Heritage

Contentsannex ii – underwater cultural heritage from the first world war121Underwater Cultural Heritage from the First World War – AHeritage under ThreatUnderwater archaeologists must be the first to visit submerged historical sites in order toevaluate them and to ensure their proper study and preservation. These sites should notbe left to uncontrolled recovery, looting and damage. Sadly, however, the First WorldWar wrecks in particular have often been the object of undesirable interventions.ScrappingThe scrapping of large metal wrecks causes severe damage to the ships. The Indefatigableand several other famous ships that sank in the Battle of Jutlandhave been systematically blown to pieces in order to extract non-ferrous metal.Their bronze parts have been sold on the quays of the Danish port of Esbjergsince 1958. A similar end befell the 26 German U-Boats that surrendered to theBritish Navy at the end of the war, which were taken to Kent, UK. They weredumped or scuttled in the creeks of the Medway. After the war, a scrap companybought the ships and recovered their engines and generators to sell them. Today,only three of the 26 U-Boats are intact. Metal recovery is becoming an increasinglyalarming threat, as the prices for non-irradiated metals, such as that fromold wrecks, is rising because these metals are used in the microchip, and othersimilar, industries.Commercial Treasure HuntingTreasure hunters targeting potentially valuable cargo have destroyed many historicwrecks. The SS Mantola was a passenger steamer owned by the British-India SteamNavigation Company. She was sunk by a German U-boat in 1917 while allegedlycarrying a large quantity of silver. As her wreck has not yet been designated as aprotected site, the UK Department for Transport awarded a salvage contract to acompany targeting the wreck. The commercial enterprise could possibly retain 80per cent or more of the value of the recovered material. The historic wreck would,however, be destroyed, regardless of whether it keeps its treasure. A similar case isthat of the destruction of the Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue wrecks.Looting and deliberate destructionLooting has damaged many wrecks, even the historically significant wreck ofthe Lusitania. This ship, dubbed the second most famous after the Titanic, has