Meeting Place for Two Worlds

US protection of underwater cultural heritage beyond the territorial sea: problems and prospects

“…For this reason, as Paul Johnston (1997: 425) has noted, 'virtually every professional archaeological and museum association with published ethical guidelines throughout the globe has condemned treasure hunting and issued ethical policies for the treatment of submerged cultural resources'. Yet despite abundant evidence of the irreconcilable differences between archaeology and treasure salvage (for example Elia, 1992;Johnston, 1993;Conlin & Lubkemann, 1999), many persist in the belief that somehow the two fields can work in harmony, a view promoted by some treasure hunters (for instance Stemm, 1998).…”