Page 24 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

Chapter 1: Introduction to Maritime Archaeology 3
gone. There is, however, a new problem beginning to arise. Whereas in the 1970s and 1980s maritime archaeological excavations were quite common, this is no longer the case. Remarkably few excavation reports are seen today in the literature. This stems from the fact that there are limited funds and a philosophical approach to the whole issue of excavation that tends to eschew the process. Consequently, there are less and less maritime archae- ologists with excavation experience. This whole subject will be dealt with later in Chapter 14, “Cultural Resource Management.” But it is worth noting here that as a result of this, most recovery work being done today is by treasure hunters.
An early criticism of maritime archaeology involved questions related to the study of relatively modern sites such as shipwrecks from the post- medieval or later periods. This has led professional archaeologists and his- torians to suggest that this type of study is “an expensive way of telling us what we already know” (Sawyer’s remark quoted by McGrail, 1984). Others maintained that maritime archaeology was a valid part of archaeology and that it had made important contributions to history, art, archaeology, the history of technology, and many other traditional areas of study. Today, this criticism is largely irrelevant. The advances over the past decade in post- medieval and modern maritime archaeology have been enormous. Both the Columbus centenary and the remarkable historical reconstructions that were initiated in Lelystad, The Netherlands by Willem Vos, starting with the Batavia, have lead to a series of other historical reconstructions. These have all had immense impact on the understanding of the construction and sailing of ships of this period and have stimulated archaeological, histori- cal, and archival research. The development of iron and steam maritime archaeology has also created new areas of research, particularly the devel- opment of corrosion science and understanding of the disintegration process of iron shipwrecks.
It is also obvious that maritime archaeology is no longer purely an archaeological matter concerned with archaeological issues of excavation and research. There is a growing awareness that maritime archaeology is related to management of sites and that sites do not necessarily “belong” to archaeologists, but instead are a cultural resource that belongs to every- one. This does not necessarily mean that a site has to be defined as an ancient monument in order to involve maritime archaeologists, nor does it mean that if it is declared a monument it precludes archaeological excava- tion. It could, for example, be a recreational facility in a national park or a site used to train archaeologists. The management of sites also concerns leg- islation and procedures and decisions required to define sites in accordance with the legislation—all of which have archaeological assessment issues. These issues will be discussed in greater depth in Chapter 16.