Dean wrote an insightful essay to debate the other side of the artifact story.
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 12:22 AM
Subject: Re: [UWEX] Scuba looters in Malta?
Putting aside maters of preservation/conservation vs commercial
salvage for personal gain issues ... it is unfortunate to see some of
the high handed tone on display here by otherwise intelligent members
of this list.
Can I remind you these artifacts are in Malta ? That's not a twee
town name like Rome GA, or Melbourne FLA but an actual country, you
know ... independent nation and all that...? This is a matter the
Maltese have full right to determine for themselves. Hysterical is
the only description of the unintended irony of Rob getting all riled
up because the author dared use the words "your country" in defence
of an attack against him for the temerity of the Maltese to implement
maritime law without consulting the cyberdivers here on the Uwex
list. LOL Look how quickly national pride was invoked in some
reactions here ... some of you need to take a good hard look at
yourselves.
Can you just picture this guy's eyebrows when he innocently opens his
inbox to find some guy called 'SeaJay' who is on his high horse with
a series of foaming-at-the-mouth, malaprop emails with instant expert
analysis on the situation ... all from a few thousand miles away ...
in 'another country' ... over the internet! Although it is amusing
to consider SeaJay debating Maritime Archaeological matters and
International Maritime Law in Malta ... which is roughly the
equivalent of sending Paris Hilton to broker peace in the Middle East.
When we behave like this we open ourselves up to charges of cultural
imperialism. Why should this guy give a toss what anyone in the US
(or Australia) thinks about protecting their own maritime assets ?
When was the last time you/we consulted the Maltese for their
thoughts or permission for anything regarding US or Australian
maritime matters ?
Also, it might help to use a little imagination, common sense and
benefit of the doubt ... often when the Greeks, or Italians (or in
the case of the Maltese) lose items from their underwater heritage it
doesn't get "put in some local museum" for all to view somewhere in
Valetta where little Maltese kiddies can "ooh and aahhh" at it and
rejoice in their cultural history... When it is recovered under
commercial imperative, it will go to the highest bidder and will end
up somewhere a looooong way from Malta and quite likely to be one of
the richest nation on the planet ... quite likely some place with a
'zip code' Once salvaged they are GONE and once gone the Maltese have
neither their own artefacts of the small fortune they bought the
salvers. so they lose twice over. Can you say "Elgin Marbles" ?
You guys DO understand where Malta is right ? It's been around since
the ancient Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians and Arabs ... We're not
talking 60 yr old Liberty ships rusting away and collapsing on the
bottom of the ocean here, the u/w heritage they are trying stop being
illegally exported all over the globe is thousands of years old.
Telling them that a two thousand year old wreck must be crowbarred
out next week before it it's 'ruined' must put them in stitches.
Seajay, unfortunately you clearly know nothing about artefact
preservation and it makes you appear a fool. Many objects underwater
reach a certain status of deterioration and then attain a point of
stasis. (accretion over metals for for example) The older the item,
the more likely and truer this is. Once an item reaches that point
the only way to accelerate it's demise or for it to become destroyed,
IS to actually recover it. The process of physical recovery and then
exposure to a new environment can be extremely and rapidly
destructive especially when done by amateurs.
Please do not misinterpret my use of the word 'amateur' to be a slur,
which it is not. The word comes from the French/Latin root 'love' and
means literally someone who does something "for love". My point
being that as amateurs we must recognise in same cases we risk
unintentionally killing the things we love ... killing by kindness
absent the skills and experience to properly care for the items we
value so highly.
We are also (generally speaking) not big on documenting our
recoveries before removal so critical clues of context are
irreplaceably lost. Sometimes the benefit of 'context' can outweigh
the benefit of what is learned through recovery ... but of course
there's no money in that is there ? ;-)
I am always suspicious in any aspect of my life about dogmatic,
fundamentalist reactions one way or another on any issue, and in the
case of salvage vs archaeology I think it fails to recognise what a
complex subject this is and how 'right' and 'wrong' vary from site to
site and case to case.
• There are many examples around the world where private involvement
of individuals or organisations has led to the discovery, recovery
and documentation of items that would otherwise indeed perish before
anyone 'professional' otherwise got their hands on them.
• It has to be said that many of the negative comments from the
archaeological community are open to charges of jealousy or envy that
we as private divers are going places and doing things they cannot
for lack of funds, budget, experience, depth, training or capabilities.
• In some cases only the prospect (not guarantee, 'prospect') of
commercial returns can justify the risk of prospective expenditure of
research, discovery and recovery in the first place, without which
the items would likely never be located at all.
• It is also well known that there is a burgeoning worldwide business
in what used to be the acceptable and exciting description of
"Treasure Hunters" morphing their public persona into pseudo-
archaeological recovery firms ... maybe with a maritime archaeologist
or two on board who maintain a front, but in reality pays lip service
to the real deal which is to salvage and sell the items for
millions .. in some cases billions of dollars. This reminds me of the
way Japanese commercial whaling becomes 'Scientific Research' LOL
I'm not sure how much I even care about a few hundred whales, but I
know for sure how much I detest hypocrites and liars who treat me
like a fool.
(Lest anyone form the wrong opinion, the above by the way is not a
sly dig at James Sinclair of Shipwrex, I have no idea as to the
disposition of his organisation on that matter)
In a diving/exploration/artefact future which due to an ever
shrinking world and intra-connected world will be inescapably more
legalistic, pan-national and complicated that it is today, such
simplistic uninformed and hysterical reactions are not going to get
us anywhere and indeed will likely harden the resolve of those that
make the rules under which we all must play.
Regards
Dean Laffan
Real World Productions
93 Lucerne Crescent
Alphington, 3078
Victoria, Australia
Studio 61-3-9443-1644
Mobile 0418-525-315
http://www.realworld.com.au
