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Why do you lump all archaeologists into one category? By the same token I
could say that all divers are low life, loud mouth fools, but then again I
would be lumping myself in both categories since I am an underwater
archaeologist.
I personally don not see any harm in "polishing up" the bell, nor do I consider
the Edmond Fitzgerald an archaeological site.
There is a misconception about what archaeologists do. We are no longer into
collecting "things", but in trying to understand what happened when things were
not being written or when the written record was lost. The Edmond Fitzgerald
does not fit into this category because we know what happened.
By the same token, there is a shipwreck off Florida which may hold a key to
altering history. There is some evidence which indicates the vessel is
Portuguese and it predated Columbus's arrival by about a hundred years. In
this instance I would not want a bunch of artifact collectors screwing around
with the record until things are properly sorted out. This kind of work takes
a while. We have to look at everything from the construction of the vessel to
everything left behind to determine that it was not a Spanish vessel which had
gotten its hands on a quantity of Portuguese coins.
This summer I will be working in Belize trying to piece together a real puzzle.
I have a site which involves a lagoon and in the middle of the lagoon is a
sacred Mayan shrine. We want to learn exactly how the water in this lagoon
played a role in the rituals associated with the shrine. Were there offering?
Were there burials? Was the lagoon used for a dump? I sure as hell don't want
a bunch of divers crawling into the water collecting pots while we are trying
to sort out history.
Archaeologists are not out to keep you from collecting stuff. Just use some
common sense. Ask yourself, "Did someone die on the wreck?" If so, have the
decency to leave things as they are out of respect for those who died. Ask
yourself, "Is what I'm taking unique?" If the vessel played a significant role
in history or is the last surviving example of an abandoned technology, why not
check with the local maritime museum and put together a project whereby the
whole community gets to see what you recovered. Be sure to have an
archaeologist as part of your team to document the work.
Enough said. I yield the soapbox.
Paul Pettennude
At 04:10 PM 1/25/97 -0500, you wrote:
>D,
>personally, I'd rather see the bell in it's "original" shape, style, whatever
>you'd like to call it.
>
>I guess the tourists didn't think it was pretty enough, so they changed it.
>
>In either case, I can't see how the historical value has changed, whether it's
>painted or polished, it's still a memorial to the crew of the Edmund
Fitzgerald.
>
>The Archaeologists "always" seem to cry foul when things aren't done they way
>they deem fit. Kind of a shame really. Divers and Archaeologists working in
>tandem could do a lot of good work, but egos? get in the way??
>
>I'd love to see the memorial, maybe sometime soon I'll take a road trip out to
>the Great Lakes and see it.
>
>Safe Diving,
>John
>
>John Lydon
>jlydon@zi*.ne*
>
>
>
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("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._ Paul E. Pettennude, Ph.D.
`6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) Maya Underwater Research Center
(_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `.``-..-' pettennude@us*.ne*
_..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' Telephone (305) 554-1557
(il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' Fax Phone (305) 554-1616
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