[Archport] Controversy Over Sale of Underwater Archaeological

["Paulo Monteiro" <paulo_monteiro@hotmail.com>]

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo), May 28, 2004

Mozambican archaeologists argue that the recent sale in Holland of items 
salvaged from a Portuguese shipwreck in Mozambican waters was illegal, and 
that the country's archaeological heritage should remain in Mozambique, 
reports Friday's issue of the independent newsheet, "Mediafax".

The Portuguese galleon sunk in the 17th century near Mozambique Island, off 
the coast of the northern province of Nampula. 117 Chinese porcelain objects 
from the Ming dynasty, and 21 gold objects, recovered from the shipwreck, 
were auctioned by the respected auctioneers Christies in Amsterdam on 19 
May, and fetched a price of 117,000 euros (about 140,000 US dollars). The 
sale took place under the terms of a 1999 contract of dubious legality 
between the Mozambican government and the companies PI (Patrionio 
Internacional - International Heritage - which is 80 per cent state owned), 
and Arqueonautos Worldwide, which is a Portuguese company specialising in 
underwater archaeology.

The contract granted an area around Mozambique Island for underwater 
archaeological activities. 50 per cent of the archaeological finds would 
belong to Arqueonautos. The Mozambican state would take the rest, and select 
the best pieces, which would then become inalienable state property. The 
rest would become the property of PI.

This way of exploiting Mozambique's underwater heritage has always been 
controversial. Leading archaeologist Ricardo Teixeira Duarte had no doubt 
that it was illegal.

For there is a 1988 law on protecting the country's heritage which states 
that all archaeological spoils are to be treated as "classified cultural 
assets".

With authorisation from the Ministry of Culture such assets that are in 
private hands can be transmitted to other people as legacies or as an 
inheritance - but there is a categorical ban on exporting classified 
cultural assets, with the exception of export for "cultural or scientific 
purposes or other purposes that are of public utility".

It is hard to stretch the definition of "public utility" to include lifting 
artifacts off the Mozambican sea floor, and auctioning them to the highest 
bidder in Amsterdam. Teixeira Duarte contemptuously dismisses the deal with 
Arqueonautos as mere "treasure hunting". His position is in line with that 
of the Association of the Friends of Mozambique Island, which has been 
fighting for years to preserve the Island, listed by UNESCO as a world 
heritage site.

The Association has repeatedly argued that anything found on the galleon, 
not only should not be removed from Mozambique - it should be kept on the 
Island itself. Teixeira Duarte regretted that these pleas were ignored and 
the objects taken from the sunken vessel "have ended up in the collections 
of half a dozen capitalist dilettantes".

He pointed out that this is the first time that objects taken from a World 
Heritage Site have been sold at public auction. "And UNESCO did nothing 
about it !", he exclaimed. "How is this possible".

But "Mediafax" points out that, even if UNESCO wanted to intervene, there is 
little it could do, since Mozambique has not ratified the UNESCO convention 
of 2001 which warns that selling off underwater heritage is incompatible 
with protecting it. This convention states that underwater cultural assets 
"should not be traded, sold or bought as commercial objects".



http://allafrica.com/stories/200405280907.html

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