Heritage

Contentsannex ii – underwater cultural heritage from the first world war123The 14 British vessels lost in the battle were designated as protected sites under theUK Protection of Military Remains Act. In 2000, the wreck of the German ship Frauenlob,largely intact, was located by Danish divers. The wreck lies upright on the oceanfloor and largely in one piece. The aftermast lies in the sand with the crow’s nest stillin place. Human remains are still on the wreck.Although the wrecks have been surveyed on six occasions, it has been acknowledgedthat only the surface has been scratched in terms of what the Jutland wrecks can offerarcheologically and historically. Their protection is therefore of the utmost priority.Sadly, there is much evidence of commercial salvage among many of the wrecks so fardiscovered. Some are now barely recognizable. It is hoped that the UNESCO 2001Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage will, in time, offerprotection to these remarkable monuments to the battle fleets of the Great War andthe brave men who fought in them.Innes McCartney took part in and led six expeditions to the wrecks of the Battle of Jutland.He found three new sites and produced the C4/Discovery/ZDF film ‘Clash of theDreadnoughts’. He specializes in investigating, researching and interpreting the remains oftwentieth-century shipwrecks.Map of known English warships wrecks (yellow), German warships (black) and minefields(red) at the North Sea during the First World War. Courtesy of Strandingsmuseum StGeorge