Heritage

110 heritage for peace and reconciliation | manual for teacherContentsammunition on shore was still too risky, at the end of 1919, the Belgian governmentdecided to dump an estimated 35,000 tons of munitions into the ocean. Thisdumping was soon forgotten, and it was not rediscovered until 1971, when variousobstacles were encountered on the bottom of the sea during dredging east of the portof Zeebrugge. After the soil was examined by divers from the navy, ammunition,including poisonous gas grenades, was discovered in various places. Poisonous gas isoften thought to be synonymous with mustard gas (also called Yperite because it wasfirst used during the Battle of Ypres). This particular type of gas, however, is but oneof many chemical weapons used in the War. Other gases commonly used were chloropicrin,phosgene, diphosgene and highly toxic arsenic compounds. Mustard gasesprobably constituted only a third of all chemical munitions discovered in the ‘HorseFair’ underwater dump.Today, the ‘Horse Fair’ is one of the best monitored chemical ammunition dumps inthe world. Not only were the contents of the sea bed thoroughly examined, but possiblestorage scenarios were looked into. In addition, in order to avoid public panic,transparency and openness towards the public increased.Thus, a hundred years after the events actually took place, the Great War still has animpact on the lives of the generations trying to build a future today – a future which isinevitably linked to a sustainable ecology. Such case studies offer us the opportunity toset up school projects in many different classes, such as chemistry, languages, history,biology and philosophy, and to include exciting questions about the past, present andfuture.For more information:www.vliz.be/en/de-grote-redeUnderwater cultural heritage is a token from our pastand if the seas and oceans are polluted it will becomemore and more destroyed by worms and bacteria andmight break down quite quickly.Patricia, Slovenia, 12