[CPProt.net] Storm brews over treasures sunk in 1814. Historical artifacts at risk if U.S. firm digs up N.S. wreck for profit, critics say

[Museum Security and Cultural Property Protection (Ton Cremers)]

Storm brews over treasures sunk in 1814
Historical artifacts at risk if U.S. firm digs up N.S. wreck for profit,
critics say

By JANE ARMSTRONG 

Monday, January 2, 2006 Page A3
 
 HALIFAX -- A U.S. treasure hunter's bid to scavenge a famed War of 1812-era
shipwreck off the coast of Nova Scotia has met a storm of protest from
underwater experts, who say the province's rich maritime history is being
pillaged by modern-day pirates.

HMS Fantome was laden with loot believed to have been stolen from Washington
-- including from the White House and Capitol building -- when it ran
aground on a treacherous shoal south of Halifax in November, 1814. The crew
of the British naval vessel survived, but its cargo was lost to the stormy
sea.

Now, a Pennsylvania-based treasure hunter has obtained a licence from the
Nova Scotia government to excavate what is believed to be the wreck site, a
move that has angered divers and underwater archeologists who say the ship's
bounty could include priceless historical artifacts, which should not be
sold for profit.

"If these international treasure hunters, in co-operation or under the
auspices of the Nova Scotia government, started coming up with silverware
from the White House and selling it . . . I would think we would have an
international incident on our hands," said Halifax filmmaker John Wesley
Chisholm, who is leading a campaign to repeal Nova Scotia's Treasure Trove
Act, which allows for underwater treasure hunting.

Nova Scotia is the only province that permits the private sector to mine
sunken ships for their potential treasures. Around the world, there is a
growing movement to halt treasure hunting, said Mr. Chisholm, who intends to
film a documentary about the site. Critics say sunken shipwrecks should be
treated with the same care as above-ground archeological sites, such as
Greek and Roman ruins.

By permitting treasure hunters to scavenge the Fantome site, Mr. Chisholm
argued, it's possible that stolen White House valuables could wind up on
e-Bay.

In mid-December, the U.S. State Department and the Smithsonian Institution
weighed in, warning that if the wreck site does contain American artifacts,
they should be returned to the U.S. government.

"We would want to work with both Canada and the U.K. to see those artifacts
returned to us," said a State Department spokesman, who asked not to be
identified. He said the U.S. government was drafting a letter to Ottawa
saying the Fantome's contents shouldn't be mined by private interests.

Paul Johnston, curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution,
agreed. "Obviously the historical value would be immeasurable," Mr. Johnston
said. "We certainly did not give up title to those objects that were removed
by the British fleet."

A number of European countries and the United States forbid the salvaging of
sunken warships without the consent of the country for which the ship
sailed.

Divers and underwater archeologists interviewed say Nova Scotia's lax laws
lure underwater gold-diggers to the province. They say the same law that
fails to protect shipwrecks leaves modern disaster sites equally vulnerable,
namely the Swissair crash site off Peggy's Cove, just a few kilometres from
where the Fantome sank.

Already, three applicants have asked permission to excavate the Swissair
debris site, including the London insurer Lloyds. The passenger jet, which
crashed off Peggy's Cove in 1998, killing 229 passengers, was carrying
millions of dollars worth of diamonds, gold and bank notes. All three
applications have been turned down, said Tim Dunne, a spokesman for the
Natural Resources Ministry, which is responsible for the treasure act.

Mr. Dunne said the province has no plans to change the treasure law, noting
that when these valuables were first lost, they were private -- not public
property. It's believed as many as 10,000 shipwrecks are lying on the ocean
floor off the province's rocky, reef-ridden coast.

Unearthing the Fantome, whose demise is already shrouded in mystery, has
been likened to hitting the archeological motherlode because the cargo could
have both historical and financial value.

The British raid on Washington in the final months of the War of 1812 was a
humiliating moment in U.S. history. Invading British and Canadian soldiers
easily defeated American soldiers, then set fire to the city after
ransacking the White House and Capitol building.

Nearly 200 years later, one of Canada's top underwater archeologists said
the Fantome site should be protected.

"Every country in the world protects the cultural heritage of its land,"
said Robert Grenier, head of underwater archaeology for Parks Canada. "I
cannot go to Nova Scotia with my shovel and my trowel and dig holes under an
archeological site. I will be arrested and I will be threatened under law.
So, why are some countries or some states or some provinces allowing this to
happen [underwater]. What is the difference? This heritage underwater is as
important.

"A shipwreck is a time capsule," he said in a telephone interview from
Ottawa. "A shipwreck is the stoppage of time. It's a fantastic legacy we can
leave if they are well preserved and well handled."

The founder of the holding company searching the Fantome site dismissed
criticism that his company was looting Nova Scotia's underwater history.

Curtis Sprouse, the CEO of Sovereign Exploration Associates International,
said treasure hunters, who finance the costly excavations with money from
investors, unearth far more shipwrecks than publicly funded salvage
operations. Their reputation as modern-day pirates is unfair, he said.

Mr. Sprouse rejected suggestions he intends to sell historical artifacts to
the highest bidder if the shipwreck proves to be the Fantome. He plans to
work with museums.

Under Nova Scotia law, private hunters can keep treasures found beneath the
sea, but must pay a 10 per cent royalty to the province. The act also
requires treasure hunters to work with an archeologist and to hand over
non-valuable artifacts to the province.

So far, there's no proof that the site Mr. Sprouse's team is excavating is
where the Fantome broke apart. The waters there, dubbed by locals as the
Fantome Fangs, contain house-sized boulders that have smashed the ship to
bits. 

Nor is there any proof that the stolen White House treasures were loaded
onto the Fantome. The plunder was put aboard a convoy of British ships,
which many believe set sail for Halifax. However, some historians said the
Fantome was in Maine at the time.

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