tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/treasure-hunting-1531/articlesTreasure hunting – The Conversation2024-03-14T17:19:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253052024-03-14T17:19:19Z2024-03-14T17:19:19ZThe sunken treasure of the San José shipwreck is contested – but its real riches go beyond coins and jewels<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580446/original/file-20240307-24-bvn0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1882%2C1322&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wager's Action off Cartagena, 28 May 1708 by Samuel Scott (1772), a painting showing the moment the San José was blown up. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11840.html">National Maritime Museum</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The San José was a galleon ship owned by King Philip V of Spain (1683–1746) in the 18th century. It sailed from Portobelo in present-day Panama to Cartagena in Colombia in 1708. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/9342/treasure-san-jose">The ship was sunk</a> – still laden with treasure including 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo – during the Battle of Barú (also known as Wager’s Action), part of the War of the Spanish Succession. This war was between Spain and France on one side, and Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic and other European allies on the other. </p>
<p>The search for the San José and its treasure, sunk 600 metres deep, has now become possible thanks to advances in remotely operated underwater vehicle technology. The ship is now in the process of being <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colombia-san-jose-shipwreck-treasure-b2503667.html">pulled up from the sea floor</a>. But who is entitled to San José’s riches?</p>
<p>In 1979, the US salvage company Sea Search Armada made an exclusive agreement with Colombia to divide the proceeds of the San José 50:50. They had bought out the Glocca Morra Company which discovered what was thought to be the wreck of the San José in 1982. </p>
<p>In 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that Colombia holds the rights to items deemed to be “national cultural patrimony”. Anything else will be halved between the US salvage company Sea Search Armada and Colombia. Ownership of each item would probably have to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/07/sibyllabrodzinsky.international">decided by independent experts</a>.</p>
<p>However, in 2015, Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, <a href="https://twitter.com/JuanManSantos/status/672925619278249984?lang=en-gb">challenged the location</a> Sea Search Armada’s suspected held the San José wreck. He confirmed that the San José’s true location had been found by the Colombian navy – with the help of British maritime archaeology consultants and the US Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – in Colombian waters.</p>
<p>Spain and Peru have <a href="https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2023/11/08/spain-lays-claim-to-holy-grail-of-shipwrecks-galleon-which-sank-more-than-300-years-ago-contains-up-to-e18bn-in-treasure/">also claimed ownership</a>, since the San José was a Spanish ship carrying wealth created by enslaved indigenous Peruvian workers. The descendants of the indigenous Bolivian Qhara Qhara people and enslaved African workers in New Granada, who were forced to mine precious metals, have <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colombia-san-jose-shipwreck-treasure-b2503667.html">also made a claim</a>.</p>
<p>Spain colonised Colombia, Peru and Bolivia after Christopher Columbus reached America in 1492. The 1494 <a href="https://en.unesco.org/memoryoftheworld/registry/613#:%7E:text=The%20Treaty%20of%20Tordesillas%20of,west%20of%20Cape%20Verde%20islands.">Treaty of Tordesillas</a> divided the new territory between Spain and Portugal. This resulted in the destruction of indigenous culture, seizure of natural assets and exploitation of inhabitants and enslaved African people. Part of San José’s wealth should therefore surely be reserved to create a cultural legacy that would beneficially balance that harmful past.</p>
<p>Research to discover how the San José was built by its Spanish shipbuilders and find out about the crew and the local communities in Colombia and Bolivia <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/9342/treasure-san-jose">is feasible</a>. Documents survive in the archives of the Casa de Contratación de las Indias (Trading House of the Indies), the National Archives of Spain and Lima and Spanish dockyard and shipbuilding archives. Oral history could reveal community folk stories and passed down memories.</p>
<p>The experience of recovering, conserving and interpreting the Tudor ship, the Mary Rose, which sunk in 1545 and was brought up from the seabed in 1982, is a superb example of what could be done with the San José. Scientific analysis of the wreck and remains could determine where the crew came from. <a href="https://maryrose.org/blog/fundraising/the-mary-rose/ccixr/">As with the Mary Rose</a>, new technology could be used to bring those stories to new audiences. </p>
<h2>San José’s loss and legacy</h2>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/hidden-histories?vpid=p0gkkdhc">excellent film</a> analysing the context of the San José’s loss, and exploring its underwater remains, nautical archaeologist Professor Ricardo Borrero argues that the ship’s “real value is its historical value and its potential to deliver a lot of information if we ask the proper questions”.</p>
<p>Juan David Correa, Colombia’s minister of culture, also insists that the value of the wreck is patrimonial and not monetary, saying <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/shipwreck-colombia-san-jose-treasure-b2502029.html">“history is the treasure”</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Underwater images of the San José.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In 2024 Colombian archaeologist <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/shipwreck-colombia-san-jose-treasure-b2502029.html">Carlos Reina Martínez</a> said the Colombian Institute of Archeology and History is seeking to discover what life was like for the 600 people on board the San José when it sank. They also wish to study daily life, the cargo, artillery and merchandise of the colonial era in America. Colombia will invest US$4.5 million (£3.5 million) to recover the ship and its contents and conserve them.</p>
<p>The proposed Colombian investigation is inspired by the University of Portsmouth Arts and Humanities Research Council Project <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/research/current/discover-and-understand/coastal-and-marine/unpathd-waters/">Unpath’d Waters</a>, which I am a part of. Our research into the British HMS Looe, shipwrecked in 1705, has revealed that its twice-yearly Newfoundland convoys were vital to British global goals during the War of Spanish Succession. </p>
<p>Unpath’d Waters seeks to connect dispersed historical collections to bring new stories to new audiences. Inspired by our work, the recovery and restoration of the San José could also connect its many stories – the Spanish shipbuilders, the craftspeople, the 600 passengers and crew and their descendants. But will their voices be heard? It will take a concerted effort from teams around the world, not a power struggle, to ensure that they are.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Coats is the University of Portsmouth Co-Investigator in Unpath'd Waters, the Historic England-led Arts and Humanities Research Council 'Towards the National Collection' Project..
The University of Portsmouth has received funding for Unpath'd Waters from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>The boat was sunk while still laden with treasure including 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo.Ann Coats, Associate Professor in Maritime History, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118552023-09-27T13:38:30Z2023-09-27T13:38:30ZTreasure hunters pose a problem for underwater archaeological heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543491/original/file-20230818-27-junl6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C2396%2C1580&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/es/fotos/MmblG0TlcS0">Noaa / Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are ancient pirates and modern treasure hunters. They are separated by more than 200 years of history, differences in the available technology, and types of sponsorship that keep them afloat – the former sailing for a country and the latter protected by a company. Even so, they seem to have the same objective: the gold and silver of the Spanish Empire.</p>
<p>On October 5, 1804, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_las_Mercedes">the frigate “La Mercedes”</a> came to the end of its journey at the bottom of the sea near Cape of St. Mary, at the south of Portugal. A surprise attack by the English wiped out the fleet, which was about to reach its destination. At the time, the two nations were at peace. However, that didn’t matter much to the British Royal Navy.</p>
<p>The tides and the fish were the silent guardians of the treasure, which remained sunk with the Mercedes for more than two centuries. That is, until its discovery was announced with great fanfare in 2007. </p>
<p>Since 1999, electric lights and robotic submarines had been periodically disturbing the peace of the seabed in secret. The company Odyssey was sweeping the bottom of the sea in search of the wreck, even though this was a potentially delicate archaeological site. It found its target: almost 600,000 silver and gold coins minted in Peru during the times of Charles IV.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423516/original/file-20210928-30-13arwvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Spanish silver and gold coins from the reign of Charles IV, extracted by Odyssey from the wreck of the frigate Mercedes and prepared for sale by said company as well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fragata_Mercedes_Exposicion_AGI_02_monedas_Odyssey.JPG">Hispalois/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The coins were transferred from Gibraltar to Florida, the city where Odyssey has its headquarters. However, the Spanish government initiated a lawsuit against the company. In 2011, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/01/treasure-trove-galleon-returned-spain">11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, upheld the decision</a> of a Florida judge, who ruled in favour of Spain. The coins were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/world/europe/spain-gains-access-to-trove-of-shipwreck-coins.html">returned in 2012</a> under a legal decision that no longer allowed any type of appeal or reversal. However, investigators still discovered that the company had wrongfully hidden some objects recovered from the site in Gibraltar.</p>
<p>In the end, <a href="https://casetext.com/case/odyssey-marine-exploration-3">they were forced</a> to <a href="https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/fragatamercedes/inicio.html">return everything</a> and pay a large part of the court costs.</p>
<h2>Archaeology provides context</h2>
<p>Archaeological treasure hunters pose a problem not only for underwater archaeological heritage but also for heritage pieces and sites located on land. Not so much because of the material value of the looted antiquities; in fact, contrary to popular belief, archaeologists are not interested in the objects found, but more so in their relationship with other objects and structures.</p>
<p>At an archaeological site, structures and objects are found in levels that take on the form of layers, and what matters is the relationship between objects and structures at any given level. </p>
<p>For example, the fact that Roman coins appear at a site in northern Europe may suggest that trade with the Roman Empire reached that point.</p>
<p>Because of all this, the context in which archaeological remains appear is absolutely key. The archaeologist needs to know exactly where an artefact has been found, at what archaeological level, and what artefacts and structures are on the same level. That is when the finding is really useful from a scientific point of view.</p>
<h2>The price of underwater conservation</h2>
<p>The main difference between an archaeological site on land and the site of a sunken ship is that, while a land site may contain material remains from various eras, a shipwreck is like a photograph of a moment in time. The materials that we find there are exclusively from the moment in which the ship sank, indicating styles, fashions, types of food, weapons, etc.</p>
<p>The other big difference is that studying an underwater site is prohibitively expensive. </p>
<p>To begin with, highly specialised labour is needed, along with diving licences, underwater equipment, one or more boats, and very expensive excavation equipment that can vacuum up mud or sand from the seabed. In land archaeology, shifts of 8 hours or more in length are normal – something unthinkable in underwater archaeology. </p>
<p>The worst is in the conservation of artefacts extracted from the seabed. If there is not a restorer prepared to act on the surface, these objects can very easily degrade in a matter of hours. This type of conservation is extremely expensive.</p>
<p>As an example, one of the best-preserved wrecks in the world at a museum on land is
that of the famous warship the Vasa. It is a Swedish ship that foundered and sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage. This ship is <a href="https://www.vasamuseet.se/es">one of the main attractions of the city of Stockholm</a>. Nevertheless, the museum makes losses every year due to the cost of preserving the piece.</p>
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<p>Odyssey is a company and, as such, it has to make a profit. And making a profit by doing a good job of underwater archaeology is impossible because of the high costs associated with it. Hence, many of these companies do what Odyssey did with the frigate La Mercedes: they loot the silver that the ship contained –approximately 600,000 silver coins– and completely ignore any other non-valuable object from the wreck.</p>
<p>If Odyssey had carried out proper archaeological work, even if the Spanish state had allowed Odyssey to sell the coins, they would have incurred financial losses.</p>
<h2>Who does that sunken ship belong to?</h2>
<p>Who is the owner of submerged archaeological heritage sites? This is a difficult question to answer, and, in short, it depends. In theory, everything that falls into the jurisdictional waters of a given country or the nearby continental shelf belongs to that country, unless there is an international treaty involved.</p>
<p>This was the case of the Mercedes; it could be recovered by Spain because there was a treaty with the United States to respect ships’ maritime flags. In other words, if an American ship had sunk more than a hundred years ago in Spanish territorial waters, the remains would still belong to the United States – and vice versa.</p>
<p>Since 2001, we have had an international standard for respect towards submerged heritage, which is the <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-underwater-cultural-heritage">UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage</a>, signed by 20 countries, with more and more are being added. Hopefully, in the future it will be global in scope.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211855/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Las personas firmantes no son asalariadas, ni consultoras, ni poseen acciones, ni reciben financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y han declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado anteriormente.</span></em></p>Modern day treasure hunters can often cause problems for underwater archaeology.Hipólito Sanchiz Alvarez de Toledo, Profesor Adjunto de Historia Antigua Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Universidad CEU San PabloHipólito Sanchiz Alcaraz, Teacher Assistant, Colgate UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1226952019-08-30T11:29:52Z2019-08-30T11:29:52ZHuge find of silver coins provides new clues to turbulent times after Norman Conquest of England<p>With their metal detectors and spades “detectorists” are a common sight in the British countryside. When their equipment bleeps, they start to dig in the hope of finding something old and valuable. They are often seen as figures of fun – in fact, the BBC shows <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06l51nr">a comedy series</a> about a pair of such amateur archaeologists which has a cult following. But part-time treasure hunters do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to discovering antiquities buried in fields across the UK.</p>
<p>Two such detectorists, Lisa Grace and Adam Staples, recently uncovered a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-49487078">haul of more than 2,000 silver coins</a> in Somerset in the south-west of England, dating back to the turbulent period following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. </p>
<p>In the years after William of Normandy defeated Harold II and took the throne, the Norman invaders were confronted by frequent rebellion. They responded by planting castles to subdue the population. The coin hoard found in the Chew Valley in Somerset dates from the years of unrest when William was establishing himself on the throne. </p>
<p>One of the largest hoards ever recovered from the years around 1066, it includes more than 1,000 coins minted in Harold’s name and a similar number in William’s. Harold had been king for only ten months at the time of his defeat and death in battle, so all the coins of Harold date from no earlier than January 1066. Some may have been minted in his name after his death, as a desperate measure by survivors to hold the regime together in the two months that elapsed between the Battle of Hastings and William’s coronation. Funds were very important at moments when the succession to the throne lay in doubt. </p>
<p>It is certain at any rate that whoever concealed the hoard was a person of high rank, probably one of the nobility – a circle of no more than 150 landed aristocrats, many of whom were related. A coin hoard of this size may have been to pay for an army. But we might only guess whose army or whether the hoarder was a supporter or opponent of the Norman regime.</p>
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<span class="caption">Rivals for the English throne: William of Normandy (left) watches as Harold Godwinson apparently swears fealty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bayeux Tapestry</span></span>
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<p>Historians have long disputed whether Harold succeeded to the throne with the approval of his predecessor and brother-in-law, the childless Edward the Confessor, or seized the throne in haste to prevent it falling to another candidate. The strongest claimants in the latter camp were Edward the Confessor’s great-nephew Edgar and William of Normandy, his second cousin, who argued that Edward had promised the throne to him.</p>
<h2>Money and power</h2>
<p>Coin evidence assists in this debate by showing the extent to which Harold was able to control mints up and down the country. Regimes which had only a shaky hold on power were unable to control all the mints, some of which struck coins in the names of their rivals. This happened in the early years of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-I">Harold I</a>’s regime (1035-7), when mints in southern England struck coins in the name of his rival <a href="https://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=harthacnut">Harthacnut</a>. </p>
<p>In the case of Harold II, though his legitimacy was in doubt, his control of the mints suggests a strong hold on power from the outset. Indeed the hoard is likely to provide specimens of coins minted at unrecorded mints and by previously unknown moneyers. </p>
<p>Historians also debate the extent to which the invasion of 1066 disrupted the operations of the Anglo-Saxon state. The presence in the hoard of a large sample of coins issued by William at the start of his reign will help shed new light on the era. </p>
<p>The portrait, design and text on William’s coins, moreover, reveals how he wanted his subjects to see him. A coin is not only a unit of currency – it is a tool of propaganda. Harold’s coins, ironically, bore the legend “PAX” (peace). It was a signal of his aspirations on becoming king.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290271/original/file-20190830-166019-1tiirvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The haul included coins minted by William the Conqueror (left) and Harold II.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pippa Pearce/Trustees of the British Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today Harold’s coins are keenly sought by collectors, being rare and evocative our nation’s story. Hoarded coins are often in fresh condition and each should command a high market value.</p>
<h2>Rewarding hobby</h2>
<p>Since the advent of the hobby of metal detecting in the 1970s, most hoards and single finds have been located by detectorists. Their painstaking efforts have resulted in the discovery of great treasures of recent years, including the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/feb/28/detectorists-strike-iron-age-gold-staffordshire-field">Staffordshire Hoard</a> and the <a href="https://www.dissmercury.co.uk/news/winfarthing-pendant-british-library-anglo-saxon-kingdoms-1-5768637">Winfarthing pendant</a>.</p>
<p>On most outings, detectorists find little or nothing. Most spend years in the hobby and never find a hoard. Thanks to a system of recording in place since the launching of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, more and more of their discoveries are now being reported.</p>
<p>The law requires that all finds of treasure be reported to the coroner within 14 days of discovery or of the finder’s realisation that the find might be treasure as defined by the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/24/contents">Treasure Act of 1996</a>. Any item of precious metal more than 300 years old, any two or more gold or silver coins, or a group of base metal coins, and any associated artefacts, such as a pot in which coins are buried, is treasure as defined by the Act. </p>
<p>All reported treasure items are entered in the online database of the <a href="https://finds.org.uk/">Portable Antiquities Scheme</a>. Their details are thereby captured for the nation, even if the finds are often returned to the finder. No hoard of Norman Conquest coins on the scale of the Chew Valley hoard has come to light for many years. </p>
<p>It is a reminder that the passions of hobbyists frequently turn up great benefits for everyone. And it is also a reminder of England’s turbulent past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Licence is currently working on a new biography of Edward the Confessor to be published in 2020 as part of the acclaimed series Yale English Monarchs.</span></em></p>Amateur detectorists do a lot of the heavy lifting on which archaeologists depend.Tom Licence, Professor of Medieval History and Consumer Culture, School of History, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139372019-03-21T14:19:54Z2019-03-21T14:19:54ZAs archaeologists, it was our duty to take on Cadbury over ads encouraging kids to dig up ‘treasure’ – and we won<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265116/original/file-20190321-93060-17y0dti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C44%2C3725%2C2446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Doonagore Castle, which Cadbury incorrectly identified as Mooghaun Fort in its ad campaign. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/round-tower-doonagore-castle-ireland-130088756">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest online campaign by chocolate giant Cadbury encouraged children to go “treasure hunting” over Easter. Kids were encouraged to “uncover underwater shipwrecks in Devon” or “dig up Viking silver on the River Ribble”. After discovering the website, archaeologists (ourselves included) launched a <a href="http://bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/cadbury-treasure-hunt-fiasco/">call to action</a>, pointing out that such activities might well be breaking the law.</p>
<p>Several of the sites listed were protected monuments, where treasure hunting is illegal. Cadbury named Mooghaun Fort in Ireland, which is covered by very strict national laws, as one of its treasure hunting sites. Any excavation or use of metal detectors in Ireland requires a state-licensed archaeologist. Without one, <a href="https://www.museum.ie/The-Collections/Metal-Detecting-in-Ireland-The-Law">fines can be enormous and lead to prison time</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1106895450139971584"}"></div></p>
<p>Cadbury removed their campaign website two days later. The company now promises to “focus solely on directing families to museums where existing treasures can be found”. So, thanks to the swift response from the heritage community, damage to sites was prevented – unlike a similar incident involving the company in the 1980s. </p>
<p>At that time, a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230560/Cadburys-calamity-The-22-carat-gold-egg-led-thousands-people-digging-countryside.html">Creme Egg treasure hunt</a> led to members of the public digging up historic sites throughout the UK, in search of a scroll that would entitle them to one of 12 22-carat gold eggs. This treasure hunt was also cancelled, after the company received complaints from landowners. </p>
<h2>The treasure laws</h2>
<p>Britain has probably the oldest and most liberal treasure hunting laws in the world. The common law of Treasure Trove goes back to late Saxon times. When objects of gold or silver were discovered, ownership fell to the Crown. In 1996, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/24/contents">Treasure Act</a> placed the law on a more modern footing, redefining “treasure” to include prehistoric metalwork, coin hoards and objects made of gold and silver that are at least 300 years old.</p>
<p>People who find such artefacts have a responsibility to declare it to their local <a href="https://finds.org.uk/contacts">Finds Liaison Officers</a> for review. If museums wish to acquire the treasure, a reward is split between the finder and the landowner. Of course, it is not permitted to hunt for treasure on the 20,000 archaeological sites that are protected <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/scheduled-monuments/">ancient monuments</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, throughout much of Europe and the developing world, it’s illegal to use a metal detector for treasure hunting – and so is any form of unlicensed excavation. In Mediterranean countries such as Greece or Italy, where the landscape is bursting with buried sites, tomb robbers face significant criminal sanctions.</p>
<p>While stories in the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6657067/Iron-Age-chariot-amateur-history-lover-whos-set-pocket-1MILLION.html">media</a> tell of amazing finds, metal detectors are more likely to turn up trivial pieces from the past, such as nails, buttons and ring-pulls. The depth that most detectors reach is seldom more than eight inches in freshly ploughed soil on farmers’ land – soil that would already be considered disturbed.</p>
<p>Yet the way these finds are distributed in the soil can offer clues about the location of new archaeological sites. Working with detectorists, <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/current-projects/torksey/">archaeologists at Torksey</a>, in Lincolnshire, were able to pinpoint the location of the Viking winter camp of 872, which led experts to massively increase their estimates of the size of the invasion army.</p>
<h2>Report and respond</h2>
<p>The Portable Antiquities Scheme records many detectorists’ finds, and makes them available to view on a <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database">public website</a>. With over 3m photographs online, it’s a fascinating resource documenting the everyday objects of the past. </p>
<p>The UK’s ambiguous national attitude towards metal detecting and treasure hunting divides archaeologists. Responsible detectorists can be viewed as citizen scientists, helping to create a database of the nation’s rich buried heritage. Many already work together with archaeologists, and we encourage this community of enthusiasts and professionals – and the wider public – to make their voices heard in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/revising-the-definition-of-treasure-in-the-treasure-act-1996-and-revising-the-related-codes-of-practice">current consultation on the Treasure Act</a> to forge new definitions and guidance on how to explore our shared cultural heritage.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265090/original/file-20190321-93060-6txdwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Citizen science in action.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/metal-detecting-field-stubble-114239302">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But treasure hunters who are driven by profit can strip objects of their cultural context and remove them into private collections forever. Even worse are “<a href="http://theconversation.com/history-wars-archaeologists-battle-to-save-our-heritage-from-the-nighthawks-49068">nighthawks</a>”: an illegal fringe group who trespass private land in purposeful efforts to secretly loot archaeological sites. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/history-wars-archaeologists-battle-to-save-our-heritage-from-the-nighthawks-49068">History wars: archaeologists battle to save our heritage from the nighthawks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One area of concern are detecting rallies, when a farmer may open up his fields for a day and invite all-comers to hunt for treasure. In spite of defined <a href="https://finds.org.uk/getinvolved/guides/rallycode">codes of conduct</a>, hundreds of detectorists may descend on the landscape to be stripped of any finds, within a few hours, with little scope to record them or where they were found, while the objects disappear into people’s pockets.</p>
<h2>Commodifying culture</h2>
<p>There was a missed opportunity for Cadbury to work with archaeologists and engage with the UK’s ancient artefacts and sites as a wonderful cultural resource. The minister for arts, culture and heritage has <a href="https://twitter.com/Michael_Ellis1/status/1108027220218523649">called on the company</a> to redress its transgressions, as have national organisations such as the <a href="https://twitter.com/archaeologyuk/status/1107652242402873344">Council for British Archaeology</a>. In response, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-47617110">Cadbury said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was not our intention to encourage anyone to break existing regulations regarding the discovery of new archaeological artefacts and we are grateful this matter has been brought to our attention.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are many opportunities for families to explore outdoor sites of historic and archaeological importance, without digging holes in the ground. The network of <a href="https://www.yac-uk.org/">Young Archaeologists Clubs</a> is a great place to start and join an enthusiastic community, who offer a hands-on approach to the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113937/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A swift response from the heritage community prevented damage to sites of national heritage.Aisling Tierney, Research associate, University of BristolMark Horton, Professor in Archaeology, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/526982016-04-25T20:14:10Z2016-04-25T20:14:10ZLost treasures and how to find them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110119/original/image-20160203-5830-igrnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">X rarely marks the spot, but that doesn't mean treasure hunters should lose hope. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A lost Nazi gold train was discovered in Poland. At least, that’s what a couple of treasure hunters told the world last year. Like all lost treasures, the search for this one had been going on for many years, usually without success. But many still believe in these far-fetched yarns and some even search for them. </p>
<p>Every now and then a lost treasure is really found, providing just enough stimulus to keep all the other legends living on. In March this year, divers recovered sunken treasure from a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/portuguese-ship-esmeralada-shipwreck-coin-artifacts-vasco-da-gama/">500 year old shipwreck off the coast of Oman</a>, giving hope to all the other hunters out there. </p>
<p>Armed with the latest techno gadgets and a map, the raiders of the lost Nazi treasure claimed to have found their prize. They were prepared to reveal its location in return for a modest percentage of the booty. Local officials apparently fell in with this nonsense and the Deputy Polish Culture Minister was widely quoted saying that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-29/polish-official-99-per-cent-sure-nazi-treasure-train-exists/6734296">they were 99% sure the train was there</a>. </p>
<p>Enter the spoilsport scientists from the Kracow Mining Academy. <em>Their</em> techno gadgets confirmed that not only was there no hidden Nazi train of gold but there were not even any real railway tracks in this region of the Lower Silesia. <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35104117">Just empty tunnels</a>. </p>
<p>Still, even if that one was dispelled by science, people love a lost treasure story. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.history.com/news/explorer-percy-fawcett-disappears-in-the-amazon-90-years-ago">Colonel Percy Fawcett</a> went to Brazil’s Matto Grosso searching for the lost city of “Z” in 1925. He has not been seen since. A Hollywood film about the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/portuguese-ship-esmeralada-shipwreck-coin-artifacts-vasco-da-gama/">Lost City of Z</a> – co-produced by Brad Pitt and starring Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller – is currently in production and will appear in our cinemas 91 years after Fawcett disappeared.</p>
<p>Lost treasure tales have a number of common elements that provide them with apparent credibility. </p>
<p>Firstly, they are in remote or otherwise difficult to access locations. Lasseter’s Reef is said to lie <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/ive-found-lasseters-reef/story-e6freooo-1111113517502">somewhere in some of Australia’s most desolate emptiness</a>. South American jungles have harboured any number of fabulous Aztec, Incan or Mayan troves. Islands are excellent, especially for pirate treasure chests</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113844/original/image-20160304-17714-q9h9pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harold Lasseter’s grave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there will be a map. Or sometimes another document, like a letter, giving the hazy location of the loot. Harold (originally Hubert) Lasseter left a diary and a map of his fabled reef as he lay dying in 1931. Many have since used these documents in futile attempts to find the gold. </p>
<p>The map or document will have a murky provenance. It may come from a previous seeker of a particular rumoured treasure. It might be serendipitously “found”, preferably in an atmospheric location. Tombs are good. </p>
<p>Usually the person who provides the document to the treasure seeker will be conveniently dead, as in the <a href="http://www.thomasbealecipher.com/index.htm">Beale ciphers</a>. The Beale ciphers are three papers written in code, one of which will reveal the location of treasure buried in Bedford County, Virginia. No one has yet cracked the code, although claims of success <a href="http://bealesolved.tripod.com/">have been made</a>. </p>
<p>Then there will be guardians of the lost treasure. Often these are benighted savages who will stop at nothing to prevent intrepid (white) treasure hunters getting to their fabled horde. One explanation for the disappearance of Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Amazon is that he was killed by indigenous people. Indiana Jones is often said to be based on the British explorer’s exploits, though a version of the trope appears in other lost treasure tales. </p>
<p>Often the guardians are long departed, as in the <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sorry-treasure-hunters-legendary-nazi-gold-train-total-bust-180957573/?no-ist">lost Nazi gold train legend</a> of Poland’s Lower Silesia region. This is a relatively recent variation on the ancient theme of missing millions. It springs from the same deluded human hopes for untold riches that produced the El Dorado myth and its many variations around the world.</p>
<p>It was believed locally that possibly three such trains stuffed with stolen gold, jewels and art were buried in a complex of tunnels under construction by the Third Reich for still-unknown purposes. The train, or trains, were then sealed in, awaiting only intrepid treasure seekers to unearth their riches. People have been looking for years but no one has succeeded in the quest.</p>
<p>But wait! A map was found!! Even better, the map was obtained from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/28/nazi-gold-train-deathbed-confession-may-have-revealed-location">a man on his deathbed</a>!!! Must be real. Let’s go. And so they did.</p>
<p>Even after their claims were disproved by scientists, the Polish believers
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/there-is-no-nazi-gold-train-polish-scientists-say">clung to their story</a>, “because the methodological approach [of the scientists] was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/there-is-no-nazi-gold-train-polish-scientists-say">not the same as ours</a>.”</p>
<p>The final feature of lost treasure yarns is the unsuccessful but tantalisingly promising attempts of earlier searchers to reach the horde. </p>
<p>The notion that something must be there because so many have tried before is a mainspring of the mythology that supports these persistent folk beliefs. Fawcett’s quest for the city of “Z’ feeds an ongoing interest in the mystery derived from the 2009 book on which the movie is based.</p>
<p>Believers still risk their lives <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/lasseters-reef-solved-canberra-historian-chris-clarks-new-book-unearths-home-truths-20150316-1m03au.html">in search of Lasseter’s Reef</a>. <a href="http://treasureworks.com/kunena/214-treasure-legends/12234-the-sacambaya-treasure">The lost gold of Sacambaya</a> still attracts optimists more than 150 years after a charlatan injected it into Bolivian fantasy. Others are still burrowing for Templar, or maybe pirate, treasures on <a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1322045-brothers-dig-up-%E2%80%98scary-stuff%E2%80%99-on-the-curse-of-oak-island">Oak Island</a> off Nova Scotia and any number of sunken galleons and other wrecks are still the object of fervent searches in all of the seven seas.</p>
<p>Every now and then one of these expeditions actually strikes gold, as in the recent <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151209-spanish-shipwreck-billion-treasure-archaeology/">rediscovery of a Spanish treasure ship off Columbia</a>. The rarity of these finds and the sensations they produce are sufficient to stoke the fires of hope that glitter in the hearts of all treasure hunters.</p>
<p>It might just be that the legend is true…</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Seal receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>People love a lost treasure story. Whether it’s a Rembrandt in the attic, sunken loot or an entire missing reef, part of us wants to believe there’s riches just around the corner.Graham Seal, Professor of Folklore, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/415292015-05-11T05:25:43Z2015-05-11T05:25:43ZCaptain Kidd’s ‘treasure’ found in Indian Ocean – but this is no haul in pirating terms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80984/original/image-20150508-22785-1y2l7dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Captain Kidd in New York Harbor, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1920. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>Treasure belonging to the notorious pirate Captain Kidd has been <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32621444">found in Madagascar</a>, according to the BBC and other news sources. So Captain Kidd – leading villain of many stories and films, such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044320/">Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd</a> – is back in the news. But Kidd actually had a real existence – and sailed the narrow line between legality and piracy in the golden age of piracy, a brief slice of time between about 1680 and 1720, before the oceans were closed by firm colonial rule.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"596208117240717312"}"></div></p>
<p>The Isle of Saint Mary, where his “treasure” – a big silver bar – has been brought to shore, is a little island off the north-east coast of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. It was the nearest thing in historical reality to the “pirate isle” of many fictions, such as the pseudo-historical 18th-century pirate republic of Libertalia which in turn became the setting for the 1952 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044333/">Against All Flags</a>, starring Errol Flynn and Maureen O’Hara. </p>
<p>Kidd sailed to Saint Mary’s Isle in 1698 with a captured ship in tow and was promptly abandoned by most of his pirate crew, who complained he had not pirated enough loot. They mutinied and joined a more piratical captain, Captain Culliford, who was also at Saint Mary’s Isle. </p>
<p>Kidd’s story was that he opposed the local pirates and gallantly defended himself from them by “locking himself in his cabin”, but his disloyal crew reported that he made a pact with Culliford, sealed with a rum cocktail (of lime and sugar): </p>
<blockquote>
<p>And on the Quarter-deck they made some Bomboo, and drank together, and Captain Kidd said, Before I would do you any harm, I would have my Soul fry in Hell-fire. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80986/original/image-20150508-22785-5dmqb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1267&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hanging of William Kidd, 1837.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After a while Kidd’s own leaking ship, the Adventure Galley, sank in the large harbour at Saint Mary’s and he sailed away in his captured prize, for the Caribbean and for capture and trial at the Old Bailey in London. </p>
<p>Members of his crew testified (in return for their own freedom) that he had made a pact with the pirates at Saint Mary’s. Kidd “took a cup of Bomboe, and swore to be true to them”. Kidd denied this pact: “That is only what these witnesses say.” He was found guilty of piracy and condemned to death. </p>
<p>Somewhat inebriated, at Execution Dock in Wapping, London, on May 23 1701, he was pushed off the scaffold, but the rope broke, not his neck, so he had to climb the ladder again for a second, successful hanging. He survived in fiction, however, living on forever in legend as an immortal citizen of Grub Street and Hollywood, not to mention Fleet Street. </p>
<p>Back at Saint Mary’s the hull of his sunken ship was reported at the bottom of the harbour in 1699 and has long since rotted away. </p>
<p>But in fiction, pirates always have treasure which survives them. In the public imagination pirates seem to have been busier burying their treasure on land than in obtaining it at sea. In 1935 the discovery of a chest in a “pretty seaside town” was reported, a wooden chest inscribed “Capn Kidd his chest”, with a “false bottom” which contained “a treasure chart of an island in a certain remote Far Eastern Sea” (unnamed, like the “pretty seaside town”). </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"596318344992686080"}"></div></p>
<p>By the 19th century, pirates had become heroes for boys, who were eager readers and inheritors of imaginary pirate loot. When Tom Sawyer, the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main, suggests to his friend, Huck Finn the Red-Handed, that they search for buried pirate treasure, Huck is a sceptical spoilsport. Why didn’t the pirates dig it up themselves, he asks, “and have a good time” instead of leaving it behind? Huck has a point, of course, and real pirates buried their treasure in drink and dissipation. </p>
<p>We would all be pleased to find some buried pirate treasure, although it’s even more fictional than pirates such as Captain Hook and Johnny Depp. So, like Huck Finn, we may be sceptical about Kidd’s connection to the silver bar just found at Saint Mary’s Isle, but not about the continued newsworthiness of 300-year-old pirates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41529/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Rennie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Treasure belonging to the notorious pirate Captain Kidd has been found in Madagascar.Neil Rennie, Professor in English, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/279562014-06-17T14:27:31Z2014-06-17T14:27:31ZSome advice for treasure hunters and culture ministers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51340/original/8z73rwjc-1402995806.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On the hunt for an Iron Age relic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerkalertproductions/3796104858">stab at sleep</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Although some countries bar the export of all cultural heritage objects, this is not the case in the UK. It is legal to sell British antiquities overseas, but sellers must acquire an <a href="http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/cultural-property/export-controls/export-licensing/">export license</a> for objects over a certain value. In the case of exceptional national treasures, exports can be delayed to promote a UK buyer to come forward.</p>
<p>In this spirit, an <a href="http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/Press-Releases/The-Mirror-and-the-Minister-863.aspx">export ban on a rare Iron Age mirror</a> has been extended until September 2014 after an undisclosed buyer from the UK indicated an interest. </p>
<p>Iron Age mirrors are extremely unusual finds. They date from 300 BC to the time of the Roman conquest, and are almost exclusively British objects. This mirror, found around 2007 near Didcot, Oxfordshire, is one of only 20 complete, decorated examples, and the only one in private hands. So it is surprising that such a rare and unique object, recently discovered, has come so close to being exported.</p>
<p>The export license process is the last in a line of legal safeguards that help to protect finds made by the public, often by metal detectorists, so that objects of national importance can be preserved in museums. Legislation covers where it is legal for detecting to take place (not, for example, on a protected ancient monument) and what should happen to subsequent finds which fall into the category of “treasure”. If a find is declared treasure, local museums are offered a chance to acquire it before it is returned to the finder.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51342/original/fgc47z9d-1402996587.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Didcot Mirror.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DCMS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The legal criteria for treasure may sound arcane: the find must be more than 300 years old, and more than 10% precious metal (although groups of prehistoric base metal objects are also admissible, and there are special rules for coins). The need to legislate forces us to decide what we value, but the wording of the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/24/contents">Treasure Act</a> is less an archaeological wish list than an attempt to create a wide-ranging definition which covers the important finds that we can predict: pieces of jewellery, rich grave assemblages, and hoards of coins, chariot fittings, or axes.</p>
<p>In many cases, the treasure system ensures that important finds can be acquired by UK museums. In 2010, a metal detectorist discovered fragments of another Iron Age mirror in a field near Chesil beach in Dorset, accompanied by fragments of human bone. He reported the find to police, and a subsequent excavation by archaeologists from Bournemouth University uncovered the grave of a man buried in the first century BC. </p>
<p>Because the Chesil mirror was found in association with other prehistoric metal objects, the whole grave assemblage was declared treasure. The Treasure Valuation Committee, a panel of independent assessors, valued the find at <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-19728077">£23,000</a>. Despite <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-26992696">occasional disagreements</a>, Treasure valuations are designed to reflect a fair market rate, and the reward is usually split between the finder and the landowner. Dorset County Museum raised the money, and the Chesil finds will now be displayed in their Archaeology gallery where they can be seen by members of the public and studied by archaeologists and other researchers.</p>
<p>But due to the nature of treasure law, the process for the Didcot Mirror was not so smooth. The metal detectorist who uncovered the mirror insisted that it had been found in isolation, and as such it fell outside the scope of Treasure legislation. Finders are encouraged to report their finds, for example to the <a href="http://finds.org.uk/">Portable Antiquities Scheme</a>, but they are not obliged to reveal where, except in Treasure cases. </p>
<p>Details about the mirror’s discovery were never divulged, so no archaeological investigation could take place. The mirror was sold on the private market within the UK, but lack of information about the mirror’s findspot – what archaeologists call its context – made it difficult for a museum to acquire the find, and so it remained in private hands. Now the mirror has been sold to an overseas buyer, and the government is attempting to stave off export in the hope that a buyer at home will come forward. </p>
<p>Even without a known context, it is possible to argue the case for keeping an exceptional object like the Didcot mirror in the UK on the basis of its aesthetic importance and historical significance. A temporary export ban has been put in place, but this only buys time. Unless a British institution willing to match the £33,000 asking price can be found, the mirror will leave the UK and most likely remain in a private collection.</p>
<p>Ultimately, both treasure legislation and export licence criteria are imperfect solutions to the problems which sometimes arise with metal-detected prehistoric finds. They do not, and cannot, ask the questions that matter: what aspects of our heritage do we value most, and how should we safe-guard important objects? Does protection always need to mean being in a museum? And, crucially, who should decide?</p>
<p>To an archaeologist, the broken Chesil mirror is more valuable than the near-perfect example from Didcot, simply because the former comes from a known spot with a well-understood context. Yet these aspects of value are not protected by current legislation, and can never be reflected when putting a price on prehistoric finds. </p>
<p>So whether buyer at home is found or not, the most important aspect of this find, its archaeological context, has already been lost. If we really desire to protect our prehistoric past, we need to legislate (and educate) not just with the goal of protecting beautiful art objects, but also the sites where they are discovered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Farley is affiliated with the British Museum, and sometimes advises on export license applications.</span></em></p>Although some countries bar the export of all cultural heritage objects, this is not the case in the UK. It is legal to sell British antiquities overseas, but sellers must acquire an export license for…Julia Farley, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/35752011-09-27T03:32:29Z2011-09-27T03:32:29ZSunken ship yields silver booty, but should we let sleeping wrecks lie?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3867/original/shipwreck_gairsoppa_AAP.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The SS Gairsoppa wreck is believed to hold $200 million worth of silver ingots.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>BBC News has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15061868">revealed</a> that a shipwreck containing 200 tonnes of silver has been found in the Atlantic Ocean, 500 kilometres off the west coast of Ireland.</p>
<p>It’s the largest haul of precious metal ever discovered at sea and is believed to be worth approximately $200 million.</p>
<p>The wreck is of the SS Gairsoppa, a UK cargo ship <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Gairsoppa">sunk by a German U-boat in 1941</a>, and was found by US “marine archaeology” and exploration company <a href="http://www.shipwreck.net/">Odyssey Marine Exploration</a>. </p>
<p>But is this <em>really</em> a case of “marine” or “maritime archaeology”? Or is it just treasure hunting?</p>
<p>The 2001 <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34114&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO Convention</a> on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage came into force in January 2009 having been ratified by the required 20 countries. As of September 2011, 40 nations have ratified the Convention.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3870/original/shipwreck_belitung_jacklee_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ninth century Belitung wreck yielded many important artefacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jacklee</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Convention stresses the need for preservation, management, scientific investigation, and public education of our underwater cultural heritage.</p>
<p>So what do we mean by “underwater cultural heritage”? Well, the 2001 Convention <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO_Convention_on_the_Protection_of_the_Underwater_Cultural_Heritage#General_principles_of_the_2001_Convention">defines it as</a> “all traces of human existence having a historical or archaeological character that have been partially or totally underwater for at least 100 years”.</p>
<p>This includes prehistoric sites, shipwrecks, aircraft, artefacts, human remains, shipyards, jetties, wharves, docks, submerged buildings and towns, together with their archaeological and natural context. Underwater cultural heritage sites can be found in rivers, lakes, springs, bays and, of course, at sea.</p>
<p>Archaeology is the study of past human activities and cultures through the material left behind. Archaeologists are not interested in the artefacts themselves, but rather what those objects and the relationships between them can tell us about the people who made and used them. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3869/original/underwater_archaeology_Viv_Hamilton.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maritime archaeology is about more than selling silver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Viv Hamilton</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Legitimate, professional archaeologists do not engage in the buying, selling, or valuing of artefacts. Contrast this with the attitude of Andrew Craig, senior project manager at Odyssey Marine, who spoke about the find on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2011/3326352.htm">ABC Radio National Breakfast this morning</a>:</p>
<p>“It’s huge for us … we just can’t wait to get going on it and get it [the silver] up on to the deck of the boat and actually monetise it.”</p>
<p>Recovery of artefacts for commercial exploitation (treasure hunting) is considered <a href="http://www.acuaonline.org/deep-thoughts/a-matter-of-ethics-by-della-scott-ireton/">unethical and detrimental to maritime archaeology</a> and to humanity as a whole. </p>
<p>Treasure hunters sometimes try to give their endeavours a veneer of respectability by stating they are “using archaeological methods” or are “employing an archaeologist to oversee the project.”</p>
<p>Although their <a href="http://www.shipwreck.net/pr233.php">press releases</a> may use the correct archaeological “buzz words,” if artefacts are being recovered for sale, or will end up dispersed into private collections as payment for investing, it is not archaeology, no matter the tools or technology used, or the credentials of the “archaeologist” employed.</p>
<p>Sadly, SS Gairsoppa is not considered “underwater cultural heritage” as defined by the 2001 UNESCO Convention and so it is subject to salvage and treasure hunting by companies such as Odyssey Marine Exploration.</p>
<p>Their work is not maritime archaeology and unfortunately their activities are not restricted to sites that are less than 100 years old.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3868/original/shipwreck_nuestra_senora_national_maritime_museum_UK.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Explosion of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Maritime Museum, UK</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, Odyssey Marine Exploration was last week ordered by a US Federal <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9PTIS1O1.htm">appeals court</a> to turn over to the Spanish government 17 tonnes of silver coins and other treasure recovered from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.oceantreasures.org/rubrique,mercedes,1082013.html">Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes</a> was sunk by British warships in the Atlantic in 1804 while sailing back from South America.</p>
<p>Spanish lawyers argued that US courts are obligated by <a href="http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm">international treaty</a> and maritime law to uphold Spain’s claim to the treasure. International treaties generally hold that warships <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=4kROa4B8wiIC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=THE+PROTECTION+OF+THE+UNDERWATER+CULTURAL+HERITAGE:+AN+EMERGING+OBJECTIVE+OF+THE+CONTEMPORARY+LAW+OF+THE+SEA&source=bl&ots=hkVBRtFcDg&sig=9cjxdRakPrJ2V503rQvGAJI4GOQ&hl=en&ei=wSqBTprCLMShiAeIq9GSDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBA#v=snippet&q=battle&f=false">sunk in battle</a> are protected from treasure seekers.</p>
<p>So is this kind of treasure hunting a good investment for companies such as Odyssey Marine Exploration?</p>
<p>Like so many “get-rich-quick” schemes, treasure hunting is not a smart investment. In 2010 Odyssey Marine Exploration posted a net loss of $23.3 million, following a net loss of $18.6 million the previous year. As a result, investors are more than $40 million dollars out of pocket over the past two years alone.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3866/original/Indiana_Jones_in_Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">As Indy might say: “That belongs in a museum!”</span>
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<p>More importantly, treasure hunting is destroying underwater cultural heritage all around the world. In the Asia-Pacific region, for example, treasure hunting on a ninth century Arab shipwreck (the <a href="http://www.maritime-explorations.com/belitung.htm">Belitung wreck</a>) in Indonesian waters has been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/arts/design/smithsonian-sunken-treasure-show-poses-ethics-questions.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3">enormously controversial</a> in past months. </p>
<p>The main concern is that by “mining” the wreck commercially over a period of months, much information about the crew and cargo was lost. By taking the time to do a more thorough excavation – a process which can take years – a greater snapshot of the vessel’s crew and cargo could have been created.</p>
<p>The controversy eventually lead the US <a href="http://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institution</a> to <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6043/694/suppl/DC1">cancel a proposed exhibition of material from the Belitung wreck</a>.</p>
<p>There’s certainly a romantic appeal to the idea of discovering millions of dollars of treasure on a long-lost shipwreck, but it’s worth keeping the facts in mind – the people who find such treasures are usually in it for the money alone and care little for the cultural significance of what they find.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/3575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Staniforth, PhD receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).</span></em></p>BBC News has revealed that a shipwreck containing 200 tonnes of silver has been found in the Atlantic Ocean, 500 kilometres off the west coast of Ireland. It’s the largest haul of precious metal ever discovered…Mark Staniforth, PhD; Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.