Page 61 - TVH 2000 Anniversary Shipwreck Project

Zeeland Maritime Museum Dr Wilbert Weber In 2002, a new Museum, the “muZEEum” will open to the public in Vlissingen. The main theme of the Museum will be the maritime history of Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands consisting of a group of islands within the Schelde estuary and containing the important cities of Middleburg and Vlissingen. Together with the province of Holland (which includes the city of Amsterdam), Zeeland, because of its close proximity to important centres of trade and power such as Antwerp, Gent and Brugge, was prominent in the maritime trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. This encompassed the trade to the East carried on by the Dutch East India Company and hundreds of East Indiamen from the Chamber of Zeeland left for the Indies from the roads of Vlissingen. It was from nearby Rammekens that the VOC retour-ship Vliegent Hart left on its fatal journey in February 1735, to be wrecked on the sandbanks of Deurloo a few hours after setting sail. In the 19th century large parts of the history of Zeeland disappeared from local archives, in particular part of the records of the VOC in Middleburg were destroyed. This has left much of the maritime history of Zeeland to be reconstructed from archaeological remains and the remnants of the archives. It is here that underwater archaeology has an important part to play. Since the start of the project the Vliegent Hart diving teams have been based at or near Vlissingen, and the heart of the work of registration, conservation and display has been situated at the Stedelijk Museum in Vlissingen. The new museum will become the central place in Zeeland for the research and study into the maritime history of the Province. Amongst other material, the museum will hold the records of the diving and archaeological work on the Vliegent Hart, as well as many of the recoveries from the shipwreck that will eventually form the largest collection of information from a VOC wreck in the Netherlands. These sources will become more accessible by the use of modern electronic techniques to bring the historical information to life for the public to access. To this extent, the collaboration with the diving group and its archaeological staff is an essential element for the study and exhibition of the unique nature of the VOC chamber of Zeeland. The new museum looks forward to the continuation and expansion of the work on the Vliegent Hart in the coming years, and welcomes the privilege of co-operating with Rex Cowan and Alex Hildred and the team in their future work. Artist’s impression of Zeeland Maritime Museum (Copyright Sredelijk Museum) - 55 -