Page 47 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

On archaeological shipwreck sites, corpses are found comparatively rarely, since in the event of distress there is a tendency to abandon ship. It is only when sailors get caught under heavy equipment, in tackle or netting, or in closed compartments that their remains are encapsulated in the wreck deposit. This is more likely to be the case for modern or technically advanced ships. Iron or steel ships with watertight bulkheads and watertight doors are obvious traps. Depending on the character of the calamity, they may indeed still contain the bodies of all hands. Deliberate foundering in war has frequently had this effect.
The traumatic nature of the effects of war needs no comment. Populations have suffered, whether passively or actively involved. Cherishing victories and commemorating losses have been coped with in different ways by different cultures. Many present nation States have originated from the ravages of war, or continued their existence despite of it. In all such instances, these States had armies and servicemen to fight and die for their cause. To preserve the memory, unknown soldiers are commemorated at venerated sites. Major battle grounds have their dedicated cemeteries, and mutual respect for such memorials, cemeteries and war graves have been subject to negotiations between States in peace settlements and has thus been part of mutual and multilateral agreements between States. Besides formal graves on land, these agreements include respect for the location of military ships that foundered with great loss of life. Rightfully, the States concerned wish for others to respect these places.
During the negotiation of the 2001 Convention at UNESCO, the deliberating delegations consciously gave specific weight to the protection of those war graves that have previously figured in international law. Such war graves should be respected and command the protection of the 2001 Convention if they have been under water for more than 100 years (Article 1). In codifying this, the delegations have sought a general wording that accommodates for other sites that similarly relate to traumatic death. As a consequence, Article 2.9 of the Convention does not specifically set aside war graves, although obviously they are implied.
© Igor Miholjek, Fotodocumentation of the Croatian Conservation Institute. Wreck of the SMS Szent Istvan, an Austro-Hungarian warship, found near Premuda, Croatia.
World War I and II shipwrecks have come under the protection of the Ministry of Culture of Croatia over the past fifteen years.While they do not fall
into the category of underwater archaeology in the classic sense, these shipwrecks have been protected as cultural objects because of their historical significance and the opportunities for their promotion in tourism and culture. Besides being blue graves, they are monuments
of technical heritage and the technological development of their time.
Interventions at protected sites must be authorized by the national authorities.
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General Principles