STAL3062 - Pengurusan dan

pemuliharaan sumber marin

Management and Conservation of Non-

renewable Marine Resources – The
Underwater Cultural Heritage (UWCH)
What is Underwater Cultural Heritage?
• Sunken coastal cities and thousands of shipwrecks worldwide.
• Resources that are not visible on the surface yet their
remains survived at the bottom of seas  safely preserved by
the marine environment.
• Testimony of our history, civilizations, the ferocity of wars, the
impact of natural disasters etc.
 Underwater cultural heritage encompasses:
• 3 Million ancient and historical shipwrecks (Titanic, Mary
Rose, Vasa)
• Hundreds of sunken cities (150 in the Mediterranean alone)
• Sacrificial sites, burials, submerged coastal settlements
• Remains of ancient fishing installations and ports

© J. Cocks\UNESCO Roman concrete bath ruins, Caesarea, Israël

Shipwrecks
• Current known shipwrecks span thousands of years of history
• Historic connections between distant civilizations and national
identity
• The sea preserve collections of artefacts different from those
found on land
• Opportunity to learn about distinct moments in time and
turning points in history

© C. Beltrane\UNESCO Roman concrete bath ruins, Caesarea, Israël

Maritime archaeologists
surveying an
archaeological site in
Turkey using the grid
system
WW2 aircraft wreck (Phillipines)
Maritime archaeologist surveying hull remnants of a shipwreck
Historical shipwrecks in Malaysian Waters

• Chinese Junk (Djong)

• 1300 AD – 1850 AD
• Portugese Ships
• 1500-1600s AD
• Dutch VOC
• 1600-1700s AD
• English East India Company
• 1800s AD
Typical
underwater site
of a Chinese
Djong Wreck
Typical underwater
site of a Chinese
Djong Wreck
Chinese Junk (Djong) –trade ships
• Nanyang (1380 CE)
• 18m x 5m; Pulau Pemanggil @ 54m

• Longquan (1400 CE) - 1996

• 30m x 8m; 23 nm South China Sea @ 63m

• Royal Nanhai (1460 CE) - 1995

• 28m x 8m; 40 nm SCS @ 46m; 21,000 ceramic wares

• Xuande (1540 CE) - 1996

• 60 nm SCS

• Wanli (1573-1620 CE) -2004

• 17m long; Tanjung Jara, Terengganu @ 40m

• Desaru (1830 CE)

• Desaru, Johore @ 20m; 60,000 ceramic wares
Desaru Wreck
Ceramics
Maritime trade routes
Portuguese Wreck
• Flor Del Mar (1500s)
• Warship carrying looted treasure from Melaka
siege sank in Melaka or Sumatera waters
• Dom Duarte de Guerva ( 1606)
• Warship; Bambek Shoal,PD
• Sao Salvador (1606)
• Warship; Bambek Shoal, PD
Dutch VOC Wrecks
• Nassau (1606 CE)
• Warship sank during Battle of Cape Rachado;
Bambek Shoal, PD
• Middleburg (1606 CE)
• Warship sank during BOCR; Bambek Shoal,PD
• Risdam (1726 CE)
• Trade ship (fluyt) carried tin ingots, ceramics and
elephant tusk; Mersing, Johor
19 /8/1995
Artefacts from the Dutch VOC NASSAU 1606
Nassau at Bambek
Shoal, Lukut ,NS in
95 ft of water
Site Plan of
Nassau
In-situ artefacts
position of Nassau
English East India Company Wreck
• Caroline (1816)
• Trade ship carried spices and ceramics;
Bambek Shoal, PD
• Diana (1817)
• Trade ship carried spices, camphor, glass;
Tanjung Bidara, Melaka
World War 2 wrecks
• British warships
• HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales off
Kuantan waters

• Japanese warplane
• Rivermouth off Kuala Linggi
Sunken Cities
• Hundreds worldwide eg; Turkey, Greece, Italy etc
• Many ancient cities now lie underwater due to changing
sea levels, shifting landmasses, and human activities
such as the building of dams
• Underwater cities tell a different story from those on
land, as they have been protected from many dangers,
such as construction projects and expanding cities

© E. Khalil\UNESCO Ruins of the Pharos Lighthouse, Alexandria, Egypt

Submerged landscapes and other sites
• Cultural sites contain evidence of past civilizations
• Many prehistoric landscapes are now submerged, and
preserve the memory of early human civilization
• Many caves containing burials have since been flooded
• Lakes and other bodies of water were often considered
sacred sites, and can contain traces of ancient religious
practices

• In Malaysia;
• Pulau Kalumpang, Perak
• Gua Bewah, Tasik Kenyir

© A. Martos Lopez\UNESCO Cenote, Mexico

Pulau Kalumpang, Perak
Pulau Kalumpang- National Heritage Site
(Archeology)

• Excavated by Evans 1920s-30s; Sieveking 1940s; Nik

Hassan Shuhaimi 1988,1989, 2008
• Protohistoric 200 BC- 600 BP
• Feeder port and settlement; part of the bigger historic
maritime landscape Sg. Mas and Lembah Bujang
• Rare evidence of human settlement in Mangrove forest
• Settlement probably wiped out due to sea level rise
• Site registered as National Archaeological Heritage site
Why UWCH needs protection through
management
• Exploitation threats from various stakeholders i.e., direct
(treasure hunters, suvenior collectors) and indirect
(development, fisheries, recreational divers?)
• Wrecks in Malaysian water are threatened by destruction
from looting, trawl fisheries and coastal development
• Archaeological Impact Assessment in EIA for coastal
reclamation works
• Non-ratification of the UNCPUWCH Convention 2001 ?
What UWCH management means
• The attempt to balance the protection of
underwater archaeological sites with the
availability of funds, human resources, time and
economic development
• Good management  collect and structure
necessary information about the resource,
prioritising their needs and importance
Management Levels
• Site management
• Eg: in-situ preservation, survey and excavation
based on archaeologically sound procedure;
conservation
• National management
• Protection of national sites and conservation
• Law enforcement
• International management
• Joint intergovernmental management effort
Components and principles of managing
underwater cultural properties
• Protection by law
• Legal framework
• protection, enforcement, intergovernmental
collaboration
• Regulation of activities
• Science and Archaeology
• Information collection  knowledge
• Conservation and Education
• Active and continuous effort
Legal Instruments

• Akta Bendapurba 1976

•  National Heritage Act 2005

• ICOMOS Charter
• UN Convention on the Protection on Underwater Cultural
Heritage 2001
“archaeological relic” means—
(a) any archaeological deposit; or
(b) any artefact, remains or material evidence
associated with an archaeological deposit,
in any part of Malaysia and is fifty or more
years old;
Jurisdiction over UW cultural properties
Under the NHA 2005..
• Authority of the Commisioner
• National Heritage Council
• The Gazzete
• National Heritage Register
• Heritage Fund
• Procedure from discovery to management of heritage
• Designation of UWCH
• Protection
• Ownership dealings
• Conservation
• Management
• Dissemination
• Refer to NHA 2005 (Part IX, Section 61-66)
 Importance and Potential of UWCH
Science
• Archaeological sites are a ‘time-
capsule’ snapshot of every day life
in the past

Tourism
• For every $1 that a visitor spends
at a heritage site, they may spend © Mary Rose Trust, UK

up to $12 in surrounding
businesses, such as hotels,
restaurants, etc.

Education
•Information on maritime traditions
and identity
•Demonstrates connections with
other regions of the world and
promotes unity through shared
heritage among nations © Mary Rose Museum
Threats to Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Pillaging & Treasure hunting
• Commercial salvagers and treasure-hunters are
often used in place of archaeologists, which leads to
the damage and destruction of important sites

• Coastal development & Industrial

• Oil drilling, pipeline or other infrastucture
construction
• Construction of coastal structures and bridges
• Mining of gravel and sand
• Reclamation and building of artificial islands

• Trawl fisheries

• THE END