Macabre Simulacra

The maritime legacy is the human legacy; it is colonization, war, globalization, climate change, and it is coping with all these things. Yet the void between humans and their watery world remains. Attempting to fill this void, the savior-scholar model has shifted from physical to virtual resurrection. 3D digital shipwreck reconstructions have become the default mechanism for scientists to engage the public with maritime heritage, marketing VR tours with claims to ‘bring history alive’. This chapter first examines the spectator : spectacle paradigm as a byproduct of the savior-scholar model. Recounting the Bayonnaise, wrecked in 1803 off the coast of Finisterre, Spain, it then offers the lasting experience of wonder as substitute for the fleeting commodity of virtual shipwreck exploration.

The ‘Ark Re-Imagined’

The ‘Ark Re-Imagined’ is an art project that envisions a Mesopotamian ark based on Iraq’s ancient boat types and vernacular architectural forms. Through exploring and documenting what remains of traditional boatbuilding techniques and related crafts in today’s Iraq, the project breaks new ground in the study of Mesopotamian maritime heritage. Engaging at the intersection between art, cultural heritage, ecology and development, the project’s ‘expeditionary art’ approach seeks tangible means to reconnect with the land and rivers through a palette of making techniques and aesthetic forms that have persisted in the region for many millennia. It holds global relevance through its imaginal engagement with the present situation of systemic crisis and potential transformation, drawing parallels between the current climate emergency and that of the Great Flood, and asking what kinds of knowledge, resources and practices an ark for our times needs to preserve.

CREACIÓN DE UNA RUTA ARQUEOLÓGICA SUBACUÁTICA EN EL PECIO FENICIO DEL BAJO DE LA CAMPANA Y EL ENTORNO DE ISLA GROSA, LA MANGA, MURCIA

En los últimos años, la Región de Murcia ha fomentado nuevos modelos turísticos relacionados con la cultura y el mar. Sin embargo, pese a la riqueza de su historia y legado marítimos, no lo ha hecho de forma conjunta. El Mar Menor y La Manga solo han visto potenciado el aspecto marítimo en relación con actividades náuticas, quedando su patrimonio relegado a un segundo plano. Este trabajo busca reivindicar la riqueza del patrimonio, historia y cultura marítimos asociados a esta zona y mostrar las oportunidades que ofrece su adecuada puesta en valor a través de un caso práctico: la implementación de una ruta arqueológica subacuática en el pecio fenicio del Bajo de la Campana, como parte del Proyecto Isla Grosa. In recent years, the Region of Murcia has promoted new tourism models related to heritage and the sea. However, despite the richness of its maritime history and heritage, it has not done so in a complementary manner. The Mar Menor-La Manga area has only boosted the maritime aspect in relation to nautical activities, leaving their heritage relegated to a second place. This paper seeks to vindicate the importance of the Maritime Heritage, History, and Culture associated with this area and to show the opportunities offered by its proper enhancement through a case study: the implementation of an underwater heritage trail in the Phoenician wreck of the “Bajo de la Campana” as part of the “Isla Grosa” Project.

Robert J. Walker

This book tells the story of the steamship Robert J. Walker, an early coastal survey ship for the agency that would later become the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that sank with loss of 21 crew off the coast of New Jersey in 1860. The wreck was a frequent stop for divers and anglers before it was identified by a team of researchers in 2013. Here, leaders in the documentation efforts describe the history of the ship and the archaeology of the shipwreck, emphasizing the collaborative community participation that made the project successful. James Delgado and Stephen Nagiewicz highlight the contributions of government archaeologists from NOAA as well as local divers from varying backgrounds. Although such groups are not typically known for working together, they united to achieve the shared goal of mapping and interpreting this historically significant shipwreck. Delgado and Nagiewicz show how incorporating local knowledge both improves archaeological work and empowers community members as stakeholders, inspiring residents to promote their maritime heritage.

Морское культурное наследие: история становления и развития понятия на примере Великобритании

Статья посвящена исследованию истории формирования и функционирования понятия морское и подводное культурное наследие , а также анализу эволюции ценностей, вкладываемых в объекты наследия, связанные с морской культурой. Цель работы определение этапов системного научного осмысления морского и подводного культурного наследия в Великобритании и процесса становления соответствующего понятия. Базой для научных изысканий автора явились исследования британских ученых, охватывающие период с середины XVII в. по настоящее время. В ходе исследования выделены три основных периода в истории формирования представлений о морском культурном наследии Великобритании, предложен вариант трактовки рассматриваемого понятия, которое определяется как совокупность объектов материального и нематериального культурного наследия, связанных со всеми аспектами мореплавания и освоения человеком водных пространств.The article is devoted to the study of the history of the formation and functioning of the concept maritime and underwater cultural heritage, as well as to the analysis of the evolution of values invested in heritage objects related to maritime culture. The study is based on materials reflecting the history of the study of maritime heritage in the UK. The aim of the work is to determine the stages in the formation of a systematic scientific understanding of the maritime and underwater cultural heritage in the UK and the process of establishing the corresponding scientific concept. The basis for the authors research was the study of British scientists, covering the period from the mid-17th century until now. The main attention is paid to underwater cultural heritage as one of the main components of maritime heritage. The author identifies three main periods in the history of the formation of ideas about the maritime cultural heritage of Great Britain. The middle of the 17th century was taken as a starting point, which was the heyday of the era of antiquarianism. Thanks to the active colonial policy and the wars accompanying it, many ships were wrecked, and subsequently a large number of sailors searched for sunken treasures. The reason for this search was by no means a desire to preserve history, but a commercial gain. The milestone that determined the emergence of historical interest in maritime heritage sites is 1836: the year the ship Mary Rose was discovered. The subsequent period (up to the second half of the 20th century) is characterized by the development of historical research in relation to the underwater cultural heritage, but without a sound scientific-methodological component. The third period begins in 1976 after a publication of Keith Muckelroy, a maritime archaeologist, about the formation of an underwater archaeological complex, and after further developments, including the creation of the term maritime archaeology. The development of the methodology, the conceptualization and updating of critical approaches to historical phenomena have led to the formation of a modern scientific view on the problems of interpretation of maritime cultural heritage. The revealed characteristics of the analyzed concept allowed the author to propose a version of its interpretation, characteristic of European countries. Maritime cultural heritage is defined as a combination of objects of tangible and intangible cultural heritage associated with all aspects of navigation and human development of water spaces.