sanctuary, Division of Archives and History, Washington, Raleigh, North Carolina.

1 53

F igure 1 : The hull o f t he MONITOR l ies i nverted a nd r esting upon t he d isplaced t urret, p lacing s evere s tress on t he major longitudinal s upport member, t he port a rmour b elt.

1 54

Maritime Archaeology i n Australasia: D iscoveries

Recent

Jeremy Green Department o f Maritime Archaeology Western Australian Museum Cliff Street, F remantle Western Australia 6 160

I t i s o ften n oted t hat Australia, b eing only colonized by Europeans i n 1 788, h as a s urprisingly large i nvolvement i n maritime a rchaeology o f t he p eriod f rom European contact. This i s a r esult of an u nusual c ombination o f c ircumstances w hich r esulted i n t he 1 960's i n t he p assing o f t he Western Australian Museum Act ( 1964). The s urprising w ealth o f m aritime a rchaeological material i s t he r esult o f part o f Australia 's e arly h istory. Being a n i sland continent, Australia w as entirely s upplied b y s ea. The e arly colonial c ity centres o f S ydney, Melbourne, A delaide, B risbane a nd Perth w ere a ll l ocated c lose t o t he s ea. Colonization w as f rom t he b eginning c onfined l argely t o t he coastal r egions. Thus, Australia h as h ad, s ince t hese b eginnings, a s trong maritime a ssociation. I t i s k nown t hat t he e arly i ndigenous Aboriginal p eoples m igrated t o Australia b y s ea f rom t he I ndonesian A rchipelago, u nfortunately nothing a s y et h as b een found o f t he v essels w ith which t hey made t his m igration. I t i s commonly b elieved ( even b y Australians) t hat Captain Cook i n 1 777 was t he

1 55

f irst European t o s ight Australia. The h istoric r ecord, however, s hows i t was t he Dutch i n t he e arly 1 7th century who were t he f irst t o s ight t he continent. This l and was t hen called Terra Australis I ncognita, r eflecting t he Ptolemaic Theory t hat a t heoretical l arge Southern continent w as r equired t o b alance t he Northern continents a nd a continent was t herefore p laced on t he maps a nd g lobes o f t he t ime. The Dutch d iscoveries were a ccidental; a r esult o f an i mproved method a dopted by t he V .O.C. ( Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie / Dutch East I ndia Company) i n s ailing t o t he I ndies. T heir new r oute departed southeast f rom t he Cape o f Good Hope, u ntil t he westerly t rade w inds o f t he Roaring Forties were e ncountered. Speeding e ast, t hey t hen calculated when t o t urn north f or Java. This r oute was f aster and f ar more h ealthy t han t he o ld r oute t hat p roceeded d irectly a cross t he I ndian Ocean ( Schilder 1 976). Inevitably, s ome s hips s ailed t oo f ar e ast a nd i n 1 619 t he f irst r ecorded s ighting o f Australia was made b y Dirk Hartichs, who made t he l andfall i n t he ship EENDRACHT. He p laced a post t here w ith a pewter p late w ith an i nscription commemorating h is l andfall. The f irst r ecorded d isaster was i n 1 622, when t he English East I ndia Company s hip TRIAL w as w recked o ff t he Northwest coast. The s urvivors m ade t heir way t o Batavia, a nd t heir a ccounts a re t he f irst r ecorded descriptions made on t he continent ( Green 1 977a). I n 1 629 t he V .O.C. r etourship BATAVIA was w recked on t he Houtman Abrolhos o ff t he Western Australian Coast, t he s ubsequent mutiny b y t he c rew a nd massacre o f 1 25 men, women and children makes i t one o f t he most u nusual and t errible maritime d isaster s tories ( Drake-Brockman a nd D rock 1 963; Green 1 975). Later i n 1 656 t he V .O.C. r etourship VERGULDE DRAECK was lost about 1 00 km north of p resent d ay P erth. A s mall boat w ith s even men was s ent to B atavia t o obtain help, b ut subsequent r escue a ttempts f ailed t o f ind t race o f s urvivors o r t he w reck ( Green 1 977b). I t was d uring t hese s earches t hat t he f irst hydroaraphic s urveys o f t he west coast o f Australia were made. I n 1 697 Willem de Vlaming carried o ut, for t he V.O.C., a f urther detailed s urvey o f t he coast, while s earching for t he s urvivors o f a m issing V .O.C. vessel. I ncredibly, de Vlaming came a cross t he D irk Hartichs p late, de Vlaming s ubstituted a n ew p late w ith t he o ld Hartichs i nscription and h is own. Today, both p lates s urvive, t he Hartichs i n t he

1 56

R ijkesmuseum i n Amsterdam, Australian Museum.

t he

other

i n

t he Western

Two other w recks occured b efore Australian settlement. In 1 711 t he V .O.C. ship Z UYTDORP was lost with a ll hands on t he coast 8 00 k m north o f Perth. Interestingly, b ecause t here were no survivors, i t was n ever k nown where t he ship was lost. In t he 1 920's, a s tockman found coins a nd other i tems on t he rocks. Later, i dentification of the coins s howed t hey were schelling and double stuivers f rom Z eeland, a ll dated 1 711. Investigation o f t he h istorical r ecords i ndicated that t he whole mint o f s chelling and double s tuivers for t hat year went t o t he Indies i n two s hips, one, the Z UYTDORP never a rrived, and t hus t he s hip was identified ( Playford 1 959). The other wreck was t he V .O.C. ship Z EEWIJK lost on t he Southern G roup o f t he Houtman Abrolhos. The survivors s tayed on a nearby i sland for n ine months, built a boat t here and f inally s ailed t o t he Indies ( Edwards 1 970; Ingleman-Sundberg 1 977). In 1 840, J . Lort Stokes and Captain J . Wickham i n HMS BEAGLE ( Darwin 's o ld ship) surveyed t he West Coast o f Australia. They had k nowledge o f many of t he early wrecks because they named Pelsaert I sland and Batavia Roads incorrectly i n t he Southern Group. They a lso found t races of t he Z EEWIJK s urvivors on an i sland t hey named Gun I sland b ecause o f a small swivel gun ( Stokes

1 846).

In t he 1 920' s coins f rom both t he Z UYTDORP ( as d iscussed above) and t he VERGULDE DRAECK were discovered, b ut i t was not until t he e arly 1 960's that t he w recksites o f t he BATAVIA and VERGULDE DRAECK were found. Almost i mmediately t he VERGULDE DRAECK was f ound, t rouble started, explosives were used and f ights b etween r ival g roups developed. In 1 964, t he Western Australian Government passed t he Museum Act ( 1964) p rotecting h istoric shipwrecks dating p rior to 1 900 automatically. The l egislation underwent a n umber of modifications r esulting f inally i n t he Maritime Archaeology Act 1 973. The Act p rovides a number o f i mportant b enefits both for t he maritime a rchaeologist and t he amateur d iver. It i n no way r estricted a ccess o f t he sport d iver f rom a s ite, but at t he same t ime i t excluded t he r emoval o f material f rom t he s ite. Most i mportant i t l egislated t hat a person f inding a w reck was entitled t o a r eward, t he r eward i ncluded t wo components, t he f irst was a r eward for r eporting t he s ite a nd t he s econd was s imilar t o a form o f compensation, based on t he non-ferrous metal content of t he s ite.

1 57

I n 1 972 t he Western Australian Museum commenced a major excavation o f t he VERGULDE DRAECK. In t he following year t he excavation o f t he BATAVIA b egan and t his continued t hrough f our seasons until 1 976 and t otalled 1 1 /2 years f ield work. During t his period, a Colonial Wreck P rogramme was s tarted. This program was q uite different i n n ature t o t he p resettlement p rogram, s ince most s ites exist w ithin the period 1 829-1900 t here a re usually contemporary a ccounts of t he l osses i n local n ewspapers and t he Colonial Government r ecords. An extensive s earch t hrough t hese a rchives p roduced a l isting o f o ver 1 000 wrecks with details o f t he name o f t he vessel, i ts date o f loss and various details o f i ts o rigins, cargo and t he general location o f t he s ite. This became an i mportant work t ool for t he Department, for both t he Colonial Wreck P rogramme and t he W reck Inspection P rogramme ( McCarthy 1 982). The l atter developed a s a r esult o f t he l egislation which r equired t hat s ites t hat were r eported t o t he Museum had t o b e i nspected so t hat t hey could b e i dentified. Identification r equired r eference t o t he shipwreck catalogue t o determine the n ame o f the s hip and i ts details f rom t he various l istings within t he geographical a rea. In 1 977 a s a r esult o f a High Court r uling the Maritime Archaeology Act 1 973 was declared i nvalid on t he g rounds t hat t he State was not within t he j urisdiction t o legislate about s uch matters. Fortunately, t his eventuality had b een anticipated a nd t he Federal Commonwealth Government Historic Shipwrecks Act 1 976 was p roclaimed. Following largely t he Western Australian legislation, t he Act had a number o f n ew p rovisions, some good, others bad. The Act r eferred t o h istoric s hipwrecks and t hus had no cutoff date, and had p rovisions t o p rotect w recks o f r ecreational value. Two s erious defects were t hat t he Act did not apply until t he s ite was gazetted, whereas t he Maritime Archaeology Act applied automatically. Secondly, t he Act d id not define what t he r eward f or d iscovery o f a s ite should b e; i t b eing l eft t o t he Minister' s d iscretion. Further, t he change i n l egislation had a number of more general p roblems, t he Act had changed four t imes s ince 1 963, and was t hus confusing t o t he layman. The Administration o f the n ew Act was b ased at t he Federal Capital ( Canberra) which i s a long way away, f urther under t he o ld Act t he Director o f t he Western Australian Museum was t he person r esponsible for a dministering t he Act, and t hus was approachable. [ See attached s ample forms for r eporting s ites.]

1 58

I n t he Colonial w reck p rogram, a n umber o f important colonial s ites w ere e xcavated. The JAMES MATTHEWS ( 1841) a n ex-slave s hip w recked n ear Fremantle w as completely excavated down t o t he surviving h ull s tructure. I nterestingly t his h ull structure i s l ikely t o b e one o f t he f ew s urviving o f a s lave s hip, s ince on c apture t hey were u sually destroyed. The American China Trader R APID ( 1811) was completely e xcavated. This s hip was n ot recorded i n t he Australian a rchives s ince i t was lost p rior t o Western Australian s ettlement. The s ite was i dentified f rom a rtifacts which i ndicated an American o rigin a fter 1 911 a nd a rchival s ources f rom Batavia a nd America. The l atest work i nvolves an e xcavation o f a n e arly Colonial Period whaler, possible t he L IVELY ( Henderson 1 980). In 1 977 a n ew Maritime Museum was commissioned. This b uilding was o riginally t he Commissariate b uilt i n 1 852 by c onvict l abour a s a g overnment s tore, i t was d erelict. The State Government, u nder i ts Public Works Building P rogramme r estored t he building a nd i ncorporated a major d isplay a rea, together w ith t he Conservation Laboratory a nd Maritime Archaeology D epartment. A gallery i n t he new Museum w as modified t o t ake t he r econstructed portico f acade r ecovered f rom t he BATAVIA t ogether with a r econstruction o f t he s urviving h ull structure. The t imbers h aving u ndergone l engthy t reatment i n t he Conservation Laboratory were t ransferred t o t his gallery f or s torage i n a t emperature a nd humidity controlled e nvironment. Research i s b eing c arried out t o d etermine t he b est method o f s upporting t he s tructure a nd d isplaying i t i n a n a ppropriate manner. The Department has a lso r ecently s tarted work on a collection o f h istoric b oats t ogether w ith s ome ship models. Other a reas o f i nterest i nclude a r egister o f c annon w ithin Australia, a nd a r esearch p roject on d eveloping u nderwater s tereometric a nd a coustic position f ixing. The D epartment r eports t o t he Maritime Archaeology Advisory Committee, which i n t urn a dvises t he Trustees o f t he Museum t hrough t he D irector. The Committee d eals w ith policy decisions, a nd r ecommendations r egarding w reck r eports u nder b oth t he Commonwealth a nd S tate Acts. Recently, w ith t he a dvent o f a n umber o f o ther maritime a rchaeology d epartments i n Australia, a n Australian I nstitute f or Maritime Archaeology h as b een f ormed. This I nstitute was f ormed t o r epresent

1 59

the i nterests of maritime a rchaeology nationally. It has r epresentatives on i ts Council f rom a ll t he States of Australia and t ogether with New Z ealand. It publishes a b iannual Bulletin, a Newsletter a nd a Special Publication Series. While t he centre o f i nterest o f t he Institute i s Australia, i t has interests i n Australasia, and encourages contacts with other countries with maritime a rchaeological programs. The Institute i s i nterested in establishing exchange i nformation s chemes w ith other countries. At p resent t he Institute sponsors a major underwater a rchaeological p roject in Thailand, which i s a joint Thai-Australian operation i nvolved i n excavation of shipwrecks i n t he Gulf of Thailand.

Bibliography

Drake-Brockman, H . and Drock, E . D ., 1 963. Voyage to Disaster, Angus & Robertson, Edwards, H ., 1 970. The Wreck Rigby, Adelaide.

The Sydney.

on Half M _oon Reef,

Green, J . N ., 1 977a. " The VOC ship BATAVIA wrecked i n 1 629 on t he Houtman Abrolhos", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 4 (1) -; 4 3-64. Green, J . N ., 1 977b. " The VOC jacht VERGULDE DRAECK wrecked Western Australia 1 656", British Archaeological Reports ( S36), Oxfor d .- Henderson, G . J ., 1 980. Unfinished Voyages, Western Australian Shipwrecks 1 622-1850, University Western Australia Press, Perth. Ingleman-Sundber, C ., 1 977. " The VOC ship ZEEWIJK lost o ff t he Western Australian coast in 1 727", International Journal of Nautical A rchaeo logy _ _ 6 (2),

2 25-32.

McCarthy, M ., 1 982. "A wreck i nspection p rogram a s an a id t o t he co-ordinated management of a large n umber of wreck s ites", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 11(1), 4 7-52. Playford, P . E ., 1 959. " The wreck of the Z UYTDORP", Royal Western Australian Historical Society Journal, 5 (5), 5 -41.

1 60

S childer, G ., 1 976. Australia Unveiled: t he s hare of t he Dutch Navigators i n t he d iscovery o f Australia, ü heatrum O rbis Terrarum, Amsterdam. Stokes, J . L ., London.

1 846.

Discoveries

1 61

i n Australia,

To:

THE M INISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS P arliament House CANBERRA ACT 2 600

C .C.

Maritime Archaeology Department, Western Australian Museum, ( Fremantle Branch), Cliff Street, FREMANTLE, WA 6 160 PLEASE NOTE: I t i s i mportant t o post one copy ( the o riginal, i f d uplicated) t o t he Minister d irectly, a nd a s s oon a s p ractible.

I h ereby g ive notice o f t he f inding o f a w reck/relic ( please c ircle), which I b elieve t o b e o f h istoric s ignificance, i n a ccordance w ith s ub-section 1 7 ( 1) o f t he Historical Shipwrecks Act 1 976.

1 .

The

f inder

was/the

f inders were:

NameAddressTelephone

Name: Address-

Telephone:

Name: Address:

Name: . . Address:

Telephone:

Telephone:

2 .

Date of

f inding:

3 .

Name o f

t he w recked

4 . ( a) ( b) ( c)

Location o f f ind: Locality: Nearest Prominent Landmark Compass, S extant a nd/or v isual p rominent l andmarks:

( d)

Other r elevant i nformation on l ocation: ( such a s: whether s ite i s on t he b each, a bove b elow h igh water mark, whether w reckage d ries or p artly d ries a t low t ides, d istance f rom s hore, s ailing d irections, e tc.)

1 62

s hip

( if

k nown):

b earings

t o

( e)

I f a b uoy, s take o r c airn o r o ther i dentifiable t hing h as b een p laced on o r n ear t he s ite p lease d escribe i t:

( f)

Latitude. Longitude.

( g)

P lease mark w reck location on a ttached c hart, a nd s ubmit a s ketch map o f y our own t o a id s taff i n locating t he s ite: W ill f inder/finders b e a vailable t o a ccompany Museum s taff t o t he s ite? Yes/No I f yes, most convenient d ates:

( h)

5 .

Circumstances u nder which s ite w as f ound ( skin d iving; s norkling; b oating; f ishing; etc.):

•

6 ,

•

•

S i

•

•

•

•

Physical ( a)

( h)

h iking;

d escription o f w reck/relic:

I f a w reck Does t he h ull composite?

a ppear

t o b e wood,

If a ny f astening bolts were n oted were b rass o r copper? What s ort o f b allast r emains'

i ron o r

t hey

I s h ull o utline d iscernible? . Any b oilers, w inches o r o ther machinery o n

Details o f

a ny g lass o r

Miscellaneous Materials

c eramic material

( to

163

i nclude

s mall

i ron,

t he

s ite?

f ound:

a rtifacts)?

7 .

D iving c onditions on t he s ite: ( a) Depth o f water: ( b) Type o f b ottom : ( c) Visibility: ( d) Sheltered o r exposed' ( e)

Does s ite b ecome covered b y s and' I f s o, what s eason o r w eather e xposes

( f)

I s t he s urge'

( g)

Other

s ite much a ffected

b y

s urf o r

i t' b ottom •

comments on d iving conditions:

, certify t hat t he s tatements made on t his f orm a re t rue a nd correct ot t he b est o f my k nowledge, a nd d eclare t hat I am r eporting t he f indings o f t his w reck/relic o n b ehalf o f myself/myself a nd Eersons r eferred t o a bove.

Signature Date. Witness:

o f

f inder:

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM USE ONLY

Date copy

r eceived

Copy p laced on f ile Curator, Director,

b y W .A.

Museum

no.

Maritime Archaeology f or

1 9...

i nformation

t o n ote 1 9...

1 64

NOTICE OF F INDING A WRECK BELIEVED TO BE H ISTORIC According t o t he p rovisions o f t he Maritime A rchaeology Act, 1 973, a p erson o r persons who f inds t he w reck site of a ship that was, or appears likely t o have b een lost, w recked, o r abandoned, o r was s tranded, on o r o ff t he coast of Western Australia b efore t he year 1 900 ( or any r elic f rom s uch a s hip) i s r equired t o g ive notice o f f inding t o t he D irector o f t he Museum i n w riting a s soon a s p racticable. [ Section 1 7 ( 1)]. The Trustees o f t he Museum h ave power t o r eward t he p erson o r p ersons who f irst notifies t he D irector of t he position of a s hip t hat was, o r appears t o have b een, lost b efore t he year 1 900, o r o f any relic, t he position of w hich was not p reviously k nown t o t he Trustees. [ Section 1 8 ( 1)]. The person o r p ersons submitting t his form s hould specify t he c ircumstances i n which t he f ind was made, i ncluding p articulars of a ny other persons p resent o r who r endered a ssistance. [ Section ( 3)(e)]. A person w ishing t o make a c laim for a r eward p ayable under s ubsection ( 1) o f t his s ection s hould w here p racticable, mark t he position by l eaving t here a buoy o r other i dentifiable t hing t hat may b e r ecovered by t he Trustees, i n o rder t o verify t hat t he position notified t o t he D irector i s t he same as t hat i nvestigated by t he Trustees pursuant t o t hat n otification. The Trustees may r efuse t he c laim o f any person who d oes not s atisfy t hem t hat t he position which he c laims to have e stablished h as b een verified. I t i s i mportant t hat t his form b e f illed out a s a ccurately a nd completely a s possible so t hat t he f ind can b e l ocated and i nspected by Museum s taff. For further particulars o f t he l egislation consult t he Western Australian Maritime Archaeology Act. ( No. 6 6 of 1 973). P lease attempt t o complete a ll t he questions on t his f orm: Even n egative i nformation can b e helpful.

To : THE D IRECTOR Western Australian Museum

1 65

I h ereby g ive n otice o f t he f inding o f a w reck/relic ( please c ircle) which I b elieve t o b e h istoric ( i.e. p rior t o 1 900).

1 .

The

f inder was/the

f inders were:

Name: Address:

Name. Address:

Telephone:

Telephone:

Name: Address:

Name: . . Address:

Telephone:

Telephone:

•

•

•

2 .

Date o f

f inding:

3 .

Name o f

t he w recked

4 . ( a) ( b) ( c)

Location o f f ind: Locality: Nearest Prominent Landmark: . Compass, S extant a nd/or v isual p rominent l andmarks:

( d)

Other r elevant i nformation on l ocation: ( such a s: whether s ite i s on t he b each, a bove b elow h igh water mark, w hether w reckage d ries or p artly d ries a t l ow t ides, d istance f rom s hore, s ailing d irections, e tc.)

( e)

I f a b uoy, s take o r c airn o r other i dentifiable t hing h as b een p laced on o r n ear t he s ite p lease d escribe i t:

( f)

Latitude: Longitude:

( g)

Please mark w reck location on a ttached chart, a nd s ubmit a s ketch map o f your own t o a id s taff i n l ocating t he s ite: W ill f inder/finders b e a vailable t o a ccompany Museum s taff t o t he s ite?

( h)

1 66

s hip

( if

k nown):

•

b earings

t o

•

.

Yes/No

5 .

6 .

I f

Circumstances ( skin d iving; etc.):

Physical ( a)

( b)

y es,

most convenient dates:

under which s ite was found s norkling; boating; f ishing;

d escription o f w reck/relic:

I f a w reck: Does t he hull composite?

a ppear

t o b e wood,

I f a ny f astening bolts were noted were b rass o r copper? What s ort o f b allast r emains? Is h ull outline d iscernible? Any b oilers, w inches o r other

Details o f

a ny g lass o r

Miscellaneous Materials

7 .

h iking;

i ron o r

t hey

machinery o n

ceramic material

( to

i nclude

i ron,

t he

s ite?

found:

s mall

a rtifacts)?

Diving conditions on t he s ite: ( a) Depth o f water: ( b) Type o f b ottom: ( c) Visibility: ( d) Sheltered o r exposed ‚ ( e)

Does s ite b ecome covered b y s and? I f s o, what s eason o r weather e xposes

( f)

I s t he s urge

( g)

Other

s ite much a ffected

c omments on d iving

1 67

b y

s urf

o r

conditions:

i t? b ottom

I , . , certify t hat t he s tatements made on t his f orm a re t rue a nd c orrect ot t he b est o f my k nowledge, a nd declare t hat I a m r eporting t he f indings o f t his w reck/relic o n b ehalf of myself/myself and persons r eferred t o a bove.

Signature o f Date: Witness:

f inder:

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM U SE ONLY

Date copy r eceived Copy p laced on Curator, Director,

by W .A.

Museum

f ile n o.

Maritime Archaeology for

1 9...

i nformation

.

1 68

t o n ote 1 9...

F igure 1 : The BATAVIA hull structure. ( All p hotographs accompanying t his r eport a re courtesy of t he Western Australia Museum)

1 69

Figure 2 : p rogress.

Reconstruction of

1 70

the BATAVIA

in

F igure 3 : T he Western Australia Maritime Museum, F reemantle.

1 71

F igure 4 : Model of t he BATAVIA Gallery in t he Western Australia Maritime Museum s howing t he ship and facade. 1 72

Figure

5 :

Building

facade

1 73

f rom

t he BATAVIA.

Figure 6 : Museum.

Display a rea, Western Australia Maritime

1 74

Figure

7 :

Beardman

j ugs

f rom

175

t he VERGULDE DRAECK.

Nautical Archaeology: The HAMILTON a nd t he S COURGE: A F irst Look

Kenneth A .

Cassavoy

Introduction . .. I a woke i n consequence o f l arge d rops f alling on my f ace... a f lash o f l ightning a lmost b linded me. The t hunder came a t t he n ext i nstant a nd w ith i t a r ushing o f w inds... k new t he s chooner must go over.., t he ship w as f illed w ith t he s hrieks a nd c ries o f t he men t o l eeward who were l ying j ammed u nder t he g uns... t hat h ad gone down a s t he v essel f ell over. The s tarboard s econd g un h ad c apsized a nd come down d irectly over t he forward h atch, a nd I c aught a g limpse o f a man t rying t o get p ast i t... I c rawled a ft, on t he upper s ide o f t he b ulwark, t hinking t o s tep on t he muzzle o f t he p iece; b ut i t h ad gone t o l eeward w ith t he r est a nd I f ell t hrough t he p ort u ntil T w as b rought u p w ith my a rms... I t n ow came t o me ( that)... t he s chooner must go down... I made a spring a nd f ell i nto t he water... I t i s my opinion t hat t he s chooner s unk a s I left h er..." ( Cooper 1 843:68)

1 76

This v ivid, fascinating, eyewitness a ccount o f t he s inking of t he U .S. Navy ' s SCOURGE i s f rom Ned Myers, o r a Life Before t he Mast, e dited by James Fenii tT pre Cooper. Now t hat t he SCOURGE,and her s ister ship t he HAMILTON, h ave b een found under 3 00 feet o f water- Ned Myer's a ccount makes even more i nteresting r eading. This i s d iscussed f urther b elow.

Background In t he summer o f 1 813, t he SCOURGE a nd t he HAMILTON, t wo a rmed s chooners, were part o f an American s quadron p atrolling Lake Ontario. The HAMILTON was approximately 7 0 f eet long on d eck w ith a b eam o f about 2 2 f eet. The former U .S. merchant s chooner D IANA, s he was built i n Oswego, New York, i n 1 809 and purchased by t he U .S. Navy j ust b efore t he War o f 1 812-1814 b egan. The SCOURGE, approximately 5 4 f eet long on deck w ith a b eam o f a round 1 9 feet, was t he former Canadian merchant schooner LORD NELSON, built i n 1 811 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, a nd captured i llegally by t he U .S. Navy t wo weeks b efore t he outbreak o f hostilities i n 1 812. Both s hips were r igged as t opsail s chooners and could b e p ropelled w ith t he u se of sweeps ( long oars) when t he w ind d ropped out of t heir s ails. Both were q uickly r efitted and i mmediately p ressed i nto s ervice i n t he American s quadron. The HAMILTON was equipped w ith n ine guns a nd t he SCOURGE t en. The a ddition o f t hese guns made t he merchant schooners t op-heavy and u nstable, e specially i n heavy weather. This i nfamous i nstability i n t he hastily a rmed lake schooners was l egend w ith t he men who s ailed i n t hem and who h ad, on occasion, r eferred t o t he s hips a s " floating coffins" ( Cooper 1 843). Early on t he morning o f August 8 th, 1 813, while manoeuvering for a ction a gainst a British f leet o ff St. Catherines, Ontario, both t he HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE foundered a nd i mmediately s ank i n a s udden, deadly squall. Separated by about 4 50 metres, t he r emains o f t he ships, a long w ith t he 5 4 men who were lost with t hem, lay undisturbed on t he lake bottom f or t he n ext 1 60 years. In 1 972, a s earch for t he vessels b egan a nd, t he following year, a magnetometer s urvey r eading gave t he f irst indication o f t he possible l ocation of t he w recks, 9 k ilometres o ff Port Dalhousie, Ontario, a t a d epth o f about 3 00 feet. S ubsequent u se o f s ide-scan sonar p rovided v ivid sonic images which l eft l ittle doubt t hat the HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE h ad b een found. In 1 980, f ilm footage f rom a manned s ubmersible d ive on t he HAMILTON s howed t he s hip t o b e i n excellent condition.

1 77

In May o f 1 982, a one week photographic s urvey o f b oth t he HAMILTON a nd t he S COURGE was c arried out u sing an u nmanned, r emotely p iloted v ehicle ( RPV ). This h ighly maneuverable R PV was equipped w ith b oth v ideotape a nd s till c ameras w ith w hich t o r ecord t he d etails o f t he s hips a nd t heir s urroundings. As P roject A rchaeologist, I p repared t he p reliminary s urvey r eport. That r eport p rovides t he b asis f or t he i nformation i n t his paper.

P reliminary S urvey R eport A word about t he p reliminary r eport i tself. A c entral part o f t he r eport a re s ite p lans f or e ach o f t he vessels ( Figures 1 a nd 2 ) w hich were d rawn s trictly f rom f ield notes t aken during t he s urvey a nd l ater v iewing o f 1 60 s till p hotographs a nd a pproximately 2 3 hours o f v ideotape t aken d uring t he s urvey. ( 1) I t s hould b e n oted t hat t here were s ome g aps i n t he p hotographic coverage o f b oth v essels, t hus, s ome s ections o f t he s ite p lans w ere completed t hrough extrapolation f rom k nown d etails. As well, s ince n o s urvey points were e stablished a nd n o scale was i ncluded i n t he photographic o r v ideotape coverage, t he s ite p lans must b e considered a s i nterpretive, not n ecessarily t o s cale, a nd w ith s ome details conjectural. S ince a ll observations i n t he r eport t ext, a nd t he comments i ncluded h ere a re b ased on t he s ame v isual i nformation only, t hey a lso must b e considered a s b eing i nterpretive i n s ome r espects a nd s ubject t o f uture c larification. I t m ight a lso b e observed t hat, a t t his point i n t ime, t he v ideotape m aterial f rom t he s urvey h as b een a nalyzed only t o a f actor o f p erhaps 2 5 t o 3 0 p ercent a nd considerable i nformation r emains t o b e d rawn f rom i t. As well, a n a dditional 1 200 p hotographs t aken o n t he s urvey were n ot available d uring t he p reparation o f t he p reliminary r eport. No doubt, t hese p hotographs a lso could p rovide b oth n ew i nformation a nd c larification o f d etails. Beyond q uestion, i n a p ictorial s ense, t he s urvey photographs a nd v ideotape a re t ruly outstanding. They p rovide a v isual r ecord o f t he t wo s hips constituting t hese unique a rchaeological s ites. They a lready h ave g iven up a n a bundance o f i nformation. But, a s s uggested above, t he photographic coverage c learly i s l imited i n t erms o f p roviding i nformation. For example, w ithout s cale o r r eference a nd l acking a ny s tereo p hoto-mosaic o r other p recise documentation, d iscussion o f h ull construction o r o ther major s tructural points i s n ot possible i n a ny d efinitive s ense. The l ength, t he b eam, a nd a ll other d imensions o f t he v essels a re s till unknown. The r elative s ize o f a ll s tructural p ieces a nd observable materials c an s till only b e e stimated.

1 78

Developing t his k ind o f p recise documentation w ill t o await f urther p roject work.

h ave

In t he meantime, i t was possible t o u se t he p ictorial i nformation t o m ake a n umber o f r easonable observations about specific p oints concerning t he v essels a nd t o d raw c ertain conclusions, e specially r elated t o f uture work. A lthough i t w ill n ot b e possible t o r eview a ll t he points c overed i n t he p reliminary r eport t his paper t ouches on s ome w hich a re o f i nterest.

I nventory Both t he HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE n ow r est i n a n upright position o n t he l ake b ottom, b oth l isting 1 5 t o 2 0 d egrees t o port. Ropes holding spars, b locks, deadeyes, a nchors a nd f ittings i n p lace, h ave v irtually a ll r otted away a nd t his material h as d ropped t o t he decks or t he n earby l ake b ottom. Otherwise, t he s hips p robably look v ery much a s t hey d id when t hey went down i n 1 813. S cattered a round t he v essels a re s keletal r emains o f s ome o f t he men who went down w ith t hem. Using a t heoretical g rid p lan s uperimposed on t he p lan v iew o f t he s hips ( Figure 3 ), t he l ocation o f a ll v isible material p resent on t he s ites was d ocumented. This g rid, i n 4 m etre b y 4 metre s ections, d ivided t he s ite i nto more managable, s pecific a rchaeological u nits. The 4 metre square s ize was s elected a s a p ractical o ne, g iven t he r elatively l arge a rea o f t he s ites a nd t he amount o f m aterial p resent. This s quare s ize a lso p rovided a f lexibility which a llowed e asy r eduction t o 1 metre square m inor u nits w ithin e ach 4 m etre s quare. Since t he p lan v iews o f t he s hips a re o f v essels w ith a marked l ist t o port, corrections f or p ositioning of material w ithin t he g rid system would n ormally b e undertaken. However, s ince t he p recise d egree o f l ist i s not k nown, s uch c alculations a re n ot y et p ossible. W ith f urther i nformation available, a corrected p lan c an b e d rawn which p recisely r eflects t he a ngle o f l ist o f t he vessels and, t hus, t he positioning o f a ll a ssociated material. The s ite i nventories e stablished u sing t his g rid s ystem i ncluded only c learly i dentifiable m aterials observed on t he s ites a nd s hown on t he p lans. The i nventories d id n ot i nclude a ny r eference t o t he h ulls t hemselves o r a ny a ttached s tructural material i ncluding s tanding s pars.

1 79

S ite

i nventory for

t he HAMILTON

i ncluded:

Large s pars Small s pars/wooden p ieces Sweeps ( minimum ) B locks ( including s ingle t o multi-sheave t ypes) Deadeyes ( minimum) O rdnance - I ron carronades ( 12/24? p ounds) - I ron long gun ( 24/32? pounds) - Powder l adles - Grape s hot cannisters ( minimum) - G rape s hot p edestals ( minimum) Anchors ( wooden s tock t ype) S keletal r emains ( minimum ) Miscellaneous - Cutlasses ( minimum) - Hat'

Site I nventory f or

t he SCOURGE

i ncluded:

Large spars Small s pars/wooden p ieces ( minimum ) Sweeps ( minimum) B locks ( minimum ) Deadeyes ( minimum) O rdnance - I ron g uns ( 6/8? p ounds) - Round s hot ( minimum) - Rammer/Worm' - S keletal r emains M iscellaneous - Cutlasses ( minimum ) - Axes ( minimum)

Distribution Pattern - HAMILTON The d istribution p attern on t he HAMILTON s ite i s c learly a r esult o f t he port l ist o f t he s hip a s i t now r ests o n t he l ake b ottom. I t s eems p robable t hat d uring t he s hip 's f oundering t he carronades s lid t o port a nd a ffected configuration o f t he v essel a s i t s ank t hrough 3 00 f eet o f water t hen s truck a nd s tabilized on t he l ake bottom. Undoubtedly, s ome material w ould h ave gone over t he s ide on i mpact w ith t he b ottom. Later, a s r opes decayed, s pars, b locks a nd other material would h ave d ropped t o t he d eck a nd r olled t oward t he p ort s ide u ntil e ither f alling over t he s ide o r b eing s topped by t he o ther s tructures o r material on d eck. S ignificantly, only one b lock, not obviously obstructed, r emains n ear t he s tarboard s ide o f t he s hip. The v ast majority o f t he observable a rtifactual material i s l ocated o n t he port s ide o f t he v essel a nd w ithin a 5 m etre a rea off t he p ort s ide. Blocks a nd spars, o riginally l ocated a t a p oint h igh e nough on t he masts a nd r igging, would h ave d ropped d irectly onto t he l ake b ottom, o ff t he port s ide o f t he

1 80

7 4 6 2 5 1 6 8 1 2 2 3 2 4 4 1

7 2 1 3 1 5 1 5 1 0 3 1 2 6 1 0

v essel. The open b ulwarks o f t he s hip made i t e asier for m aterial t o have g one over t he s ide a t t he t ime o f i mpact o r l ater a fter f astenings gave way a nd material d ropped t o t he deck. Material a ttached t o t he s ide o f t he v essel, n otably s weeps, would h ave d ropped d irectly t o t he l ake b ottom. A l arge n umber o f t hese a re observable on t he port s ide o f t he v essel. Only o ne i s obvious o n t he s tarboard s ide, lodged a long t he o utside e dges o f t he c arronade s lides. The a rtifactual material observable o n a nd n ear t he s hip p robably r epresents only a v ery s mall p ercentage o f t hat p resent. Undoubtedly, much other material a ssociated w ith t he ship l ies n earby b ut i s c overed b y a l east a l ight l ayer o f overburden. The a vailable d istribution evidence s uggests t hat t he b ulk o f a ny a dditional a rtifactual material p resent s hould b e l ocated w ithin a 5 t o 1 0 m etre a rea a long t he port s ide o f t he s hip. Some a dditional material may a lso b e located o ff t he port b ow a nd p ort s tern s ections.

D istribution Pattern - S COURGE Essentially t he s ame pattern o f d istribution c an b e n oted for t he S COURGE a s for t he HAMILTON. As a r esult o f t he port l ist, t he vast b ulk o f t he a rtifactual m aterial i s located on t he port s ide o f t he v essel. As well, t he s ame b asic s cenario a s t hat f or t he HAMILTON, c an b e suggested f or t he s inking o f t he S COURGE. Most p robably, t he port guns t ilted d irectly downward a s t he s hip went on her b eam ends during t he s quall. The s tarboard guns, a pparently h eld b y a m inimal s ecuring a round t he cascabel r emained upright i n t heir ports ( Cooper 1 843). After s lipping b elow t he s urface i n a p ort-listing configuration, s he s truck a nd s tabilized on t he b ottom i n t hat s ame configuration. I n t he c ase o f t he SCOURGE, t he c losed b ulwarks s uggest t hat a considerable a mount o f l oose material w ill h ave lodged a long t he i nside e dge o f t he port b ulwark. This m aterial i s not now obvious b ecause o f t he r elatively h eavy s ilting-in which h as occurred a long t his s ide o f t he v essel. As w ith t he HAMILTON, i t i s p robable t hat only a s mall percentage o f t he a rtifactual m aterial p resent on t he s ite h as y et b een observed. Similarly, t he d istribution e vidence f rom t he S COURGE s uggests t hat t he b ulk o f a ny a dditional a rtifactual material o n t his s ite s hould l ie w ithin a 5 t o 1 0 metre a rea a long t he port s ide o f t he s hip, extending a nother 5 t o 1 0 metres b eyond t he bow a nd s tern.

1 81

Based on t he apparently consistent d istribution p atterns f or t he S COURGE a nd t he HAMILTON, c areful excavation o f t he s ites s hould a llow f or a ccurate r econstruction o f most a spects o f t he s hips, i ncluding t he r igging d etails.

Condition o f

H ulls

a nd Artifactual Material

Hulls Although n o p hysical t esting o f t he h ulls has yet t aken p lace, f or b oth t he HAMILTON a nd t he S COURGE, t he general c ondition appears t o b e q uite good. F rom b ow t o s tern t here i s n o apparent evidence o f s tructural damage t o t he outside o f t he h ulls e ither f rom i nitial i mpact o r l ater deterioration ( D.L. Hamilton 1 982: pers. comm.) No d etailed examination o f a ny extensive s trake a rea was possible b ut, wherever observed, t he c aulking s eemed t o b e s till i n p lace a nd t he s eams t ight. The d ecks o f t he v essels a lso a ppear t o b e i n r elatively good condition. None o f t he h eavy o rdnance p ieces s how a ny s igns o f f alling t hrough t he decks, p erhaps t he b est e vidence f or r etention o f d eck s trength. Aside f rom e vidence o f s urface " cheesiness" n oted d uring occasional R PV contact w ith s tructures and s pars, t he wood i n a ll a reas a ppears t o h ave r etained a l arge d egree o f i ts o riginal i ntegrity. One i ndication o f t his i s e videnced i n t he a rea o f t he port a nchor o f t he HAMILTON. A considerable a mount o f t he weight o f t he a nchor ( perhaps 4 00 t o 5 00 pounds) a pparently i s s upported by only a s mall wooden t op t imber/stanchion on t he p lank-sheer, a nd a s ectionof a n earby wooden c hannel. There i s n o evidence o f e ither t he s tanchion o r t he channel g iving way u nder h is apparently s ubstantial p ressure. G iven t he s tability o f t he e nvironment o n t he s ites, i t i s r easonable t o a ssume t hat a ll s imilar wood on t he s ite would r etain t he s ame d egree o f i ntegrity. Further, i t i s l ikely t hat t his s tanchion would b e o f t he same m aterial a s a ll major hull members - most p robably oak - which, i n t urn, s uggests a n overall r etention o f h ull s trength. All observed h ull s ections, d eck s tructures a nd s pars r etain w ell-defined s urface e dges. Whether squared-off, r ounded, o r c hamfered, t he o riginal s urfaces s how l ittle s ign o f d eterioration. These r elatively s harply defined s urface e dges a re c learly e vident i n b oth t he l arger s tructural p ieces ( bitts, b owsprit, e tc.) a nd much s maller p ieces ( interior h atch coaming e dges, mast w edges, e tc.).

1 82

A rtifactual Material As w ith t he h ulls o f t he v essels, a ll s maller wooden a rtifacts on t he s ites appear t o b e i n good condition. However, a s would b e expected many f errous metal objects o n t he s ites s how s igns o f s evere oxidization ( rusting). This i s most d ramatically e vident i n t he i ron c annons on b oth vessels. On t hese l arger objects, t he oxidization s hould not g reatly a ffect t he overall r etained s trength o f t he object. However, on s ome s maller objects w here a s ubstantial d egree o f corrosion c an b e n oted, a r esulting d egradation o f t he objects c an b e s een c learly. This i s e vident, f or example, i n t he b adly d eteriorated c annisters, cutlasses, a nd other m aterial l ocated o ff t he p ort s tern s ection o f t he HAMILTON. It s hould b e s tressed a gain t hat only v isual i nformation i s a vailable on which t o b ase observations c oncerning t he c ondition o f t he h ulls a nd o ther s ite m aterial. While s uch observations a re n ecessary a nd i nteresting, t ruly meaningful d iscussions c an t ake p lace o nly a fter p hysical t esting i s completed. G iven t he u niqueness o f t hese s ites, t he r esults o f s uch t esting u ndoubtedly w ill b e v ery r evealing a nd most i mportant i n t erms o f f uture work.

Cleaning

a nd Conservation Note

The q uestion o f conserving t he h ulls a nd t he a rtifactual material f rom t he HAMILTON a nd t he S COURGE i s b oth complicated a nd controversial. L ikely, i t w ill b e a c onsiderable t ime b efore a ny consensus on t his point i s r eached. Obviously, t he point c annot b e f ully a ddressed i n t his paper. However, i t i s worth n oting t hat t he e nvironment surrounding t he vessels i s p robably t he most a menable one possible, i n t erms o f l ack o f d eterioration, o f a rchaeological material. Certainly, i t i s f ar s uperior t o t hat i n which most s cientifically e xcavated s hipwreck s ites h ave b een found. The depth o f t he water, w ith t he r esulting l ow t emperatures ( constant a t 4 t o 6 d egrees c elsius) a nd l ow l ight p enetration l evels, c ombined w ith t he l ack o f s alinity, h as g reatly r educed t he r ate o f deterioration o f t he s hips a nd a ssociated m aterial. As well, t he f reshwater n ature o f t he e nvironment s uggests t hat a l arge p art o f t he material o n t he s ite, i ncluding t he hulls a nd major o rdnance p ieces, p robably w ill n eed l ittle c leaning b eyond t hat o f a m echanical n ature. ( D.L. Hamilton 1 982: p ers. comm.) However, t he massive, long-term p roblem o f c onservation r emains perhaps t he most i mportant p roject consideration.

1 83

Miscellaneous As well a s s ome o f t he more i mportant a spects d iscussed above, a g reat n umber o f m inor observations were made d uring t he course o f t he s urvey a nd t he p reparation o f t he p reliminary r eport. These i ncluded points r elated t o b oth s hip s tructures, s ite environment a nd a n umber o f other a spects. Again, t hey c annot a ll be r eviewed here, b ut s ome examples m ight b e o f i nterest. The b ulwarks on t he HAMILTON a re open a long t he e ntire l ength o f t he d eck o f t he v essel, l eaving t he g un c rews, a nd o thers on d eck d uring a ny a ction, i n v ery e xposed positions. Perhaps r elated t o t his, sweeps appear t o have b een n ormally s towed a long t he outside o f t he b ulwarks, r esting on t he outside e dges o f t he carronade s lides. Aside f rom convenience o f s towage, t his a rrangement a lso m ight p rovide s ome m easure o f p rotection i n f ront o f t he b ulwarks. In contrast t o t he HAMILTON, t he i nterior a s well t he exterior o f t he b ulwarks on t he S COURGE h ave b een p lanked i n. This s omewhat u nusual c onstruction d etail u ndoubtedly r elates t o t he p rovision o f p rotection f or gun c rews a nd others on d eck d uring p eriods o f a ction.

a s

Silt h as b uilt u p o n t he port s ide o f t he deck o f t he SCOURGE t o a t l east a d epth o f s everal i nches, sufficient t o b ury t he f ront w heels o f t he g un carriages. The c losed bulwark a rrangement, mentioned above, obviously, h as b rought about t his b uild-up. Silt b uild-up i n t he i nterior o f t he S COURGE h as b een n oted i n t he h atch j ust a ft o f t he mainmast. The level o f t his s ilt appears t o r each w ithin p erhaps 5 0 c entimeters o f deck l evel. S imilar s ilt b uild-up h as b een noted i nside t he s tern c abin w indows, a pparently r eaching t he l evel o f t he s ill. S ilt b uild-up b elow t he deck o f t he HAMILTON c an b e s een i nside t he a ft h atch. The s ilt i n t his c ase appears t o r ise t o w ithin a f ew s teps o f t he t op o f t he h atch ladder. The consistency o f t his s ilt has not yet b een determined a nd, b ased on t he lack o f d eposits on d eck a nd other f actors, t his s ilt may b e o f a s emi-aqueous n ature. Bilge p umps, w ith t heir s pears ( shafts) evident, a re l ocated j ust forward o f t he mainmast on t he S COURGE. Brakes ( handles) f or t he p umps a re n ot i n p osition. ( T. Oertling 1 982: pers. comm.). A cutlass c an b e s een positi oned a longside t he spear i n t he port p ump, u ndoubtedly p laced t here by a c rew member f or quick r etrieval i n a ny c lose quarters a ction.

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A small c ircular object r ising f rom t he deck j ust a ft of t he foremast o f t he SCOURGE, i s believed t o b e a s tove p ipe o r " Charley Noble" f rom a s tove b elow, p roviding evidence for t he p robable location o f t he s hip ' s galley. The position o f t he HAMILTON's s hip ' s boat and t he l ocation o f one o f t he davit b locks i n t he s tern o f t he b oat, i ndicates t hat t he boat r emained a ttached t o t he HAMILTON during t he s inking t hen d ropped d irectly o ff t he d avits when t he r opes eventually r otted and gave way. The foot o f t he s tem o f t his small beat s eems u nusually s quared off where i t meets t he k eel. This construction point suggests t hat t he b oat may h ave b een c apable o f h aving i ts r udder moved t o t he bow t o p rovide r udimentary s teering while b eing u sed a s a t ow vehicle. The notch i n t he t ransom of t he boat t ends t o r einforce t his s uggestion. ( J R. Steffy 1 982: pers. comm.).

Figureheads The f igureheads on t he HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE a re most p robably carved f rom Eastern White P ine, t he wood most commonly u sed for such p ieces ( C. Olsen 1 982: p ers. comm.) ¶ 2) The j oin l ines b etween t his s ofter, more workable wood u sed for t he f igureheads and t he harder, s tronger wood ( oak?) of t he vessel s tructure, can c learly be s een i n t he photographs o f t he f igureheads. It i s l ikely t hat each f igurehead h ad a mortise and t enon where t he f igurehead joins t he s tem, p lus a metal ( iron or copper) f astening going t hrough t he body of t he f igure to hold t he carving to t he s hip. Wood p lugs t ypically cover t hese f astening. The f lat portion at t he b ack of t he f igureheads i s p art o f t he same l og f rom which t he f igure i s carved. This appears t o b e a small post s ection p rojecting above t he HAMILTON f igurehead. Apparently, i t i s unusual for t his post t o p roject t o such a height. Usually, t hese " lacing boards" s top b elow t he s houlders. Both t he bust s tyle f igurehead on t he HAMILTON a nd t he walking s tyle f igurehead on t he SCOURGE s eem t o b e common t o t he 1 9th century. The h ighly decorative g arland at t he base o f t he HAMILTON f igurehead apparently i s somewhat unusual b ut not t otally u nique. The e arly, t entative i dentifications o f t he HAMILTON f igurehead a s t hat o f t he goddess D iana, and t he S COURGE f igurehead a s Lord Nelson still s eem valid. The former n ames of t he vessels D IANA ( HAMILTON) and LORD NELSON ( SCOURGE) make t hese suggested i dentifications eminently

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logical. However, t here h as b een s ome q uestion concerning whether t he f igure o f t he B ritish Lord Nelson would h ave b een l eft on a s hip s erving i n t he U .S. Navy a nd why Lord Nelson would b e s hown w ith t wo a rms m any years a fter h e l ost a n a rm a t Trafalgar. S uggestions o n t he f irst point, m ight i nclude t he h aste w ith which t he s hip was p ressed i nto s ervice a nd, p erhaps more i mportantly, t he s uperstition o f s eamen s urrounding t he r emoval o f a f igurehead f rom a s hip, r egardless o f t he r eason. The s econd point i s countered by t he possibility t hat t he s culptor was working f rom a v ery e arly l ikeness o f Nelson, o r s imply d ecided a more " idealized" Nelson, w ith b oth a rms i ntact, was more a ppropriate for a f igurehead. However, b efore f inal i dentifications c an b e a ccepted, i t w ill b e n ecessary t o obtain b etter d etails o f t he hair, c lothing, a nd other f eatures o f t he f igureheads.

S ite Damage In a most u nfortunate i ncident d uring t he 1 982 s urvey, t he f oremast o f t he HAMILTON was a ccidentally pulled o ff t he s hip. Apparently t he mast was d islodged when a n a nchor c able f rom t he s urvey b arge c ame i n contact w ith t he mast d uring a r epositioning manoeuver ( Nelson 1 982:2). Although t he absence o f t he mast c an b e noted on t he v ideotapes, t here a re o nly v ery b rief g limpses o f t he f oremast a rea a fter t he t ime t he i ncident apparently o ccurred. No other d amage i s apparent i n t he a rea but, u ntil t he mast i s r elocated and a r econnaissance o f t he s hip i s a gain completed, t here i s n o way t o determine i f t he movement o f t he m ast h as caused damage t o a ny other p arts o f t he v essel. 1 982 s urvey p hotographs a nd v ideotapes a lso i ndicated t hat t he c arved c at f ace on t he s tarboard c athead o f t he HAMILTON i s n ow m issing. This object apparently was k nocked c leanly o ff t he end o f t he c athead at t he h ardwood/softwood j oin, d uring t he 1 980 i nvestigation o f t he s ite. P resumably, t his carved f ace n ow l ies s omewhere d irectly b elow t he c athead. Although n o e vidence i s a pparent i n t he 1 982 s urvey photographs, a r eview o f t he 1 980 f ilm c learly s hows t he cover o f t he HAMILTON f orehatch b eing d islodged a nd a t l east s lightly d amaged d uring t hat e arlier s urvey. Where t he 1 982 survey R PV o ccasionally t ouched t he v essels, s ome other s coring o f s pars a nd s tructures c an b e s een. However, i n a ll observed c ases, t his s coring s eems t o b e r elatively m inor.

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All o f t hese points speak d irectly t o t he d ifficulty o f carrying out delicate, scientific work at s uch d epths. They a lso emphasize t he n eed for f ull o ff-site f ield t esting o f a ll equipment a nd p rocedures, a nd c ritical, p recision p lanning for a ll on-site a ctivities, well i n a dvance o f such work.

A rchaeology

and

H istory

On something o f a less s erious note, a f ew t houghts on a very d ifferent a spect o f t he i nvestigation o f t he HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE. Without question, b eneath t he decks o f t hese s hips l ie s torehouses o f materials and i nformation on t he s hipboard l ife of t he t ime. Food, c lothing, p ersonal e ffects, everything s hould b e t here, a nd i n good condition, p reserved i n an a naerobic e nvironment. As a lways, t he vessels t hemselves will b e most i mportant a rtifacts, for t here i s l ittle formal i nformation on s hip construction during t his period. Ultimately, t he s hips w ill answer volumes o f a rchaeological and h istorical questions. Among many other t hings, t here i s, i n t hese s hips, t he r are opportunity t o check h istorical a ccounts a gainst h istory i tself. In fact, on something o f a l ighter note, s ome h istorical points have a lready b een a ddressed b ased on j ust t he p reliminary look at t he SCOURGE. For example, i n Howard Chapelle' s, The History o f t he American Sailing Navy he r efers t o " ... t he S COURGE 1 812 - Schooner, 1 2 gi li Or ( Chapelle 1 958:553). C . H . Snider, i n h is b ook, In t he Wake of t he Eighteen-Twelvers, s ays " ..7- t-he- SCOURGE 1-5 7a- a long 3 2 p ounder and 8 s hort twelvers" ( Snider 1 913:63). The U .S. Department o f t he Navy ' s, American F ighting Ships, r efers to t he SCOURGE a s having b een a rmed w ith " ... 1 long 3 2 a nd 8 short t welves" ( U.S. Dept. of t he Navy). I n f act, i t i s now apparent t hat t he SCOURGE carried 1 0 guns, perhaps a ll 6 o r 8 pounders. In r eturning t o Ned Myer' s t he SCOURGE, quoted f rom at t he r ecall t hat he s aid:

a ccount o f t he s inking o f b eginning o f t his paper,

. .. The s tarboard s econd gun, f rom forward, had capsized and come down d irectly over t he forward hatch, and I caught a g limpse o f a man s truggling t o get p ast ( it) . .." ( Cooper 1 843)

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From t he photographic e vidence w e c an s ee c learly t hat n one o f t he g uns a ppears t o h ave c apsized b ack on t he d eck. A ll a re s till i n t heir r espective ports. Ned s ays f urther: .. When I r eached t he port o f my own gun, I put a f oot i n t hinking t o s tep on t he muzzle o f t he p iece; b ut i t h ad gone t o l eeward w ith a ll t he r est a nd I f ell t hrough t he p ort u ntil I ( was) b rought u p b y my a rms..." ( Cooper 1 843) Again, a ll t he g uns a re s till i n t heir p orts, none h ave " gone t o l eeward", a nd i t i s l ikely t hat a t l east t he s tarboard guns n ever l eft t he positions we s ee t hem i n n ow. I n considering a ll t his a nd b ased on s ome other m inor r esearch, t here a re p erhaps o ther f actors which i nfluenced Ned' s a ccount. Obviously, i n t he c ircumstances o f t he s inking, t he e xcitement i tself c ould r esult i n f aulty p erceptions o f w hat was o ccurring. A s w ell, t he e vents were n arrated by Ned t o James Fenimore Cooper i n 1 843 - 3 0 Y EARS a fter t he f act ( Shulenberger 1 955:65). I t i s u nfortunate a lso t o n ote t hat, i n h is t ime, Ned apparently h ad o ccasionally b rushed up a gainst opium, a nd f or extensive p eriods o f h is l ife h ad b een c aught i n t he c lutches o f t he " demon r um" ( Grossman 1 949:183). I n f act, on t he v ery n ight o f t he s inking, Ned a nd t he c rew h ad r oundly " spliced t he main b race" ( received a n a dditional t ot o f r um ) a nd, a t t he v ery moment t he s quall s truck, Ned was s lipping b elow for, what h e called, " a n ip out o f a l ittle s tuff we k ept b elow i n o ur mess c hest" ( Cooper 1 843). Perhaps n one o f t his h ad a ny a ffect on Ned's memory. I t i s, however, something t hat m ight b e c onsidered. Seriously, i n t hemselves, t he h istorical points i nvolved h ere a re s omewhat l ess t han e arthshaking. The i mportance i s t hat, t aken c umulatively, t he evidence m ust c ast doubt on t he weight g iven t o t he Myers s tory. I n t he p ast, t his document h as b een q uoted a s a d efinitive s ource o f i nformation on t he d etails o f t he s hip, a s w ell a s a f ully f actual a ccount o f t he s inking o f t he v essel. Obviously, i t s hould n o l onger b e a utomatically a ccepted a s s uch. I n a comparing one which s hipwreck

more g eneral s ense, t he p ossibility o f p hysical e vidence w ith h istorical a ccounts i s h as i mportant r amifications f or a ll h istorical s ites.

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Conclusion As part of t he p reliminary r eport a s eries o f r ecommendations were made concerning f uture work on t he HAMILTON a nd SCOURGE s ites. These r ecommendations i ncluded s ix n ew phases, over a f ive year period, beginning with a more p recise s cientific, photographic s urvey o f t he s hips, a nd ending with t he t ransfer o f t he vessels t o t he p ermanent exhibition l ocation, followed b y e xcavation of t heir i nteriors. The s etting out o f t he r ecommended work phases was a very straightforward, a cademic exercise and, f or t he most p art, i nvolved only very general points. The r ecommendations were d esigned t o s erve a s d iscussion points r ather t han p lans for definitive a ction. However, t he recommendations concerning Phase I I, t he n ext phase o f work, p roposed for t he summer o f 1 984, d id i nclude specific details r elated to objectives, methodology, equipment r equirements, conservation and various other points. The r ecommendations a lso noted t hat underwater work at depths considerably g reater t han 3 00 f eet i s now routinely carried out by d ivers working i n o il f ields and other i ndustrial s ituations. As well, a lthough i t has never b een applied at s uch depths, t he t echnology for l ifting t he vessels, s eems t o be a vailable. Regardless o f any specific details, t here a re t hree or four major considerations which must r eceive p reeminent attention i n any p lans for f uture p roject work. The most u rgent need i s for i mmediate, e ffective s ecurtiy measures which w ill p rotect t he s ites f rom d isturbance by unauthorized i ndividuals o r g roups. During t he periods t hat f uture work r emains under discussion, t he s ites a re constantly at r isk f rom e ither p lanned o r a ccidental d isturbance. If a nythinl on t he s ites i s r emoved o r d isturbed i n any way t here must be a f ull and f inal commitment t o t he r aising o f t he vessels. -There i s no n eed for t he collection o f any d iagnostic a rtifacts s ince t he s ites have been i dentified. Collection o f a ny material for conservation t esting s hould b e undertaken only on t he very specific r equest o f a conservation a gency a nd a fter s uch r equests have b een j ustified f ully on t he b asis o f conservation needs only. I f a f ull and f inal commitment of t he r aising o f t he vessels cannot b e made, t hey s hould b e left undisturbed under s trict s ecurity p rotection, until a f uture t ime when s uch a commitment i s possible.

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F inally, in f uture, t he d irection o f p roject work must b e p laced i n t he hands o f a q ualified n autical a rchaeologist. This a rchaeologist must h ave f ull control over a ll a spects o f f ield work on t he s ites. High t echnology not w ithstanding, i t i s i nconceivable t hat t he a rchaeologist charged n ot only w ith meeting p roject objectives b ut a lso w ith t he p rotection o f t he s ites s hould have a nything l ess t han f ull a uthority t o m ake a ll decisions r elated t o t hese r esponsibilities. The HAMILTON a nd t he SCOURGE a re u nique, i nvaluable a rchaeological s ites which hold t reasures o f h istorical i nformation. For 1 60 y ears t hey have b een p rotected b y a b lanket o f water 3 00 f eet d eep. Now t hat we h ave penetrated t hat p rotective mantle i t i s i ncumbent on a ll t hose i nvolved t hat a ll d ecisions concerning t hese s hips b e made i n t heir LONG-TERM b est i nterests. They must b e approached w ith g reat s ensitivity. They must b e t reated with a deep a nd s incere appreciation o f t heir t rue v alue.

Notes

1 .

The author g ratefully a cknowledges t he i nvaluable work o f Kevin C . C risman i n t he r esearch and p reparation o f t hese s ite p lans.

2 .

The author g ratefully a cknowledges t he i nput Olsen on a ll poir' l i n t his s ection r elated f igureheads.

by Carol t o t he

Bibliography

Chapelle, H ., 1 958, Sailing Navy.

The H istory o f

Cooper, James F ., 1 843, Before The Mast. Grossman,

J .,

1 949,

Ned Myers,

t he American

o r

a Life

James Fenimore Cooper.

Nelson, D .A., Project:

1 982, HAMILTON/SCOURGE S urvey Supplemental Report.

Shulenberger,

A .,

1 955,

Snider, C .H., 1 913, Twelvers.

Cooper's Theory

I n The Wake o f

1 90

o f Fiction.

t he Eighteen

U .S.

Department on t he Navy, Fighting Ships.

American Naval

Plate 1 : Benthos Remotely P iloted Vehicle ( RPV ); u sed on t he 1 982 Survey. The R PV carries both v ideotape and s till c ameras. ( Photograph: K . Cassavoy)

1 92

Plate 2 : The f igurehead on t he HAMILTON, p robably r epresenting t he goddess D iana, t he former n ame of t he vessel. ( Photograph: Hamilton-Scourge Foundation/National Geographic Society)

1 93

1 94

P late 4 : One o f t he S COURGE s tarboard c annon. ( Photograph: Hamilton-Scourge Foundation/National Geographic Society )

1 95

Figure 1 : HAMILTON conjectural; not to C . Crisman)

Site Plan. ( Some details scale) ( Drawing: Kevin

2

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7

7

Figure 2 : SCOURGE Site Plan. ( Some details conjectural; not to s cale) ( Drawing: Kevin C .

Crisman)

1 97

( N

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Figure 3 : Theoretical SCOURGE s ite.

g rid s ystem

1 98

i n p lace o n

Underwater Archaeology

David W .

i n British Columbia

Griffiths

P resident Underwater Archaeology Society o f British Columbia 8 823-160 St. Surrey, B .C. V3R 4 N1

The Underwater Archaeology Society was f ormed i n 1 975 a s a r esult o f a n underwater workshop h eld b y t he Centre for Continuing Education o f t he University o f B ritish Columbia. The Society was a nd i s made up o f many d ivers i n t he a rea o f t he Lower Mainland o f t he p rovince who were a nd a re worried about what was h appening t o many o f t he s hipwrecks i n B .C. waters. On b ehalf o f t hose members o f t he Society and e veryone i n British Columbia w ith an i nterest i n u nderwater a rchaeology, i t i z t hrilling and g ratifying t hat s o many e steemed i ndividuals a re here i n t his p rovince for t his conference. Certainly a g reat d eal has b een l earned a nd valuable contacts h ave b een made. There h as b een p rovided a lot t o t hink about f or a long t ime t o come. As i s p robably well k nown, European i nfluence i n British Columbia a nd a long t he west coast o f North America i s q uite r ecent. R ecords o f shipwrecks go b ack no f urther t han t he 1 790's. Thus most o f t he v essels examined i n t he l ast s even y ears a re sailing v essels and s teamers f rom t he e arly 1 800's t o t he e arly 2 0th century. The PANTHER, n ow

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a s hipwreck i n t he Gulf I slands, i s a t ypical v essel o f t he m id-1800's. As a n on-profit volunteer o rganization UASBC b egan most o f i ts a ctivities i n t he a rea o f t he Gulf I slands. I t i s f airly i nexpensive t o g et t here for most members who l ive i n t he Lower Mainland. This g roup o f i slands i n t he Strait o f Georgia w ith r estricted p assages a nd h igh current a reas i s r eally a good p lace t o f ind w recks. It i s e asily a ccessible f rom Vancouver a nd Victoria a nd i s a n a rea o f extensive sport d iving. A n umber o f w recks t here h ave b een s ubject t o v andalism. The UASBC a ttempted t o a nd s till do t ry i n v arious w ays t o e ducate t he d iving p ublic t hrough workshops, d iving courses, conferences a nd s o on. I t h as m ade some measureable headway i n c hanging t he general a ttitude t oward t he u nderwater h eritage r esource t hat exists here i n British Columbia. Besides e ducation p rograms a nd s urveys o f v arious v essels, t he s ociety h as u ndertaken a n umber o f s earches for a s y et u nfound s hipwrecks. S idescan s onar h as b een u sed i n t his e ffort, b ut f or t his a c ompetent operator i s n eeded. With t he help o f Harold Edgerton, t he i nventor o f t he d evice who o nce c ame o ut, t he w reck o f t he Z EPHYR was l ocated o ff Mayne I sland. I t was a t ypical u tilitarian s ailing vessel o f t he 1 860-70's u sed i n t he wood t rade t o California a nd was l ost on i ts way t o S an F rancisco c arrying a c argo o f t wo white s andstone columns f rom t he m ines at Newcastle I sland o ff Nanaimo. I t was d riven u p on s hore on Mayne I sland, losing t he t wo columns a nd a l ittle mountain o f s andstone b locks which l ie t here t o t his d ay. The columns a re approximately 1 8 metres l ong a nd 2 metres i n d iameter. They w eigh about 6 0 t onnes e ach. The v essel i tself d espite i ts m undane u se t urned out t o b e q uite b eautifully appointed; a lovely s hip. A ll c abins, t he b elow deck a reas, f ittings a nd s o on, a re a ll d eeply b uried. The only p ortion o f t he vessel t hat i s a bove t he s and a re t he c apstain a nd t he s andstone t hat was carried a s deck c argo. However, a n a ttempt a t a p reliminary e xcavation o n t he s ite was m ade. Some o f t he a rtifacts t hat were r aised s uch a s a n avigation s late a nd t he s extant h ave b een exhibited i n t he Vancouver Maritime Museum, i n t ravelling d isplays f or t he B .C. Heritage T rain, a nd i n a n umber o f o ther p laces. One h alf o f t he n avigation s late was f ound i n a particular a rea a nd t he other h alf was f ound s ome 6 3 meters away s o t he vessel h ad b een b roken i n h alf w ith t he i ncredible d eck c argo o n b oard. The motion o f t he w aves f inally b roke t he s hip u p c lose t o s hore.

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The d eck c argo r esulted i n t he f irst i n-depth excavation o r s urvey o f a s ite i n B ritish Columbia waters. The Society h as b een b ack f rom t ime t o t ime a nd h ave b een u pdating t his. At s ome s tage i n t he f uture i t i s h oped, when t here a re f acilities t o conserve t he a rtifacts h ere i n B ritish Columbia, t o d isplay t hem. The Society h opes t o do a p roper e xcavation o ne d ay. This w reck b ecame t he s econd d esignated h eritage s ite i n B ritish Columbia u nder t he p rovincial Heritage Conservation Act. I t i s now a n u nderwater p rotected s ite. That means h ands o ff a nd do n ot t ouch a nd t he l aw s eems t o b e working v ery w ell i n t his c ase s imply b ecause n ot many p eople k now where i t i s. Another v essel f rom a nother e ra on w hich t he UASBC h as worked, n ot t oo l ong a fter t he Z EPHYR i s: t he s teamer I ROQUOIS. I t was d ecided t o u ndertake a s earch f or i t a nd t he w reck was f ound i n 1 977 d uring t he Cook B icentennial c elebrations. This s hip w as i mportant t o t hese w aters a s i t s upplied t he f irst c oastal a nd i nter-island t rade, mail a nd p assenger s ervice b etween t he Gulf I slands a nd t he mainland. The d ay i t was lost i n 1 911, i ts complete u pper d ecks a nd b oat d eck were c overed i n p iles o f h ay. It lost p erhaps 2 6 p eople w hen i t went down. The n umber i s not p recise s ince t hey d id n ot k eep p assenger l ists. IROQUOIS h ad s unk t hree t imes b efore t his. I t was a c ommon p ractice i n e arly British Columbia f or v essels t o u se a u nique method o f charting t he coast. They r an f ull s team up t o an u ncharted r ock, s ank t hemselves, a nd t hen i f a nyone s urvived t hey would s ay, " There i s a r ock. We'll mark t hat." The IROQUOIS r an a ground a t Jackson Point o ff Nanaimo, w as r aised a nd went on f inally t o meet i ts e nd o ff t he t ownship o f S idney. One particular m an s earched f or i t f or 7 years a nd was n ot t oo p leased when t he Society f ound i t a fter o nly t wo weekends. The Society u sed s leds t owed b ehind Boston Whalers at d epths u p t o 3 5 metres. The h igh current i n t he a rea made i t e ven more o f a c hallenge f or members o f t he Society. The s ite t urned out t o b e r eally q uite s pectacular i n a s much a s i t was h ighly r epresentative o f t he f irst d ecade o f t he 2 0th c entury w hen t he p rovince was s tarting i ts r apid g rowth. The whole s ite i s s cattered w ith c eramic ware a nd b ottles a nd p eople 's b elongings. A s urvey was u ndertaken o f j ust t he s ite i tself w ithout doing a ny e xcavation whatsoever. Some o f t he a rtifacts t hat were o n t he s urface were r aised s o t hey would n ot d isappear i nto sport d ivers' b asements w hen word g ot out t hat t his w reck was ' t here. The c argo i s v ery i mpressive, t he manifest b eing a g lorious t hing t o r ead. Among t he cargo a re

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t hree cases o f p ickled p igs t ails, i mported f rom Glasgow f or s ome l ighthouse k eeper on Saturna I sland. The container i s still s ealed and h as b een on d isplay i n a n umber o f places. Thanks t o one member who was a cash r egister salesman, i t was possible t o i dentify one p iece a s part o f a r egister j ust above t he cash d rawer. Part o f t he s tory g oes t hat t he captain t ook t he only l ifeboat w ith h is w ife and daughter, leaving 2 6 p eople t o d rown i n S idney Harbour, and yet h e had e nough t ime t o c lear out t he cash d rawer. One o f t he main anchors w as a lso found. This s ite was d esignated a lmost i mmediately, t oo, a s a p rotected heritage s ite. This i s n ot done e very t ime. I n f act t here a re only f our s uch s ites out of t he t housands o f s hipwrecks i n p rovincial waters. This one however, s eemed s uch a p erfect example o f t his t ype o f s teamer and i t was s o i mportant t o t he e arly Gulf I slanders and e arly British Columbians. It was s omewhat d ifficult f or a non p rofit o rganization, depending on membership f unds and donations o f t ime, equipment and s ervices t o get t o S idney on a r egular b asis, so i t was decided upon p ressure f rom t he t own o f S idney t o a llow a local g roup o f d ivers t o undertake t he r aising o f s ome a rtifacts s o t hey could go t o t he museum i n Sidney a nd at t he t ime t hat seemed l ike a good i dea. Howeverver t he a greement was t hat t he UASBC would s upply t hem w ith t he s ite survey a nd t hat t hey would update i t constantly. Unfortunately t hat i s not what h appened. Rather a long came w hat w ill b e facetiously called, for t he moment, t he ' Royal Canadian Navy' w ith g rand p lans for r aising various a rtifacts, which t hey d id. They r aised an anchor, which now s tands i n t he t ownship o f S idney, and perhaps i n a nother t wo o r t hree years t here will b e a n ice p ile o f r ust t here a s t hat w ill b e a ll t hat i s l eft o f i t. They a lso had p lans for t he p ropellor. The p lan was, on t his h eritage s ite, t o unleash a complete d iving unit w ith explosives t o b low t he t hing o ff. The Society e xplained why t hey could not do t hat a nd s o t hey u sed oxyacetylene t orches i nstead. After t hat episode, i t was decided t hat p erhaps i t j ust was not f easible t o continue r emoving a rtifacts a nd t here was r eally nowhere t o d isplay t hem o r p reserve t hem. I nstead t he UASBC undertook a s urvey o f a ll t he s hipwrecks i n t he Gulf I slands o f British Columbia. That would i nclude gathering of a ll material on each s hip i tself, i ts construction and i f i t was a n engine s hip, on i ts engines. It was d ecided t hat perhaps a s tatus

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r eport on a ll t he s hipwrecks o f Gulf I sland waters and a lso t he ones t hat a re u sed extensively b y s port divers could b e done. That e ffort was t o i nclude a collection o f a ll a rchival materials f rom t he w recks t hemselves, t he c ircumstances o f t he l oss, d iving activity, d isposition o f a rtifacts a nd a g eneral status r eport on t he w reck w ith a l ot of r epresentative photography b eing done i ncluding i n some cases s ome mosaic work on t he w reck. With t he help o f t he B ritish Columbia Heritage Trust, t his p roject was u ndertaken last y ear; t he r eport completed i n November. Part o r t he r ecommendation r equired a p laque b e p laced on e ach s ite. I n g eneral t he Society has b een p leased with t he r esult o f j ust putting a l ittle i nformation on t he s ite. That a ct s eems t o have r eally i nstilled s ome r espect i n t he d ivers. Many d ivers called wanting more i nformation about t he s hip. So marking s ites i s something t hat t he UASBC hopes t o do w ith more o f t he s hipwrecks i n t he province. The DEL NORTE, a s teamer t hat went down i n Porlier Pass, i s e specially important b ecause i t has one o f only t wo examples o f a c ertain k ind o f s team engine. The other example i s a ctually i n Eureka, California, on d isplay. In f act, when t he DEL NORTE was f irst d iscovered t he Smithsonian I nstitution contacted t he UASBC t o s ee i f i t would b e i nterested i n r aising i t. The n ext e lection put an end t o s uch s uggestions. One o f t he paddlewheels i s s till standing o n t he w reck. It i s a heavily d ived s ite and many d ive b oats go t here. Unfortunately t hey drop t heir a nchors t hrough t he w reck s o i n t he n ext month o r s o t he Society hopes t o put a p ermanent moorage buoy on t he s ite s o boats can a ctually t ie up i nstead o f anchoring t here. For p eople who do go down t here a nd decide t o t ake anything t here i s a r esident attack octopus who s hoots o ut f rom b ehind t he p laque, d rags unwary d ivers b elow and t hat i s t he end o f t hat. One o f t he s hips t hat we i ncluded i n t he s tudy, a lthough i t i s q uite a r ecent w reck, i s a s team t ug that went down i n t he 1 940' s. It worked t he West Coast and o f course i t was t he t ugboats which r eally opened up t he p rovince b ecause o f t heir c lose connection w ith t he l umber i ndustry. The particular s ite i s i n a n a rea o f very h igh current. It i s a b eautiful w reck, a nother r eason why w recks s hould b e protected i s not j ust b ecause t hey have h istorical importance b ut b ecause t hey b ecome s uch b eautiful places. This s ite i s a f abulous p lace for

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photography a nd s port d iving i n general and i t i s a shame t hat t he ' Royal Canadian Navy' d ecided t o c ome a long a gain a nd have a welding cutting course a nd cut o ff one o f t he p ropellors which d etracts f rom t he wreck. While doing t he s tudy, t he Society discovered what i s b elieved t o b e t he r emains o f t he JOHN ROSENFELD, a h uge s hip which was on i ts way t o Massachusetts where i t was built. I t came t o g rief o ff t he r eefs of Saturna I sland. The f irst d iscovery o f t he r emains o f t he ship were made l ast year. Also i n t he Gulf I slands i s a v essel which i s v ery i mportant t o t he c ity o f Vancouver i tself. This i s t he ROBERT K ERR which had a l ong a nd checkered career a s a n ocean-going t rading s ailing s hip f rom t he 1 860' s onwards. It made i ts way t o Vancouver and a rrived here i n 1 886, which i s t he year o f t he i ncorporation o f t he c ity of Vancouver. It was p resent when t he c ity was i ncorporated a nd was f lying f lags and r inging b ells a nd generally having a good t ime. A f ew weeks a fter t he i ncorporation t he entire c ity b urnt down and t he ROBERT K ERR was at anchor i n t he harbour. Many o f t he s urvivors o f t he b urning c ity came down t o t he s hip so i t b ecame t oasted a s t he ship t hat s aved Vancouver. The log book o f t he s hip h as s urvived and t hrough an amazing f eat o f conservation i t h as now b een donated t o t he c ity o f Vancouver for p reservation and d isplay. The Canadian Pacific Railroad b ought t he s hip i n t he e arly part o f t he 2 0th century and converted i t t o a coal barge w hich i t was for many many years and was hauled about unceremoniously a s i t w itnessed t he c ity g row. There a re so many p ictures o f i t a nd i t has b een s o p rominent i n Vancouver h istory t hat i n t he upcoming centennial t he Society hopes t o make a f ilm o f t he w reck s ite and t he h istory o f t he s hip. It was t owed unceremoniously up onto a r eef o ff Thetis I sland and now l ies i n 6 t o 1 8 metres o f water. It has escaped vandalism f or one r eason o r a nother, perhaps b ecause i t i s a l ittle d ifficult t o f ind, and i s i n r elatively good condition. However, t he s tern s ection o f t he s hip a fter s torms has b ecome d isturbed. When a d iver swims a cross t he t he t op he f inds a g reat deal o f t he material which h as c ome up f rom t he s tern s ection o f t he v essel. The Society hopes t hat perhaps i t can undertake s ome l imited excavation on t he s tern o f t he vessel and s o b e able t o mount some p ermament d isplay to coincide w ith t he Vancouver Centennial i n 1 986. The k eel r emains i n very good s hape while t he s tern s ection i s covered p retty well i n s ilt a nd sand.

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Other vessels have b een found i n t he Strait o f Georgia. For example, S .S. CAPILANO I was one o f t he f irst Union Steamships t o p ly t he coast. I t was t he l ifeline o f t he p rovince. There were a n umber of other CAPILANOS. The f irst f igured p rominantly i n t he Alaska Gold Rush a nd t owed many a r iver s teamer up t here and s erviced t he miners on t he gold f ields. There a re not t oo many p ictures o f i t. I t went down i n 1 911 off Texada I sland i n t he Gulf o f Georgia with no loss o f l ife. I t l ies i n about 4 0 metres of water, and i s a nother v essel which f igured p rominantly i n B .C. h istory, a nd i s a lso s uch a beautiful wreck t hat i t warrants some form o f p rotection s o i t may b ecome t he f ifth p rotected wreck s ite i n t he p rovince. There i s a hole i n t he bow of t he vessel which p robably d id i t i n. Unfortunately a n umber o f p eople have p retty well c leaned out t he a rtifacts t hat were i nside. There i s l ittle left s o t he s ite o ught t o b e designated quite quickly t o s ave what r emains. Having completed t he guide t o t he Gulf I slands this year t he Society has moved t o working on t he west coast of Vancouver I sland, e specially i n Nootka Sound. There i s a number o f exposed locations on t he coast and t hey a re very good p laces for capturing ships. There a re countless modern f ishboats a s well and a n umber o f 1 9th centur y w recks a ll a long t he west coast o f t he I sland. Some work has b een done t here a lready on a n umber o f s ites, i ncluding doing photography. Also walking t he b each i n a n umber of p laces, c ame up w ith various a rtifacts t hat t he UASBC hopes t o connect w ith some o f t hese v essels. The Society i s a lso looking at t he HERA which went down i n t he Tofino a rea. The anchor has b een r aised a nd very well p reserved with extremely l imited r esources by a g entleman who l ives at Tofino. The HERA i s a d iver' s delight. It went down i n 1 898 and i s a good example o f t he " let's get a nything t hat will f loat and f ill i t w ith s tuff and s ail s omewhere and s ell i t a ll" syndrome. I t was l oaded w ith a r ather u nusual cargo, a m ixed cargo. I t c arried l ime, 2 500 b arrels o f bottled b eer, a number o f p ianos, a nd a k nocked down s chool house c arried a s deck cargo. I t w as headed f rom Washington t o Hawaii with t his, sprang a l eak o ff Cape Flattery a nd t he l ime s tarted t o smolder and t hen t o burn. The c rew managed t o make t heir way i n c lose t o s hore where t hey j umped i nto t he l ongboat, r owed a shore a nd watched t he v essel b urn t o t he waterline and s ink, a ll t he t ime n o doubt t hinking about a ll t hat lovely b eer going t o t he bottom. There were t housands o f b eer bottles on t hat s ite. I t was t he f irst designated p rotected

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underwater s ite in t he p rovince a nd t hat s et a p recedent. The hope was, a t one t ime, t o r aise a great n umber o f t he beer bottles a nd t hen have l abels made up and t o s ell t hem t o t he general public t o r aise money for an excavation on t he s ite. But for various r easons t hat d id not happen. The beer i tself does not smell o r t aste good. During t he late s ummer t he Society moved up t he coast t o a number o f vessels i n S idney Inlet. I t found a s ealing schooner very s imilar t o t he THOMAS F . BAYARD, t he 1 00-year-old vessel which i s t ied u p i n t he heritage ships harbour o f t he Vancouver Maritime Museum. Basically what t he Society i s t rying t o do i s r ecord a ll t hese w reck s ites by u sing r epresentative photography and s ketches of t he w reck i tself, and i n some cases, mosaic photography on t he s ite so at least t here i s a r ecord of what t hey look l ike now. Perhaps at some f uture date, once t he i nventory i s f inished, i t can b e decided a s t o what i s going t o b e done with some o f t he w recks. A r udder off a w reck i n Sidney Inlet now s tands i n t he f ront yard o f a Tofino museum. I t was b rought up i n t he 1 950's by a man looking for t he f abled TONQUIN. The Society has n ow i dentified t his large s ailing ship a s t he LORD RAGLAN which was s upposedly damaged o ff Cape Flattery i n 1 854, t hen put i nto Sidney Inlet for r epairs a nd met a s o ften t he s hips o f t hat e ra d id, a fate a t t he hands o f t he local n atives, t he c rew and passengers n ever being heard f rom a gain. However, t he ' Canadian Navy ' a lso had something t o do with t his. In t he late 1 950's and e arly 1 960's t hey t hought t hey had a mystery w reck i n S idney Inlet and s o decided to f ind out what i t was. Their solution was t o b low t he wreck t o p ieces and i t now l ies s cattered a ll over a sunken bank i n perhaps 1 8 metres o f water. They t hen s et to work t o f ind t he gold coin under t he mast t hinking t hat with i t t hey could p robably i dentify t he year o f construction. So t hey pulled t he mast off and found t he coin. I t was a gold coin t oo. I t d isappeared however and no one k nows where i t went. Horror s tories l ike t hat a re unfortunately a ll too common on t his coast. Quite a lot o f photography has b een done on t his s ite and r esearch i s convincing t hat t he w reck i s i ndeed t he LORD RAGLAN. Now, t o t he fabled TONQUIN. This i s a vessel t hat f igured very p rominantly i n e arly British Columbia a nd e arly Washington a nd O regon h istory.

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It b elonged t o John Jacob Astor who s ent i t a round t he Horn i n 1 810 t o b reak i nto t he f ur t rade h ere. It carried a n umber o f c rew, t raders, a nd a rtisans of v arious d escriptions a nd e stablished t he f irst white s ettlement on t his coast a t what has now b ecome Astoria, O regon. After doing t hat, i t s ailed up t he coast t o t his a rea on i ts way t o Alaska t o t rade 1 5 t ons o f b lack powder o ff o f S itka for s eal pelts and t hen h ead o ver t o China a nd make a b undle. However, i t was d ecided t o put i nto a sound on t he west coast o f Vancouver I sland t o e ngage i n t rade with local I ndians which f or a while went f airly well. The captain, Jonathan Thorne, was s omewhat o f a hothead a nd d ecided t hat h e d id not l ike one o f t he chiefs o n board a nd d id n ot l ike t he p rice he was a sking f or h is pelts, s o h e s truck h im a cross t he f ace w ith o ne o f t he s eal p elts. Now i n 1 811 on t his coast t here were not t oo many white men about. In f act t here were n one. It was a s illy t hing t o do. The n ext day t he n atives r eturned and massacred t he e ntire c rew. One I ndian i nterpreter managed t o j ump i n t he water and was t aken a s a s lave. All t ogether, t here were f ive people who s urvived, n ot counting t he Indian i nterpreter. Four o f t hem t ried t o e scape i n a longboat but w ere d riven a shore a nd k illed by t he I ndians. One o f t hem r emained aboard and t he n ext day he b eckoned t he I ndians t o r eturn. He t hen went b elow t o t he magazine and when a ll t he Indians were on board h e b lew u p t he e ntire s hip s acrificing h imself and a nywhere f rom 7 5 t o 1 50 Indians. The TONQUIN h as b een t he centre o f s earches e ver s ince d iving g ear f irst came out a nd even b efore. This year i t was decided t o mount a s earch f or t he TONQUIN. Royal Roads Military College i n Victoria, a fter e xtensive b egging, d id come out t o t he s earch w ith a v ery s ophisticated magnetometer unit, a s ubwater p rofiler unit a nd other very e laborate equipment. Units a long an a rea 1 .7 k ilometres s quare i n t he s outhern end o f Templar Channel n ear Tonquin I sland were d ragged. The s ubwater p rofiler was t ested on a k nown s hipwreck and p roduced s ome r esults t hat p leased t he operators. Basically t he machine i s a v ery s ophisticated d epth s ounder which i nstead o f s topping on t he b ottom continues l ooking down t hrough t he b ottom s ediments, t he d epth d epending on t he character o f t he b ottom. The Society was l ucky enough t o h ave f rom 2 t o 2 0 metre p enetration i n t his a rea. The u nit i s mounted o n a boom and goes i n t he water over t he s ide o f t he v essel. Also b rought a long was a very s ophisticated n avigation s ystem working on a m icrowave p rinciple. The s kipper d id n ot even have t o look a t t he water o r where t he b oat was going. The p lotter was a ccurate

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t o w ithin 2 metres o f a ctual position. There w ere t wo microwave s ystems t hat t he unit worked on, o ne mounted on the boat. Every day a l ittle f lotilla of divers was s ent out checking o ut possible t argets for a week. Every t ime t here was a possible t arget o r an unexplained a nomaly i t was marked. Later t he Society went back over t he r ecords and for one r eason o r another e liminated t hem. Once t he t arget was marked d ivers were s ent down w ith metal detectors a nd p robes and t hey d id a s urface s weep o f t he a rea. All in a ll 2 5 unexplained anomalies w ere r ecorded which a re b eing examined and explored. While t he TONQUIN was not found t his t ime, s ome other h istoric vessels were r ecorded. For example, t he f irst Vancouver f erry i s s omehow s till s itting on a n i sland over t here. While carrying on t he s urvey, t he UASBC was approached b y a local r esident who i n t he s ame a rea, while b eachcombing, came u p with an unidentifiable object. Preliminary s uggestions a re t hat i t i s a small swivel gun o r s ignal pennant, i t i s not certain whether British or Spanish, t hat s hows s igns t hat i t was b lown up o r a t l east went t hrough something v ery d ramatic. A ll i nformation f its w ith t he a rtifact having been p art o f t he TONQUIN. At t his point however nothing i s certain. Also while i n Tofino a g entleman came with a pot and s aid he had found a w reck full o f t hem. They a re obviously Oriental and f rom t he late M ing Dynasty; p robably t he 1 600' s. The person who f ound t he w reck i s apparently t aking t he material t o Seattle and s elling i t. The possibilities o f w hat t his vessel could b e a re, t o s ay t he l east, i ntriguing. The Society has t ried various approaches, f irst t he more f riendly a nd n ext checking t he l egal ways o f p erhaps getting t he l ocation f rom h im. Some people have t hought a bout torture. Just t o t hink o f what h e might have a nd what he i s doing with i t has a n umber o f people upset. Certainly h is f ind p roves t hat t here a re many s ites yet t o b e explored and t hat t here i s a g reat deal o f p roductive work i n underwater a rchaeology i n t he p rovince o f B ritish Columbia yet to b e done.

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Conservation o f Archaeological Artifacts: t he P roblem i n B ritish Columbia

E ric Lawson Conservation Consultant 2 5 Cardena Road Snug Cove, Bowen I sland British Columbia, Canada VON 1 60

Underwater a rchaeology i s v ery hampered i n British Columbia by t he l ack o f a conservation facility t o t reat t he r aised a rtifacts. Without such a f acility, i nvestigation o f t he many h istoric w recks which l ie b eneath p rovincial waters i s not possible. This i s most u nfortunate f or t he a rchaeologist and conservators. The following states b riefly why conservation i s so n ecessary ano what i s i nvolved. Many p eople have s ome t reasure f rom t he past which has b een h anded down by some o lder member o f t he f amily. I f i t was i n good condition when r eceived, a nd providing i t i s t aken care o f, ( not handled carelessly o r s ubjected t o undesirable factors) i t s hould r emain i n good condition and l ittle i f a ny maintenance n eed be expended. The s ituation, however, with r espect t o underwater f inds i s much more complex. Most o ften t he r eason for a s unken wooden s hip or object s urviving for a long period o f t ime underwater, i n a marine environment, i s t hat i t b ecomes wholly o r partly covered b y s ilt o r s and. That portion which i s covered may b e considered t o be i n a p rotected e nvironment. Once a ny r emaining oxygen has b een u sed up, borers d ie and a ny b acteria or o rganisms dependent on oxygen a lso cease t o f unction. As a consequence t he r ate o f degradation s lowly comes t o a lmost a complete s top. I f t he covering i s r emoved, a s i n t he case o f a n a rchaeological excavation, oxygen i s a gain a vailable f rom t he s urrounding s ea water and d estructive p rocesses s tart once more. In a ddition, a long t he

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British Columbia Coast, t here i s a s pecies of m arine borer called Bankia s etacea. This c reature g rows f rom t he s ize o f a p in h ead t o 2 3 cm ( 9") long within f ive months and i ncreases t o 5 1 cm ( 20") long w ithin a f urther t hree months. Thus an exploratory s urvey carried out i n t hese waters over an e ight month period could r esult i n v ery considerable damage t o wooden a rtifacts unless t he survey i s c arried out s tage by s tage w ith each a rea i mmediately b eing r e-covered a fter i nspection. An a lready weak hull could b e made s ignificantly more s o i f care i s n ot t aken. I f waterlogged a nd consequently weakened w ood i s b rought t o t he s urface and e xposed t o a ir a n i rreversible p rocess s tarts i mmediately; w ithin a f ew m inutes. In a way t he p rocess may be l ikened t o t hat o f a balloon f ull o f a ir. Once a ir i s l et out of t he b alloon i t s tarts t o c hange s hape and s hrinks a t t he s ame t ime. Once a ll t he a ir has e scaped, t he balloon has changed s hape and s ize so d rastically t hat i t no longer i s r ecognizable for t he round s hape t hat i t was o riginally. The s ame p rocess occurs i n waterlogged wood i n t hat a s t he water r uns out o r e vaporates, t he weakened cell s tructure collapses and considerable s hrinkage and d istortion t ake p lace. Unlike t he b alloon which can b e i nflated b ack t o i ts o riginal s hape, t he wood cannot. I f t he excavation o f a s hip i s for t he purpose o f r e-assembling i t f or d isplay, a nd i n o rder t o p reserve t ool marks and other surface decorations, i t i s c ritical t hat p roper t reatment be undertaken i mmediately u pon t he s tart of t he excavation. This i s u sually done by conservators who a re a lso d ivers a nd who a re backed up by t he n ecessary s hore facilities to c arry o ut t he t reatments r equired. One f urther example o f a material for which special t reatment i s c ritical i s i ron. In i ts s ojourn under t he s ea i t b ecomes d eeply penetrated by chlorides f rom t he s alt water. Porous cast i ron i s e specially v ulnerable a nd w rought i ron can a lso b ecome deeply penetrated. The p resent commonly u sed method o f t reatment for i ron i nvolves t he u se o f e lectrolysis, w ith t he i ron b eing i n a b ath o f e lectrolyte. I f t he i ron s hould b e a llowed t o b e e xposed t o a ir, e ven f or a f ew minutes, b etween b eing l ifted out of t he s ea a nd p laced i n a t ank o f water, water e ither r uns out o f o r e vaporates f rom t he pores i n t he metal. The pores can b e deep a nd may t wist and t urn with t he r esult t hat a s t he w ater l eaves, miniature a ir locks occur. This a ir t hen h as t o b e r emoved b efore t reatment can t ake p lace

2 10

and water s ubstituted once more. Not a n e asy procedure. Everyone has s een s hots on t elevision cannon l ying on t he d eck o f a s hip i n t he s un. Unknowingly t he person i n charge i s c reating incredible p roblems for t hose who have t o t reat t hese objects. The danger o f r aising a rtifacts w ithout a n available f acility has b een i llustrated many t imes i n t he past, a s i n t he case o f t he v essel CAIRO. It was a n i ronclad i n t he U .S. Civil war, a f air s ize vessel s ome 6 0 metres ( 175') long. The v essel was v irtually a t ime capsule loaded w ith e veryday objects o f n aval l ife a nd f ormed a n ational t reasure o f t he g reatest i mportance. After l ying underwater for some 1 00 years, i t was r aised under circumstances which could hardly h ave b een worse and t hen j ust l eft t o s it. Many o f t he a rtifacts r eceived t reatment but t he hull l ay untouched a nd l iterally r otted a way. By t he t ime a d ecision was made t o do s omething, r elatively l ittle r emained. In Canada, a s imilar s ituation occurred w ith t he NANCY i n Ontario. It i s t herefore very i mportant t hat a f acility be b uilt and s taffed i n British Columbia b efore anything i s r aised. One o f t he f inest wet s ites laboratories i n t he world exists i n Canada, i n Ottawa. Run by Parks Canada, i t i s h eld i n very h igh r egard i nternationally. It i s however f ully occupied i n t reating a rtifacts f ound i n t he East and of course t ransportation f rom t he West Coast t o Ottawa i s f inancially and l ogistically o ut o f t he question. I deally a s imilar l aboratory i s necessary. The cost, however, i s h igh. Victoria Jenssen, h ead o f t he Wet S ites Laboratory i n Ottawa, e stimates t hat t o b uild a s imilar l aboratory would cost s everal million dollars. Additionally, operating costs a re h igh f rom t he point o f v iew o f chemicals a nd equipment. Current t reatments for wood a nd i ron a re l engthy, a s long a s t wo years for wooden a rtifacts and i ron can t ake a lmost a s long. Therefore, a l ot o f space i s r equired f or t reatment tanks for a ny l arge amount o f material a nd operation i s f airly l abour i ntensive. A s erious p roblem i n t his f ield i s t hat developments i n t he t echnology o f d iving a re f ar outstripping t hose i n conservation. Added t o t his i s t he fact t hat i n one day, one a rchaeologist can b ring up e nough a rtifacts t o k eep one conservator busy for a y ear o r more. To s ome extent conservation l ags b ehind b ecause money has not b een poured i nto r esearch for b etter methods. There i s

2 11

commercial i nterest i n a dvancing d iving t echnolo ch, for a n umber o f r easons, quite apart f rom t he purposes o f a rchaeology. There i s, however, n o commercial r eason for spending money on f inding better ways o f t reating waterlogged wood, l eather o r i ron. In t he past, museums w ith t his p roblem h ave done t heir own r esearch w ith v ery l imited b udgets a nd one museum i n one part of t he world has o ften duplicated work b eing done somewhere e lse. There has b een l ittle communication b etween museums w ith common p roblems. In a ddition, museums u sually h ave b arely enough personnel i n t heir conservation l abs t o t ake c are o f existing work a nd cannot a fford t o h ire a s taff member for exclusive r esearch work. There has however, b een a n i mprovement i n t he s ituation during t he l ast f ew years. With r espect t o t he p roblems o f wood, t here i s n ow an i nternational working g roup co-operating on f inding b etter methods. Interest i n t his f ield spans 1 23 i nstitutions i n 7 5 countries a nd i nvolves about 4 00 people. A f urther question i s t hat i f a n operative a nd well s taffed facility d id exist i n B ritish Columbia, what would happen t o t he a rtifacts o nce t hey h ad b een t reated? There a re t wo m aritime museums, t he Vancouver Maritime Museum and t he Maritime Museum of B ritish Columbia i n Victoria. The Vancouver m useum has very l imited d isplay s pace and l imited s torage facilities. The Victoria museum has more d isplay s pace b ut even more l imited s torage s pace. More i mportant i s t he fact t hat n either museum has control o f t he environment w ithin i ts walls, a c ritical f actor, e specially i n t he case o f i ron. Both museums have l imited f unding. Perhaps a b etter i dea i s t hat o f s eeing a t reated vessel p laced f or d isplay i n a n i nterpretive centre n ear t he s ite f rom which i t was raised. With p roper environmental controls, t he exhibit, once i nstalled, would n eed a minimum o f general maintenance s taff. As p reviously mentioned, i t i s most f rustratin , j not t o b e able t o r aise vessels f rom w ithin p rovincial waters. In spite o f g reat i nterest i n k nowing what exists, ethically no e xcavation s hould t ake p lace until t he n ecessary t reatment f acility exists a nd a dequate f unding has b een a ssured f or i ts operation. Just a s i mportant i s a c lear understanding a s t o what w ill happen t o t he t reated a rtifacts a fterward. A vessel which has r emained buried a nd undisturbed w ill n ot d egrade much f urther i n t he n ext f ew years and by t hat t ime i t i s h oped

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and i ndeed expected t hat b etter and more r apid methods o f t reatment w ill have b een found. In meantime, emphasis must b e p laced on raising adequate f unds t o b uild t he f acility.

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t hc ,

High Technology,

Underwater Archaeology, t he BREADALBANE

and Work

on

Robert Grenier Chief Marine Excavation Unit, Parks Canada 1 600 L iverpool Court Ottawa, Ontario K lA 1 G2

It would have b een p referable t o have s tayed away f rom t he BREADALBANE b ut i t s eems to b e a t opic of more i nterest here i n Vancouver t han i n t he r est of Canada. The BREADALBANE was c laimed by Parks Canada i n 1 979. It was b eing s tudied a s a s ite of national h istoric i mportance. Last year t here was a n a greement t hat Parks Canada would i ssue a p ermit s o s everal s cientists could go a nd evaluate t he condition o f t he wreck. They were s upposed t o go a nd t o evaluate both t he condition o f t he s ea b ed a round t he s ite and t he w reck i tself for f uture possible excavation o r t he r aising o f certain f eatures of t he s hip. This was abandoned i n 1 982 b ecause o f i ce conditions and t his year, 1 983, at t he last m inute t he expedition t ook o ff a gain w ith about t wo weeks warning. It was a d ifficult a nd uneasy s ituation a nd for a rchaeologists not a n e asy one. Public money s hould not b e spent t o r aise a rtifacts f rom a s hip such a s t his one where r esearch about t he s hip and i ts a ctivities i s n ot very i mportant. But i n t his case t he expedition was o rganized mostly t hrough p rivate f unding by Joe

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MacInnes w ith t he participation of CanDive, t he diving f irm f rom Vancouver, The National Geographic Society and other s ponsors. It was decided t hat Parks Canada b e r epresented on t he e xpedition i n o rder t o evaluate t he f amed condition o f t he BREADALBANE; t o s ee i f i t was a s good a s h ad b een r eported a ll t hese years. The a rtifacts w ere t o b e specimens for t he purpose o f t echnical evaluation specifically. It was decided t o r aise a f ew a rtifacts a s samples for t his s tudy and once r aised t hey would b e available i n t he Northwest Territories s urely, and possibly t o other r egions i n Canada, perhaps t hrough a t ravelling exhibit. I d rew u p t he p ermit a s t he Chief Archaeologist f or Parks Canada s aying t hat n othing would b e done on t he w reck i tself b y t he MacInnes expedition w ithout t he participation o f t his a rchaeologist. The main p roblem was what t o r aise for what purpose. A s econd p roblem was how t o u se t he modern t echnology now a vailable l ike t he underwater r obot which a cts l ike a f lying s aucer and other t ypes o f equipment. The s ite i tself i s q uite fascinating. It i s very c lose t o Beachy I sland where one o f t he houses of t he Franklin expedition i s s till p artly v isible. One o f t he masts o f t he s hips o f t he e xpedition i s standing on t he s hore about a 1 .5 k ilometres f rom t he s ite of t he BREADALBANE. The BREADALBANE was not a member of t he Franklin expedition i tself. I t was a s hip s ent i n t he s earch of t hat lost expedition. It s ank o ff Beachy I sland i n 1 853, 1 0 years a fter b eing built i n Blackwall. It was a supply vessel, b ringing coal, food, and a lcohol a nd other s upplies t o t he c rews o f t he other s earch vessels. I t sank i n 1 00 metres o f water. Joe MacInnes looked for i t for s everal y ears and found it a f ew y ears ago. This year was s upposed to be devoted largely t o evaluation. It was t o b e t he last i nvestigation. Travel was f rom Resolute, s ome 9 0 k ilometres away f rom t he s ite b y a ir. That t rip a lone o ffers a magnificent s pectacle. In t he camp, several t ents were u sed for a ccommodation, s ome a s l aboratories f or t he photographers and f ilm-makers b ecause t here were a lot o f t hem, one a s a cooking t ent, a small one for t he operation of t he r emote control v ehicle a nd f inally a h uge t ent f or t he operation o f t he " wasp" suit. All t he t ime, p lanes were coming i n and out w ith v isitors, i ncluding f or example t he Governor General, a s well a s a t ourist g roup f rom Venezuela. Visits were a lso r eceived f rom t wo Eskimoes t ravelling by s kidoo. So it was not a s r emote a n

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a rea a s had expedition.

b een

envisaged

b efore

going

on

t his

Vision i nside t he " wasp" s uit i s f antastic. An a rchaeologist could quite easily go down, w ith some t raining, to a w reck l ike t he BREADALBANE and evaluate t he s ituation and make decisions. I t i s s till a b ulky s uit and very e xpensive t o operate and t o own. I t i s not t he t ype o f equipment an a rchaeplogist can use. Nevertheless, t his i s t he t ype o f equipment which i s b ecoming a vailable. A n ew t ype o f s uit which w ill e liminate t he n eed for r ecompression w ill b e a vailable v ery s oon t o b oth d ivers and a rchaeologists. Should we forget t hat s uch t hings exist and put our heads i n t he s and o r s hould we s ee what t he i mplications a re for t he marine underwater heritage? A rchaeologists s hould b e getting r eady t o utilize t hese t ools i n t he s ame way a s i n t he late 1 950' s and e arly 1 960' s some p ioneers decided t hat a rchaeology could be done under water, and e ven i f some s aid i t was not possible. Underwater a rchaeology i s at a c rossroad where i t has t o get i nvolved o r l et o ther people do t he work i n a way t hat may not b e a cceptable. In t his operation I was not i nvolved i n t he d iving nor was Joe MacInnes. That was done b y t wo men f rom CanDive, Philip Nuytten, t he owner, a nd h is assistant. In a case l ike t his, good b riefing a nd good communications with t he operator o f t he s uit a re very i mportant. So i s a good debriefing a fter t he d ive. The underwater r obot p roved t o b e t he most f ascinating t ool on t his e xpedition. The p recision of t he h andling o f t his i nstrument a t s uch a depth and i n s uch a foul environment was amazing. I t was c lear t hat at a p lace l ike Red Bay, utilizing s uch a t ool, r ecording could b e done at n ight w ithout d isturbance. With t his t ool d ivers c an do very p recise r ecording. It i s an i ncredible machine b ut i s not r eadily a ffordable. Sources of f unds will have t o b e found a s will ways t o utilize t his t ool p roperly f or underwater a rchaeological s ites. The r obot has t wo operational control a rms which can b e attached. These a rms can hold cameras o r t o r etrieve material. In an operation s uch a s t his one, t wo r obots s hould b e u sed, one a s t he w itness t o look at t he operation and t he other one with t he a rms t o do t he a ctual work. Since i t was 4 0 degrees b elow outside, t he control panel was k ept i nside a t ent. With t he f irst d ive of t he "wasp" i t was q uickly r ealized t hat t he BREADALBANE i s not a s s turdy a s a s had b een t hought. Some p lanks s ince t he last d ive l ast year

2 16

had s hifted over t he s ite. It s eems certain t hat most o f the i ron n ails a re completely gone a s w ith t he SAN JUAN at Red Bay. But w ith t he BREADALBANE it i s a wreck only about 1 00 years o ld. The metal degradation i s t remendous. The r eason f or t his i s s till not k nown. It was p lanned t o i nvestigate t he possibility o f t aking good wood s amples of d ifferent s pecies a nd i ron objects o r o rnamental objects for a nalysis. To t he a stonishment o f a ll, t here was v ery l ittle a vailable o r f ree on t he s ite. One o f t he t argets was t o r aise metal objects b ut none was a vailable o f a ny s ize e xcept something l ike t he s hip 's a nchor which was s itting on t he deck. Copper objects were a ll a round t he s hip. The copper sheathing was a ctually one o f t he main r easons why t he w reck was so well p reserved. It i s s till holding up except on t he bow where t here i s a g reat gap c reated by t he i ce, f riction on t he hull b eing c reated by t he p ressure r idge a ction on t he s hip. The r udder itself, underneath t he s ternpost, i s extremely well p reserved b ecause o f t he copper s heathing. The rudder i s covered by t he mizzenmast which i t s eems f ell o ff d uring t he s inking and not a fterward. The s ame t hing i s apparently t rue of t he r udder. Obviously w ith t he p ressure r idge building up t he r udder must have b een pulled out o f i ts h itch and only t he chain k ept i t a ttached t o t he s hip i tself A f ascinating f eature o f t his w reck i s t he absence o f s ilting. There was none on t he d eck beside t he a nchor. Even i n t he sheltered a rea by t he mast t here i s v irtually no s ilt deposit f rom t h. 2 century a nd a q uarter o f s ubmersion. One o f t he possible objects t o b e r aised was t he lamp and b innacle which had b een well photographed on p revious d ives. The b innacle a nd wheel were on t he a ft deck very c lose t o t he a ft cabin. The l amp appeared t o be f ree i nside t he b innacle. I t a lso contained t wo compasses, one i n rather poor condition a nd t he other i n very good s hape with a lot o f t he g lass s till covering i t. The lamp was i n t he m iddle t o g ive l ight t o t he compasses a t n ight. The compasses were s till f airly well attached t o t he bottom o f t he b innacle. Several d ives were made on t he BREADALBANE b eside the b innacle t o evaluate t he s ituation more c losely. It was i mpossible t o d etach t he b innacle o r compasses w ithout c reating damage s o t hat p roject was abandoned. The r eactions of t he operators. of the equipment were i mpressive. Both t he r obot a nd d iving s uit operators understood what we were t rying

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t o a chieve. Sometimes r eliance on t heir j udgement was necessary. In t he case o f t he operator o f t he diving s uit he stated f rankly t hat he could not raise t he b innacle without doing damage. The s ame t hing happened with t he s econd a lternative, t he n avigation i nstrument; t he compass. At t hat point, i t was obvious t hat only a f ew objects could b e r aised. Three had b een r aised a lready. On t he one hand t his shipwreck i s s till well p reserved compared t o other vessels s unk i n Canadian o r any waters, b ut a t t he s ame t ime t here i s a g reat deal o f abrasion. The q uality of t he workmanship on t his working vessel was s urprising. The woodwork was v ery f ine. There were well-made b rass f ittings t o hold t he b innacle i n p lace and a g lass partition i n t he b ack of t he b innacle t o a llow t he people i n t he cabin t o l ook at t he compass d uring s ailing. In t he cabin i tself t here i s a n ice p iece o f wood i nserted i n t he wall. At t hat point t here was a r eport t hat t he wheel underneath t he b innacle was f ree. The wheel h ad b een moved years b efore, p robably half a century a go, and was deposited r ight underneath t he b innacle. There was no way r eally t o verify t he condition of t he spokes b ut f rom c lose up photography i t could b e s een t hat i t was i n r eally decent condition and t he wood looked very f irm. The r eport f rom t he d iver was t hat t he wheel could come up easily. The decision t o r aise i t was t aken when i t was r ealized t hat t he sample of a rtifacts p lanned t o b e r aised for analysis were not a vailable while t he wheel would p rovide s everal types of materials i n one object. Also i t would s erve t o verify t he e ffects o f abrasion b ecause a portion of t he wheel had b een q uite exposed while t he other, t he spokes at t he bottom were quite s heltered on t he a fterdeck o f t he vessel. The wheel was r aised with t he "wasp" s uit on t he l ast d ive o f t he l ast day of t he expedition. It was put i n a box which was b uilt during t he n ight b efore u sing wood and foam f rom t he b eds o f t he expedition members. Several o f t hem had t o s leep on wooden chairs t hat n ight, t he a rtifact h aving p riority over t he members o f t he expedition at

l east

f or

t hat

n ight.

Retrieved, among other t hings, was a small object covered w ith copper t hat i s s till t o b e i dentified. There i s a lso a s ample o f t he copper s heathing which comes d irectly f rom t he bow r ight a ft of t he stempost. Another p iece possibly comes f rom one o f t he t opmasts. And f inally, t he most valuable a rtifact, was a pulley b lock which was f ound r ight underneath t he t restle t ree o f t he

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mizzenmast. It was i n a lmost t he exact position a s i t was when i t f ell. All t he metal s trapping i s gone f rom t his object and t he s ide which was underground a lthough s till r easonably well p reserved showed s igns of degradation. The other s ide which was up i ndicates t hat over . 5 centimetres and a s much as 1 .5 centimetres o f wood had worn away f rom t his object which was s itting on t he o cean f loor. So t here i s i mportant and extensive degradation of t he wreck and t here i s n o way i t could b e s ailed t o England e specially with a 1 5 metre gap on one s ide. This s ite l ike a ll s ites i s t reated t he s ame by n ature and t here i s not much t hat can b e done about t he d egredation. I t i s not l ikely t hat a nybody w ill go back t o t he BREADALBANE. At a meeting l ast week i n St. John' s for r epresentatives f rom a ll Canadian p rovinces i nvolved i n managing h istoric r esources, t hreatened s ites w ere d iscussed a nd i t appears t hat so f ar t hey a re t hreatened only by s cuba d ivers. Now p eople i nvolved i n d iving r esearch have t he means t o go t o much deeper s ites. In c ertain cases t here a re objects, o r w recks o r s ites o f u nique value for h istory o r for r esearch and a s a rchaeologists a nd r esource managers, we should t hink about and p lan for an e ra which i s a lmost upon us when n ew s ites will b e opened t o i nvestigation but a lso t o potential damage. What s hould be done i s unclear. With r egard t o t he BREADALBANE expedition, I was s atisfied t hat conditions could b e controlled, t hat a rtifacts could b e handled f rom t he s ite t o t he surface w ithout any damage and t hat control could continue on t he s urface up t o t he l aboratory. But I would add t hat I would not a llow t he r aising o f a rtifacts under t he s ame conditions i f i t had b een another s ite. This was a unique s ituation and one that I do not want t o face a gain. A s ite l ike t he BREADALBANE r emains r elatively untouched b ecause o f i ts i solation a s well a s i ts depth and t he hostility of t he environment. But i t r emains a w itness t o our past. The s tory o f t he d isasterous Franklin expedition a nd t he s earch f or t he s urvivors d id l ead t o t he mapping and t he d iscovery o f much o f northern Canada, a reas which i n some specific cases were mapped much faster e ven t han i nland r egions.

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