UNDERWATER MUSEUMS AND DIVE SITES

THE UNESCO 2001 CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE UNDERWATER MUSEUMS AND DIVE SITES Since the early 1990s, the interest in underwater cultural heritage has considerably increased, not only among experts or scuba divers, but also among the public at large. Museums like the Bodrum Museum or the exhibits of the Vasa and the Mary Rose have attracted millions of tourists. This growing attention has led to a reconsideration of the exhibition of artefacts according to the principle of preservation in situ, as reflected in the UNESCO 2001 Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The Convention stipulates that sites should be left where they were found, in the absence of any type of valid justification for intervention or recovery. The preference given to in situ preservation takes into account not only the integrity of sites and the information they may yield in the future, but also the interest of the public and especially tourism. The increasing interest in the creation of museums and tourist sites that combine the fascination with both the underwater environment and submerged cultural artefacts has given rise to a new form of tourism. Many projects are currently under construction or in the planning phases so the laurels of the world s first are still to be won. Such museums and attractions will undoubtedly draw a large public. Several of these projects are presented in the following document in order to inspire new developments and provide information about ongoing processes. In addition to information on museums, several new developments in the diving tourism industry concerning archaeological underwater trails are described to give an overview of newly available tourist tools regarding historical sites located under water. 1

UNDERWATER MUSEUMS 1. Baiheliang Underwater Museum (China) The Baiheliang, literally the White Crane Ridge, is an archaeological site in China, now submerged under the waters of the newly built Three Gorges Dam. It displays some of the world s oldest hydrological inscriptions, recording 1,200 years of changes in the water level of the Yangtze River in the north of the Fuling District of the Chongqing Municipality. The stone ridge is 1,600 meters long and 15 meters wide. It reaches 138 meters at its peak height and will eventually be submerged 30 meters below water-level, when the entire Three Gorges Dam Project is completed in 2009. Before the Three Gorges Dam was built, the rock ridge was submerged in summer and autumn. During winter, when the water level of the Yangtze dropped, the ridge and its carvings were exposed. The stone fish figures and rare inscriptions recording water-level changes, harvests, positions and titles from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) onwards could then be seen during the entire dry season. Since 1994, China's departments for the protection of cultural heritage have undertaken research on the conservation of the stone inscriptions of Baiheliang. Finally, it was decided to transform the site into an underwater museum. The ridge will be covered by an arch-shaped water pressure-free container. Fresh water will be pumped in the container to balance the interior and exterior water-pressure. In addition, two underwater channels will be built from the riverbanks, enabling visitors to view the stone inscriptions illuminated by more than 10,000 LED lamps via glass protection windows. Due to budgetary and technological constraints, the container will be only 70 meters long and 25 meters wide, however, it will provide access to the most precious stone inscriptions of the eastern section of Baiheliang. Measures will be taken to protect several inscriptions in the remaining western section. A layer of protective chemical material will be applied to the inscriptions before they are sealed with a reinforcing steel bar, cement and mortar. Begun in 2002, the construction of the underwater museum will cost some 140 million Yuan (approximately 17 million US Dollars). According to the Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the organization in charge of the project, the museum is expected to open to the public in 2009. 2. Nanhai No. 1 Wreck-Museum (China) Under the supervision of the leading archaeologist of the excavations, Mr Zhang Wei, an entire ancient wreck has been raised on the south coast of China (Guangdong province). The Nanhai No 1, a 1000-year-old vessel, 25 meters long and weighing 3,800-tons, which sank during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), has been excavated and raised. The vessel was discovered in the late 1980s by a fisherman and is in good condition. It is thought to contain 60,000 to 80,000 precious pieces of cargo. The wreck was found in the western part of the mouth of the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), the starting point of China s Marine Silk Road, which once connected China with the Middle East and Europe. 2

The Nanhai No. 1 wreck will be displayed in a new museum, whose construction should be completed by the end of 2007. The museum will host an aquarium with the same water quality, temperature and environment as the spot in which the wreck was discovered. Archaeologists will continue excavations on the vessel inside the aquarium, thereby enabling visitors to observe underwater archaeological work in a museum environment. The remains of the ancient vessel are expected to yield critical information on ancient Chinese ship building and navigation technologies. Its significance has been compared to the famous Chinese terracotta warriors discovered in Xian. 3. Alexandria (Egypt) Following the discovery and partial recovery of precious statues and artefacts in the area of the eastern harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, in July 2006, an international meeting of experts discussed the feasibility of constructing an underwater museum in this unique environment. Besides exhibiting archaeological artefacts, this museum could also set standards for collection management, research and presentation of underwater cultural heritage, where would take place educational and training activities, and where there would be interpretation facilities. During the meeting, the experts decided that the museum should feature an above-water exhibition space for the interpretation of underwater vestiges and the presentation of recovered artefacts, as well as an easily accessible underwater area for visitors corresponding to the major archaeological zones. The museum is therefore conceived as a sort of aquarium with underwater tubes extending down into the Bay of Alexandria to allow visitors to view the work carried out by underwater archaeologists on artefacts in situ. The next step will be to undertake a feasibility study for the museum buildings and their infrastructure. SITES PRESENTED AS MUSEUMS FOR DIVERS 1. Caesarea (Israel) The ancient port of Caesarea was built by King Herod to honour his Roman patron, Caesar Augustus. It was one of the largest ports in the Roman Empire when it was inaugurated in 10 BCE. Located on Israel s Mediterranean coast today it has become an underwater museum for divers. The site has been excavated over the last three decades and is accessible for diving visitors. They can swim along the sign-posts and admire the relics of the celebrated harbour: a ruined lighthouse, an ancient breakwater, the port s original foundations, anchors, pedestals and even a shipwreck from Roman times. Equipped with a waterproof map divers can view 36 different sites along four marked trails covering an area of 79,500 square meters. One trail is accessible to expert divers; 3

all others located less than 7 meters below the surface, close to the beach, are appropriate for beginner divers. The visitor can see impressive remains of this once prominent port town from its entrance into the sea (about 100 metres from the current shoreline) to a Roman shipwreck that bears witness to the abandonment of the port probably due to an earthquake, about a century after its construction. Divers can also view the remnants of the original foundations. 2. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (USA) A trail of historic shipwrecks is scattered along the coral reefs and buried in the sandy shallows a few miles off the Florida Keys, USA. The nine sites on the Shipwreck Trail are associated with European, Colonial, and American history. It features, among others, remains of the San Pedro, a Spanish ship sunk in 1733, which is the oldest wreck on the Trail. Wreck UNESCO/M. Gleeson There are also two shipwrecks from the mid-1800s: the Adelaide Baker, south of Duck Key, and a wreck that is reputedly the North America located on Delta Shoals. These wrecks illustrate the way in which submerged remains tell tales of the vessels themselves the materials, the craftsmanship, and the artisans methods of construction. The wrecks of the City of Washington and Benwood are more modern examples of vessels that met tragic ends in the Keys. Other ships were sunk deliberately as artificial reefs. The Amesbury, Duane, Eagle and Thunderbolt serve the same functions in this underwater trail as do museums on land. Through the Shipwreck Trail, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to make the rich maritime heritage more visible and to encourage an appreciation and understanding of these irreplaceable remnants of the past. While teaching about history and maritime culture, the Shipwreck Trail also helps divert diving pressure from natural reefs. For each of the nine Shipwreck Trail sites, there is an underwater site guide available which provides the shipwreck and mooring buoy positions, history, a site map, and identifies marine life visitors can expect to see. Conditions on the Shipwreck Trail sites vary from easy dives to dives of 30 meters or more. Each of the sites was chosen because of its historic, biologic, and aesthetic value. 3. Kronprins Gustav Adolf (Finland) Declared a maritime historical underwater park in the year 2000, the wreck site of the Kronprins Gustav Adolf off Helsinki, is the first Finnish park of its kind. The Swedish ship was wrecked off Helsinki in 1788 and its remains were discovered in 1995. The wreck lies in an area of approximately 100 square meters several nautical miles southwest of the lighthouse island of Harmaja at a depth of 18 to 20 meters. The site 4

consists of the bottom of the hull, its sides (which have collapsed), parts of the upper structure of the ship, cannons, cannon balls, two big anchors and a variety of loose objects. Divers can visit the wreck by following a lead line with twelve information boards about various details of the remains. There are usually no strong currents and the visibility is between one and ten metres. 4. Protected Shipwreck Sites (Croatia) Croatian authorities have decided to install metal cages over several shipwrecks to protect them. To date, more than 500 archaeological sites have been identified on the Adriatic seabed off the coast of Croatia, half of which are shipwrecks, mainly dating back to Roman times. At the time of their discovery by archaeologists, the majority of these wrecks were in semi-destroyed condition. Among the twelve undamaged shipwrecks, ten were discovered in the last ten years. Installation of a metal cage over a shipwreck off Croatia, UNESCO/ I. Radic Heavy looting is threatening these sites. Nevertheless, the material can not entirely be recovered, as Croatian authorities have neither sufficient space to store them nor staff to undertake the necessary conservation works. In some regions (Lastovo, Mljet, Cavtat), there are no suitable museums to accommodate the finds. Furthermore, museums can not usually exhibit large quantities of homogeneous material, such as amphorae. It was therefore decided to cover the sites with a metal cage. Although this protection cannot fully deter potential looters, it does prevent the devastation of sites while nevertheless allowing leisure divers to enjoy them. This system has had great success and contributed largely to the preservation of the sites. 5. Ustica (Italy) Submerged buildings and picturesque petrified black lava can be found around the island of Ustica in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 57 kilometres northwest of Palermo, Italy. It is also the called the black pearl of underwater tourism due to its crystalline and clear waters. In ancient times, the volcanic island was inhabited by the Phoenicians. During the Middle Ages, it was often visited by pirates, and numerous wrecks are therefore scattered off its coasts. Today, it is a designated national marine park. The submerged ancient city of Osteodes attracts divers from all over the world. In 1990, an underwater guided trail was created in Punta Gavazzi, Ustica, giving divers the opportunity to admire numerous shipwrecks in situ. The protection accorded to these sites has also made it possible to preserve the black coral and turtles, and numerous diving centres have been established. 5

6. Wellington wreck (New Zealand) The wreck of the Wellington in New Zealand is perhaps the world s most accessible dive wreck. Just a few kilometres from the Wellington international airport, this old navy warship sank on 13 November 2005 in 23 to 26 metres of water off Island Bay on Wellington s south coast. The bow section of the wreck, containing the ship s twin 4.5-inch main gun, is still intact and lies on its starboard side. It is held in place by a large anchor and can be reached by qualified wreck divers. Two stern sections have collapsed and are inaccessible. The wreck has attracted the interest of many tourist divers, including many former navy servicemen who had once served on the ship. Its remains also attract thousands of fish, including juvenile kahawai, cod and tarakihi. Wreck site UNESCO/M. Gleeson Given the attraction of this and similar submerged sites the New Zealand Maritime Archaeological Association (MAANZ) is now developing a wreck trail of the main shipwrecks (there are more than 2000) off the Wellington shore. Designed for divers and non-divers alike, the trail will be a rich source of information on the location, the history and the range of shipwrecks around the city. 6