lockdownking
Jr. Member
- Dec 29, 2013
- 45
- 45
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Florida's Laws are Tough! Lets Work Together.
There are hundreds if not thousands of ships that are being destroyed by dredging companies, weathering, and urban sprawl. A good example of this is located in Cadiz Bay, Spain, located on the South Coast of Spain. These ships include Phoenician, Greek, Viking, Roman merchantmen and warships. In the 16th century alone there were more than 600 ships that were lost, most of them engaged in New World navigations.
Nothing can be done to prevent storm damage from occurring in the future other than salvaging of the shipwrecks. Dredging continues to destroy hundreds of ships and it is not only in Spain. Portugal, Lisbon, and many other areas are coming to light. In Lisbon alone, 500 ships have sunk since the late 15th century. In an interview with the Captain of a dredge boat, he reported “rarely a day passes in which some vestiges of an old shipwreck are not seen spewing out of the discharge end of the dredge pipes.”
Other areas include Veracruz, Mexico; Cartagena, Colombia; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the United States, bureaucrats and scholars think nothing of trying to stop sport divers and treasure hunters from exploring shipwrecks claiming that their plundering is destroying the sites at an alarming rate. The fact is that shipwreck plundering accounts for only a small fraction of the destruction of our underwater heritage.
Each state in the United States has the right to determine how recovered artifacts and treasures are to be divided and to establish guidelines for the search and excavation of shipwrecks. The problem with Florida’s laws and other states is each state is not able to afford shipwreck sites from the depredations of the innumerable dredging operations and construction projects undertaken in the name of “progress.”
___________________________________________________________(Marx, 1993)
In order to circumvent the opposing forces of nature, sport scuba divers, and future treasure hunters, it would be in the best interest of all involved to allow and make it much easier for these sites to be claimed by those who have located it. The finder of the site assumes responsibility to ensure the site is overseen by a professional, licensed Archaeologist, using funding received by selling a small percentage of artifacts to those museums wanting to purchase them or other interested buyers.
The state of Florida currently makes “treasure hunting” a Third-Degree Felony punishable by fines and jail time for anyone found guilty of attempting to locate sites of historical importance. Most sites in Florida are found by “treasure hunters” and “sport divers” through actual research, manual labor, and equipment expenditures that are not inexpensive. If it were not for these individuals, many nations’ histories would not be discovered and would be cast aside to oblivion or buried under houses as urban sprawl continues. If it is found the site cannot be recovered by these persons, then it should be turned over to the state Archeologists for their research. The Archaeologist who shall take over the site shall pay a finder’s fee to the person responsible for locating the site of no more than 10% of the total value of the artifacts.
It is the intention of this person to send to the State of Florida the names of those listed by the responses below to get this law abolished and allow future research to continue without being treated as a criminal.
This letter has been written by a person whose sole purpose was to approach the State to conduct further reconnaissance of an area thought to hold historic items relating to the Ais Indian era and whose requests for a permit have not been answered via telephone conversation and email to the states Archaeological Department.
Works Cited
Marx, R. E. (1993). The Search For Sunken Treasure. In R. E. Marx, The Search for Sunken Treasure (pp. 14,15,18,19). Toranto, Ontario: Key Porter Books Limited.
There are hundreds if not thousands of ships that are being destroyed by dredging companies, weathering, and urban sprawl. A good example of this is located in Cadiz Bay, Spain, located on the South Coast of Spain. These ships include Phoenician, Greek, Viking, Roman merchantmen and warships. In the 16th century alone there were more than 600 ships that were lost, most of them engaged in New World navigations.
Nothing can be done to prevent storm damage from occurring in the future other than salvaging of the shipwrecks. Dredging continues to destroy hundreds of ships and it is not only in Spain. Portugal, Lisbon, and many other areas are coming to light. In Lisbon alone, 500 ships have sunk since the late 15th century. In an interview with the Captain of a dredge boat, he reported “rarely a day passes in which some vestiges of an old shipwreck are not seen spewing out of the discharge end of the dredge pipes.”
Other areas include Veracruz, Mexico; Cartagena, Colombia; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the United States, bureaucrats and scholars think nothing of trying to stop sport divers and treasure hunters from exploring shipwrecks claiming that their plundering is destroying the sites at an alarming rate. The fact is that shipwreck plundering accounts for only a small fraction of the destruction of our underwater heritage.
Each state in the United States has the right to determine how recovered artifacts and treasures are to be divided and to establish guidelines for the search and excavation of shipwrecks. The problem with Florida’s laws and other states is each state is not able to afford shipwreck sites from the depredations of the innumerable dredging operations and construction projects undertaken in the name of “progress.”
___________________________________________________________(Marx, 1993)
In order to circumvent the opposing forces of nature, sport scuba divers, and future treasure hunters, it would be in the best interest of all involved to allow and make it much easier for these sites to be claimed by those who have located it. The finder of the site assumes responsibility to ensure the site is overseen by a professional, licensed Archaeologist, using funding received by selling a small percentage of artifacts to those museums wanting to purchase them or other interested buyers.
The state of Florida currently makes “treasure hunting” a Third-Degree Felony punishable by fines and jail time for anyone found guilty of attempting to locate sites of historical importance. Most sites in Florida are found by “treasure hunters” and “sport divers” through actual research, manual labor, and equipment expenditures that are not inexpensive. If it were not for these individuals, many nations’ histories would not be discovered and would be cast aside to oblivion or buried under houses as urban sprawl continues. If it is found the site cannot be recovered by these persons, then it should be turned over to the state Archeologists for their research. The Archaeologist who shall take over the site shall pay a finder’s fee to the person responsible for locating the site of no more than 10% of the total value of the artifacts.
It is the intention of this person to send to the State of Florida the names of those listed by the responses below to get this law abolished and allow future research to continue without being treated as a criminal.
This letter has been written by a person whose sole purpose was to approach the State to conduct further reconnaissance of an area thought to hold historic items relating to the Ais Indian era and whose requests for a permit have not been answered via telephone conversation and email to the states Archaeological Department.
Works Cited
Marx, R. E. (1993). The Search For Sunken Treasure. In R. E. Marx, The Search for Sunken Treasure (pp. 14,15,18,19). Toranto, Ontario: Key Porter Books Limited.
