The Physical Environment of Underwater Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The maritime history of the major marine water masses of the globe, the unique underwater cultural heritage located in each ocean and the environments of major rivers and freshwater lakes, including the Aral Sea, are overviewed. Important submerged sites, such as the sunken English medieval town of Dunwich and the World Heritage Listed site of Nan Madol, located in the Federated States of Micronesia, are examined along with shipwrecks reaching from antiquity to the major conflicts of the twentieth century. The diversity of cultural heritage located in marine and riverine environments is showcased and threats to underwater cultural heritage, new and long standing, are analysed. Recent discoveries of slaving vessels, such as the Clotilda, and important World War II wrecks, such as the USS Indianapolis, are reviewed. The waters of Micronesia host many sunken World War II wrecks of the Japanese Imperial Navy—focus is brought to those of the ‘Ghost Fleet’ of Chuck Lagoon by means of a case study of their physical and legal attributes in Chap. 7. The many recreational divers who visit Chuuk can explore the wrecks of more than sixty Japanese naval vessels, aircraft and military apparatus that are scattered across the Lagoon’s seafloor. The concepts of ‘toxic underwater cultural heritage’ and ‘metal pirates’ are introduced as existing problems of international dimensions with potentially catastrophic consequences in the context of the large tonnage of sunken military wrecks beneath the waters of the Pacific and the toxicity of the cargoes that remain precariously encased in them.