In the United Kingdom, at

Sutton Hoo an Anglo-Saxon

vessel from the 7th C. was
excavated in 1939

Used as a burial coffin and it

contained an assortment of
gold and silver helmets,
shields, and tableware……….
Around 1070-1090 AD, five Viking ships were sunk at Skuldelev,
Denmark, to make a barrage across a narrow channel.

In 1962 the work area was drained using a cofferdam, turning it into a
land excavation. The investigations continued until 1969. All ship
parts were recovered and conserved
 Vasa

• Found in Stockholm harbor in 1956 and recovered in 1961

• 64-gun warship that sank while on its maiden voyage in
1628
• Dedicated a museum to the ship, its contents and its
historical context
 Aqualung (SCUBA) was invented by J. Cousteau in 1942

A catalyst for archaeologists in addition to souvenir hunters to search for and

recover material from shipwrecks from
many more places in the world’s oceans
Academic and George Bass
systematic
research from 1960s-1990s
USA

• 1200 BC wrecksite off Cape Gelidonya

• site off Yassiada, 7th C Byzantine (1961-64)
• off Kyrenia, Cyprus, a 4th C Greek
ship (1967)
• off Uluburun, 14th C BC (1984-94)
• In the USA, shipwrecks containing high monetary-value cargo were dealt
with under Admiralty Law (Law of Finds and Law of Salvage) and permits
provided for recovery and sale of artefacts

• USA Federal and State programmes were also implemented that

protected and managed shipwrecks for their historical and archaeological
value
• Many countries responded with legislation to protect the
material remains as a public resource

• Some continued to sanction salvage over the historical and

archaeological values, and the selling of the artefacts
 What brought on the need for the
UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
2001 ?

• The discovery of the RMS Titanic (1912) in 1985 in international

waters and the subsequent commercial exploitation of the site and
artefacts
• The lack of any agreements on how to protect and manage sites in
international waters
• The use of equipment that could be used to any depth in the
world’s oceans
 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
2001

• The wording for the Convention was finalised in 2001 after several
years of negotiations between many countries and many interests

• It is deemed by many to be the peak law on how to protect and

manage ‘underwater cultural heritage sites’ in all waters—not just
international waters

• Its focus on ‘heritage sites’

not just ‘shipwreck artefacts’ should
be the catalyst for many broader
based programmes and with
relevance to many
more countries
 UNESCO Convention

What is the
UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 ?

• It is an international agreement designed to protect underwater cultural heritage sites

located in the Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to countries (state parties) and in
international waters (the ‘Area’ or ‘High Seas’)
• Once a country ratifies it, certain sections will apply to underwater cultural heritage
sites in the Territorial Sea (jurisdiction of country)

Courtesy UNESCO
 How does the UNESCO Convention work?

• The Convention needs 20 countries (State Parties) to ratify it before it comes into
force (done on 2 January 2009). The 20 countries that made this happen are:
Barbados, Bulgaria, Cambodia. Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, Lebanon, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal,
Romania, Saint Lucia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine. Grenada and Tunisia ratified the
Convention on 15 January 2009.

• Representatives of these 20 countries will meet at the inaugural meeting in Paris on

26/27 March 2009 to decide on:

• forming a Scientific and Technical Advisory Body and possibly nominate

members (either 6 or 12 members)—can be a combination of underwater
archaeologists, conservators, law specialists…

• get the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body to prepare a draft of Operational
Guidelines to help the State Parties implement the Convention

UNESCO Paris 09 meeting\Item 7 Operational Guidelines.pdf

 What does the UNESCO Convention contain?

• Contains 35 articles which outline a number of principles and practices in protecting

underwater cultural heritage sites, and an

• Annex, being the ‘Rules’ in how to implement an underwater cultural heritage

programme Essentially the ‘Sofia Charter’ developed as the ICOMOS Charter on
the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage 1996

UNESCO Convention.doc
 What does the UNESCO Convention contain?

Principles and practices in protecting underwater

cultural heritage sites

• Protect all traces of human existence that have cultural, historical and
archaeological character and have been partially or totally underwater for 100 years
• Countries shall cooperate in protecting sites
• Preservation in situ is the first priority
• Underwater cultural heritage shall not be commercially exploited
• Ensure proper respect is given to human remains
• Maintain the sovereign rights of a country—its vessels and aircraft
• Does not prejudice the jurisdiction and duties under UNCLOS
• Encourage public access through public awareness programmes
 What are a Country’s responsibilities

• A country shall adopt the ‘Rules’ to apply to all its internal waters and
Territorial Waters, as well as using them in the EEZ and the High Seas
(A need for countries to have domestic legislation that has similar aims)

• A country can limit the application of this Convention to parts of internal

waters and Territorial Waters with qualification

• A country’s nationals are bound by the Convention, they shall report

discoveries found in the EEZ and High Seas to their country, which in turn
reports them to the Director-General UNESCO
 What are a Country’s responsibilities

• The master of a vessel flying the flag of a country that has ratified the
Convention shall, upon discovering a site in the EEZ and High Seas shall
report it to this country

• A country shall not allow material to enter its territory which has been
acquired not in conformity with the Convention, and it can seize material

• Countries shall share information and cooperate in training programmes

• Countries shall establish ‘Competent Authorities’ to implement a

comprehensive programme

• After the initial meeting, countries shall meet every 2 years with the
Director-General UNESCO and they may establish a Technical and
Scientific Advisory Body who shall assist in regard to the implementation of
the Rules
 Countries to cooperate in protecting sites
• A number of articles refer to the need for countries which declare an interest in a
site (eg. A ship built in India, crewed by British, carried Chinese cargo and sunk in
the Tanzanian EEZ) will cooperate in protecting this site. In this case Tanzania
Coordinates the protection of the site and the involvement of other countries

• For sites in the High Seas, UNESCO appoints a Coordinating country

• It is also recommended that a country should involve other countries if a similar

multi-cultural site is found in their Territorial Waters

• Countries are encouraged to enter

into bilateral, regional or mutilateral
treaties

Hull remains of the Portuguese 50-gun frigate

Santo Antonio de Tanna wrecked off
Fort Jesus, Mombasa in 1697
 UNESCO’s responsibilities

• The Director-General of UNESCO shall form the Secretariat

• The Director-General shall receive notification of discoveries in EEZ and the

High Seas and assist with the coordination of protection with other countries that
have expressed an interest in the site

• UNESCO shall settle disputes between countries

 The ‘Rules’

The 36 Rules are an integral part of the Convention and provide some guidelines in
how to implement a programme under the conditions of the Convention

In addition to some general principles which follow-on from the Articles, the Rules
call for a Project Design to be developed when directing any activities at underwater
cultural heritage sites, and the 16 sections of the Project Design are further
explained in the Convention

UNESCO Convention.doc
Off Yassiada in Mediterranean, 7th C Byzantine ship
 Project Design
It includes:
 the objectives of the project;
 the funding required and secured in advance;
 the experience and qualification of the team;
 the methods to be used;
 a safety policy;
 a conservation, documentation and publication program;
 deposition of archives and artefacts;
 a site management and maintenance policy

Off Yassiada in Mediterranean, 7th C Byzantine ship

 Project Design

Essentially the Project Design requires the archaeologist to consider every aspect of
implementing a project:

• from ensuring funding has been obtained

• to the documentation of the project’s objectives and methods to be used
• to the sustainable site investigation, conservation, ongoing management and
interpretation of the site, archives and artefacts.

Off Yassiada in Mediterranean, 7th C Byzantine ship

 Preserve sites and artefacts
To preserve values and knowledge for future generations
 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of
Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001

• It is considered to be the peak law on how to protect and manage

‘underwater cultural heritage sites’ in all waters—not just
international waters

• Its focus on ‘heritage sites’ not just ‘shipwrecks and artefacts’

should be the catalyst for many broader based programmes and
with relevance to many more countries