Throughout history human beings have been exploring the sea, whether for trade, sustenance or pleasure, the sea has vast knowledge of the history of seafaring societies. This shows that what is discovered in the ocean in association with the human past is valuable in understanding the societies and cultures of the time. Shipwrecks such as the Uluburun, found off turkey is a notable example of these contributions, alongside the discoveries made off the coast of Levant, modern day Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Without these discoveries and without the technology to preserve and fund the excavations, would we be able to access this valuable information about our past? Keeping the discipline of Maritime Archaeology in the forefront of cultural
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The Syro-Palestinian trading vessel was discovered off the south-west coast of Turkey called Uluburun by a sponge diver, Mehmet Makir, in 1982 (Pulak 1998:189). It is not clear why the ship met its fate along the steep cliff face of Uluburun, however the artefacts that were discovered with the ship supplied the archaeologists with an idea of the purpose of the vessel itself (Pulak 1998:191). A total of approximately 10 tons of copper and 1 ton of tin (the oldest that has ever been retrieved in its raw form) were discovered within the wreckage. These two materials when alloyed together would have made around 11 tons of bronze, an alloy that is strongly identified with the Bronze Age (Pulak …show more content…
With the ongoing revolution of technology, it is easy to suggest that more tools for effective research in this field may be invented, allowing for successful investigations and underwater cultural heritage preservation (Cohen 2000). However, although technology will provide more opportunities in the field of maritime archaeology there is still the issue of preservation acts and cultural resource management (Cohen 2000). I believe that Maritime Archaeology needs to be more open to the public, in the same way museums are. There are few Maritime history museums which means the public are not exposed to the importance of preserving our underwater history. Without this public exposure maritime archaeology will not have access to public funding. The Titanic a ship that most people would recognize by name, is one of many fascinating ships that were discovered and studied by Maritime Archaeologists. However, not even the Titanic will survive the corrosion that occurs 3.8 kilometres below the Atlantic Ocean and unless preserved accordingly, the Titanic will fall apart (National Geographic, 2010). More funding needs to be raised to prevent these events from occurring and forever preserving the maritime history for generations to come. All in all, further focus on cultural heritage
The Syro-Palestinian trading vessel was discovered off the south-west coast of Turkey called Uluburun by a sponge diver, Mehmet Makir, in 1982 (Pulak 1998:189). It is not clear why the ship met its fate along the steep cliff face of Uluburun, however the artefacts that were discovered with the ship supplied the archaeologists with an idea of the purpose of the vessel itself (Pulak 1998:191). A total of approximately 10 tons of copper and 1 ton of tin (the oldest that has ever been retrieved in its raw form) were discovered within the wreckage. These two materials when alloyed together would have made around 11 tons of bronze, an alloy that is strongly identified with the Bronze Age (Pulak …show more content…
With the ongoing revolution of technology, it is easy to suggest that more tools for effective research in this field may be invented, allowing for successful investigations and underwater cultural heritage preservation (Cohen 2000). However, although technology will provide more opportunities in the field of maritime archaeology there is still the issue of preservation acts and cultural resource management (Cohen 2000). I believe that Maritime Archaeology needs to be more open to the public, in the same way museums are. There are few Maritime history museums which means the public are not exposed to the importance of preserving our underwater history. Without this public exposure maritime archaeology will not have access to public funding. The Titanic a ship that most people would recognize by name, is one of many fascinating ships that were discovered and studied by Maritime Archaeologists. However, not even the Titanic will survive the corrosion that occurs 3.8 kilometres below the Atlantic Ocean and unless preserved accordingly, the Titanic will fall apart (National Geographic, 2010). More funding needs to be raised to prevent these events from occurring and forever preserving the maritime history for generations to come. All in all, further focus on cultural heritage