OME does it again: another bullion-laden vessel found

****CORRECTIONS NOW ADDED AS PER REQUEST BY OME's PR COMPANY, BRUNSWICK ARTS****


Greg Stemm must be rubbing his manicured hands together in glee. His team of researchers and salvors have discovered another sunken ship with a cargo of silver. Found in the Atlantic, the British cargo ship was sunk by a German U-Boat during the Second World War (details below).

The numbers are already in and it is said to be worth £155 million; the so-called 'World's Most Valuable Shipwreck'. I have a little bit of an issue with that phrase as it determines value only in monetary terms, rather that in archaeological, historical or cultural ones. The ever-eager-to-capitalise-on-heritage-British Government (specifically the MoD ***CORRECTION MoT***) get 20% of the loot, cha-ching!


****You may note the subtle emphasis on gold and silver on their website's banner by clicking here http://www.shipwreck.net/images/banner.jpg *****

For those of you unfamiliar with this type of arrangement, this is typical of dealings between the Ministry of Defence and Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME). Luckily for OME, the British Government are happy to hand over large tracts of its heritage for cold hard cash. This is unlike OME's dealings with Spain: just last month, a federal appeals court in Florida ordered OME hand back some £250 million worth of gold and silver coins to Spain as it was illegally obtained (it's a complicated scenario involving disputed international waters and OME's disregard for Spain's national heritage, despite numerous warnings).

Maybe not the best thing to have an entire government hate you

Want to know the kicker in this entire story? The ship isn't even in British waters - it's in Irish waters, which doesn't seem to be complicating the matter at all.****CORRECTION, APPARENTLY THE WRECK IS TECHNICALLY IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS, see further correction, below**** There is no dispute that the wreck belongs to the Crown, not Ireland, but maybe Ireland could ban OME from our waters? Just a suggestion HINT HINT. (It has been reported Independentt), erroneously, that Ireland will get percentage from OME's plundering profits.

Good old Greggy loves him some historic saleable gold

Not that Greg Stemm is all about the money, somewhere deep down it's also about the history and archaeology.... except that part is less easy to sell for millions upon millions. For now, poor Greg will have to settle for selling 'salvaged' silver coins and artefacts to hungry collectors, and maybe put on an travelling exhibition, which the public will gladly pay for. It will feature a historical overview and lots of pictures of coins, just like his other million-dollar exhibitions. The man knows how to sell history well by preying on the public's sense of greed, good one Greg.

I see Giorgio Tsoukalos when I look at this photo of Greg Stemm

I met Greg Stemm once at a conference, shook his hand and took his gold-embossed card. He is charming, successful, well-spoken and media savvy. He comes across as a nice guy and is adept at answering tricky questions. When I asked him (politely) about archaeological reports which had never been published, he assured me that the work was done impeccably but that a series of court proceedings had delayed everything ***UPDATE, as stated at the top of this article, OME's PR firm claims this is no longer the case, but it was true at the time I spoke to Greg a few years ago (not implying that nothing had been published)****. He also kindly invited me to visit his USA-based archives any time I wanted to consult the research I asked about. It may help Greg to know that if he didn't keep annoying entire nations (i.e. Spain) he might have less court trouble and more people would like him if he cared less about investors and more about the archaeology he is destroying.


****CORRECTION: OME's PR FIRM CLAIM THAT ALL PUBLICATIONS OF EXCAVATION REPORTS ARE UP TO DATE - THEY HAVE SENT ME COPIES OF THESE REPORTS TO REVIEW. Ireland's international waters extend to ~230miles (200 nautical miles), though the UN has granted Ireland the right to extend its protection further, see http://www.independent.ie/national-news/new-un-resolution-allows-ireland-to-extend-its-territorial-waters-42433.html) Particularly relevant is the clause: 
A clause in the convention stipulates that the exclusive economic zone can be extended to up to 350 nautical miles if countries can scientifically prove that their continental shelf extends beyond the 200-mile boundary. *****


ABOUT THE WRECK (from the Telegraph's article)

The SS Gairsoppa set sail from India in December 1940 carrying a consignment of 240 tonnes of silver, iron and tea.

It was headed for Liverpool but was forced to break away from its military convoy off the coast of Ireland as weather conditions deteriorated and it began to run out of fuel.

As the merchant steamship tried to make it to Galway it was attacked by the German submarine U101, 300 miles southwest of the Irish harbour.

On February 17, 1941, a single torpedo sank the ill-fated vessel, killing all 85 crewmen except one.

Stonehenge: Druid loses human rights battle over reburial of 5,000 year old remains

Anyone familiar with British Archaeology, and in particular Stonehenge, will have heard of the famous Druid, King Arthur Pendragon. Quite the character, he has been featured on countless news outlets over the years.

His latest battle at the the High Courts in London was rejected. Mr. Pendragon asked that remains uncovered in 2008 be denied further scientific study and return for burial at Stonehenge. Representing himself, Mr. Pendragon claimed that the bodies represented the 'founding fathers' of the British nation, that they hold a special place of respect and deserve, like any human remains, to rest undisturbed, 'Let those we lay to rest, stay in rest'.

A judicial review action was denied to Mr. Pendragon by Mr. Justice Wyn Williams based on insufficient evidence that the Ministry of Justice have acted unreasonably. Mr. Pendragon subsequently called for a 'Day of Action' at Stonehenge.

Mr. Pendragon's arguments, while not of the highest legal calibre, do generate debate on the topic of exhumation and reburial. The ethics of how to deal with human remains are often overlooked by archaeologists, but there is always room for and a need for debate on the subject to ensure ethical progress within the discipline.

More on this story here, here, here and here.

Historian tackles more than the past

TV Presenter Dan Snow tackled a looter outside his home in London. Hearing the windows of his local pub smashed in, Snow rushed out onto the street. A youth ran past him, preoccupied with carrying looted shoes. The historian told BBC 5 live Breakfast how he seized the opportunity to tackle him to the ground and then sat on the looter until police arrived.

On a complete side note, while looking up a picture of him on the internets, I found lots of people have taken a strong fancy to his face, while another had this snarly piece to say:

He presents history documentaries on the BBC. He's unbeleivably wooden in front of the camera, almost unbearably posh - and more than just a little bit geeky. 

He's only 31, but his hair and fashion sense make him look more like a 45 year-old dentist. Whenever he's on TV, droning on about King Henry VIII or something, I just sit there staring at him, thinking of ways to corrupt him.

National Archives UK - Posters

These posters provide a fascinating insight into the British views on trade and empire, and are very much of their time (!)

First, putting a positive spin on decimating forestry with a hint of racist overtones:

"Jungles today are gold mines tomorrow" 1927

From the days when construction workers were regarded with a bit more respect as 'Empire Builders':

"Empire Builders" 1927

A time when the world wasn't made of individual cultures and countries, but easy routes through which to travel to your newest resource, with lands owned by the crown marked in blood red:

"Highways of Empire" 1927

Not only could you look to your explorers for new lands to conquer, but also the history of fashion:

"The Empire is Still in Building" 1930

There is plenty more on the Empire and other topics on the National Archives website, Education section. Source for the above at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/g2/cs1/default.htm

New Discovery: Minoan Double-Axe-Head found outside of Crete

While driving around Bristol the other week, saw this:

Arnos Vale Cememtery survey

What a fantastic opportunity to test out the EDM equipment - thanks to Lindsay (pictured below) for letting me help out. You can read more about Arnos Vale here http://www.arnosvale.org.uk/

Battle Practice, Blaise Castle

I was really lucky to tag along and make this little video! The gang had a crazy day, with very few injuries.

35 new archaeology jobs created (kind of)

In the news today:

"Headland Archaeology to create 35 jobs

Headland Archaeology today officially launched an office in Dublin, adding to its Cork, Galway, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London locations.

The new office will create five new jobs immediately, with a further 30 roles expected over the next 12 months.

The company, which supplies commercial archaeology services to the UK, Ireland and Europe, said the establishment of a permanent office in Dublin was “the next logical step”."

So, really five jobs have been created - yes, great, but is this really news worthy?

Is that the level of desperation we are at now that 5 new jobs and a probable 30 more is the stuff of headlines??? Especially with no actual guarantee of the 30 other jobs.

Oh dear, archaeology has really been hit hard!

Gladiators in the UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/07/york-gladiator-graveyard

Whether they looked like Russel Crowe or not is unknown, but a good artist's rendering based on the skulls should clear that up