Reflection on Commercial Exploitation of Underwater Cultural Heritage with a Focus on UNESCO’S 2001 Convention

Abstract

In the field of commercial exploitation of underwater cultural heritage, the goal of commercial operators is to maximize profits with minimal cost and time, which is in conflict with archaeological principles requiring large investments and spending so much time. Today, due to the variety of commercial exploitation methods (which are no longer restricted to the sale of archaeological and historical objects), compromise between the goals of commercial operators and archaeologists is not unlikely. International documents have also adopted their own approach, some explicitly prohibiting any commercial exploitation of this heritage, and others implicitly prescribing it. The key question is raised on approach of the "UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage". A detailed analysis of the provisions of the Convention indicates that it has almost prohibited the sale of archaeological and historical objects by adopting a retrogressive approach. The Convention's approach could have been more progressive in this field, in line with practical requirements, including the financing of future archeological projects.

Keywords

• commercial exploitation
• sale
• commercial operators
• unesco’s 2001 convention
• underwater cultural heritage