"Legacy wrecks as historical and archaeological sites" [2019] ELECD 2399; in Forrest, Craig (ed), "Maritime Legacies and the Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 193

Book Title: Maritime Legacies and the Law

Editor(s): Forrest, Craig

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Legacy wrecks as historical and archaeological sites

Number of pages: 44

Abstract/Description:

A great many legacy wrecks of WWI have historical and archaeological value. This chapter considers the evolution of the laws that recognise and protect these values, especially the UK’s Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. This was largely prompted by increasing unregulated salvage and the rise in sports diving. As access to these wrecks reached into international waters, so the need to address this in international law grew. The chapter considers the legal response to this growth and especially the resulting Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage adopted at UNESCO in 2001.