Drone_pilot
17-07-04, 11:22
Around a dozen miles off the coast of Gibraltar, more than half a mile down in the gloom at the bottom of the Mediterranean is a mound of ship wreckage, which an American salvage firm believes is the Sussex, an 80-gun British warship that sank with 12 ships from its merchant fleet in tumultuous storms in 1694 while on a secret diplomatic mission for King William III.
Some experts have questioned whether the Tampa-based Odyssey marine exploration have in fact found the Sussex.
But if they have, then historical documents suggest that that the wreck is holding a scale of treasure that would slacken the jaw of even the most successful pirate: 10 tonnes of bullion and precious coins worth up to £2.4bn today.
One archaeologist working on the project said that if it comes off it will "blow the archaeological world to pieces".
The project has already ignited controversy with some experts publicly denouncing it as a dangerous precedent for the "ransacking" of shipwrecks by private firms under the aegis of archaeological research.
Odyssey maintains, however, that it uses the highest standards of expertise, drafting in historians and archaeologists for their advice, and cites the project as a lucrative era of private-public co-operation in the excavation of deep-lying wrecks.
The world should find out soon enough if it really is the Sussex. In October 2002, Odyssey agreed a deal with the British government on a formula for sharing any potential spoils. The Americans were then poised to start the excavation in spring last year but it was delayed amid a raft of complaints from some archaeological quarters.
Since then the Ministry of Defence, on advice from English Heritage, has worked with Odyssey to finesse the excavation plan, and it looks likely to go ahead. Officially the MoD will only say "discussions are still ongoing" but a source close to the project told Guardian Unlimited it could start as early as next month.
A 17th century document unearthed in 1994 revealed that the Sussex had a "million of money" intended to be used to bribe the Duke of Savoy, ruler of the south-east principality of feudal France and a fickle ally for England in the Nine Years war between 1688-1697.
But disaster struck when the Sussex sank while leading a merchant fleet through the Straits of Gibraltar.
Sussex went down with the loss of 500 men, including Admiral Sir Francis Wheeler, whose body, legend has it, was found on the eastern shore of the rock of Gibraltar in his night-shirt. Accounts suggest there were only two survivors.
Some historians believe that the calamity - the financial loss was huge - was one of the factors in the establishment of the Bank of England, created later that year.
Now more than 300 years after it went down, the Sussex will not be raised, like the Mary Rose, but excavated by the arms of Odyssey's remote operated vehicle (ROV) submarine.
And if, as Odyssey and the MoD hope, the ROV submarine starts hauling up tonne after tonne of gold in the coming weeks, the salvage will become a focus of world attention. National Geographic television has already signed a deal to film a documentary.
But the Council for British Archaeology has been among the dissenting voices, describing the project as "asset stripping" and "looting". The council's director, George Lambrick, last year asked whether the arms of Odyssey's robot sub would "just smash" through to the hold to get the gold.
But Neil Cunningham Dobson, a Scot from Aberdeen, the project's chief archaeologist, insists that it will be a far more delicate procedure. He says the plan has the highest professional standards and will produce genuine archaeology - even 3,000 ft underwater.
Mr Cunningham Dobson, who likens a shipwreck to a crime scene and who has been dubbed the "underwater Taggart" by the Scottish press, says: "They think an eight-tonne robot is going to be down there bashing everything. But there will be no smashing into the hull. It will be a very careful, delicate process.
"The ROV's manipulator arms can be controlled very closely using 'master and slave' technology by trained pilots on the command ship.
"We watch and oversee everything that is happening on large plasma screens. The area where the sub is working is flooded by powerful lights. We have such a good view on the screens that you can make out whether you are looking at the head or tail of a coin.
"At the ends of the manipulator arms is a suction facility, a limpet that looks a bit like the arm on a Dalek, which means that we can pick up individual coins. It does no damage. "
A team of archaeological coin experts on board the command ship will then process and carefully store the coins. There will also be security on board to dissuade any modern day pirates.
Mr Cunningham Dobson says: "We are producing some of the first full archaeology investigations of deep water shipwrecks. We are writing the book of how to do it.
"I'm trying to take marine archaeology into the 21st century by using the techniques that are there now and seeing if I can do good archaeology. No one else is doing it.
"Odyssey have a mission statement that sets out how they want to do good archaeology. They are very serious and genuine. My treasure is to do the archaeology - it is schoolboy stuff. Deep wrecks and gold."
Despite all this, Mr Cunningham Dobson says that he suspects the "archaeological world is probably still aghast" at the project.
He says: "A pure academic would be concerned at the commercial interest would change the wreckage in a bad way. Some of it is not understanding the technology.
"Also they have to be honest. Archaeology is by its nature destructive. There are all these sensitivities about underwater archaeology but you have to remember that in land archaeology there is an element of going in there with big diggers."
He says that once the excavation is completed the site will be "stabilised" to protect the wreckage. On board the command ship will be an independent conservator to monitor proceedings.
Aside from pirates, the operation has another potential headache - the Spanish. Last summer Spain threatened to arrest members of the salvage operation, and warned that they must not touch the vessel without Madrid's permission.
The MoD, however, stresses that Britain owns the salvage rights. Mr Cunningham Dobson says: "I would not be surprised when we start if a Spanish gunboat buzzes us ... but I am sure there will be no major problems."
The irony of a potential row about sovereignty just off the coast of Gibraltar is not lost on him.
The issue of marine archaeological ethics has recently been in the news after Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic in 1985, two months ago hit out at the 'circus' of treasure hunters that had removed 6,000 objects from its decks since then.
Dr Ballard is returning to the Titanic to assess its current state with a documentary crew. But Cunningham Dobson believes that excavating the Sussex is more interesting.
"What are they going to learn about the Titanic, which sank in 1912? They already have all the plans and photographs - they know everything about it. There is much more we can find out about the Sussex."
For its age the Sussex was an experimentally designed warship and there is a question about whether it was too unstable, too loaded with canon. Later warships were designed differently.
Odyssey should be ready to get the Sussex project underway once it has completed the excavation of another gold-laden wreck, a US paddle steamer called the SS Republic which sank in 1865 holding gold that might be worth up to £113m.
The firm's main ship for excavations, the Odyssey Explorer, an ex-deep sea trawler, is currently finishing that project off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, and will then head for the Mediterranean. The team will be around 49-people strong, including up to 20 Odyssey staff, the independent conservator, crew and television documentary makers.
Odyssey is a patient company. It has been hunting the Republic for 12 years and the Sussex for 10 years.
But its patience will be well-rewarded.
The deal struck between the US firm and the MoD sees Britain get a share of the spoils on a sliding scale, which initially favours the Americans, who would get 80% of the first £28m. Anything more than this would be shared equally, up to £319m after which the Treasury share rises to 60%.
The UK has most of the rights to any artefacts, such as canon, anchors etc. Odyssey's bargaining position was that it found the wreck, and has borne all the costs - more than £2m so far - and the financial risks, should the project not come off.
With so there much at stake, David Miles, English Heritage's chief archaeologist, has said that the Sussex project amounts to a test case of how professionally firms like Odyssey can retrieve coins and artefacts.
And there will certainly be at least one interested party back in London. A certain Iron Chancellor might well welcome the windfall heading towards Treasury coffers, 300 years after they set sail.
Source: Modoracle (http://www.modoracle.com/)
Some experts have questioned whether the Tampa-based Odyssey marine exploration have in fact found the Sussex.
But if they have, then historical documents suggest that that the wreck is holding a scale of treasure that would slacken the jaw of even the most successful pirate: 10 tonnes of bullion and precious coins worth up to £2.4bn today.
One archaeologist working on the project said that if it comes off it will "blow the archaeological world to pieces".
The project has already ignited controversy with some experts publicly denouncing it as a dangerous precedent for the "ransacking" of shipwrecks by private firms under the aegis of archaeological research.
Odyssey maintains, however, that it uses the highest standards of expertise, drafting in historians and archaeologists for their advice, and cites the project as a lucrative era of private-public co-operation in the excavation of deep-lying wrecks.
The world should find out soon enough if it really is the Sussex. In October 2002, Odyssey agreed a deal with the British government on a formula for sharing any potential spoils. The Americans were then poised to start the excavation in spring last year but it was delayed amid a raft of complaints from some archaeological quarters.
Since then the Ministry of Defence, on advice from English Heritage, has worked with Odyssey to finesse the excavation plan, and it looks likely to go ahead. Officially the MoD will only say "discussions are still ongoing" but a source close to the project told Guardian Unlimited it could start as early as next month.
A 17th century document unearthed in 1994 revealed that the Sussex had a "million of money" intended to be used to bribe the Duke of Savoy, ruler of the south-east principality of feudal France and a fickle ally for England in the Nine Years war between 1688-1697.
But disaster struck when the Sussex sank while leading a merchant fleet through the Straits of Gibraltar.
Sussex went down with the loss of 500 men, including Admiral Sir Francis Wheeler, whose body, legend has it, was found on the eastern shore of the rock of Gibraltar in his night-shirt. Accounts suggest there were only two survivors.
Some historians believe that the calamity - the financial loss was huge - was one of the factors in the establishment of the Bank of England, created later that year.
Now more than 300 years after it went down, the Sussex will not be raised, like the Mary Rose, but excavated by the arms of Odyssey's remote operated vehicle (ROV) submarine.
And if, as Odyssey and the MoD hope, the ROV submarine starts hauling up tonne after tonne of gold in the coming weeks, the salvage will become a focus of world attention. National Geographic television has already signed a deal to film a documentary.
But the Council for British Archaeology has been among the dissenting voices, describing the project as "asset stripping" and "looting". The council's director, George Lambrick, last year asked whether the arms of Odyssey's robot sub would "just smash" through to the hold to get the gold.
But Neil Cunningham Dobson, a Scot from Aberdeen, the project's chief archaeologist, insists that it will be a far more delicate procedure. He says the plan has the highest professional standards and will produce genuine archaeology - even 3,000 ft underwater.
Mr Cunningham Dobson, who likens a shipwreck to a crime scene and who has been dubbed the "underwater Taggart" by the Scottish press, says: "They think an eight-tonne robot is going to be down there bashing everything. But there will be no smashing into the hull. It will be a very careful, delicate process.
"The ROV's manipulator arms can be controlled very closely using 'master and slave' technology by trained pilots on the command ship.
"We watch and oversee everything that is happening on large plasma screens. The area where the sub is working is flooded by powerful lights. We have such a good view on the screens that you can make out whether you are looking at the head or tail of a coin.
"At the ends of the manipulator arms is a suction facility, a limpet that looks a bit like the arm on a Dalek, which means that we can pick up individual coins. It does no damage. "
A team of archaeological coin experts on board the command ship will then process and carefully store the coins. There will also be security on board to dissuade any modern day pirates.
Mr Cunningham Dobson says: "We are producing some of the first full archaeology investigations of deep water shipwrecks. We are writing the book of how to do it.
"I'm trying to take marine archaeology into the 21st century by using the techniques that are there now and seeing if I can do good archaeology. No one else is doing it.
"Odyssey have a mission statement that sets out how they want to do good archaeology. They are very serious and genuine. My treasure is to do the archaeology - it is schoolboy stuff. Deep wrecks and gold."
Despite all this, Mr Cunningham Dobson says that he suspects the "archaeological world is probably still aghast" at the project.
He says: "A pure academic would be concerned at the commercial interest would change the wreckage in a bad way. Some of it is not understanding the technology.
"Also they have to be honest. Archaeology is by its nature destructive. There are all these sensitivities about underwater archaeology but you have to remember that in land archaeology there is an element of going in there with big diggers."
He says that once the excavation is completed the site will be "stabilised" to protect the wreckage. On board the command ship will be an independent conservator to monitor proceedings.
Aside from pirates, the operation has another potential headache - the Spanish. Last summer Spain threatened to arrest members of the salvage operation, and warned that they must not touch the vessel without Madrid's permission.
The MoD, however, stresses that Britain owns the salvage rights. Mr Cunningham Dobson says: "I would not be surprised when we start if a Spanish gunboat buzzes us ... but I am sure there will be no major problems."
The irony of a potential row about sovereignty just off the coast of Gibraltar is not lost on him.
The issue of marine archaeological ethics has recently been in the news after Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic in 1985, two months ago hit out at the 'circus' of treasure hunters that had removed 6,000 objects from its decks since then.
Dr Ballard is returning to the Titanic to assess its current state with a documentary crew. But Cunningham Dobson believes that excavating the Sussex is more interesting.
"What are they going to learn about the Titanic, which sank in 1912? They already have all the plans and photographs - they know everything about it. There is much more we can find out about the Sussex."
For its age the Sussex was an experimentally designed warship and there is a question about whether it was too unstable, too loaded with canon. Later warships were designed differently.
Odyssey should be ready to get the Sussex project underway once it has completed the excavation of another gold-laden wreck, a US paddle steamer called the SS Republic which sank in 1865 holding gold that might be worth up to £113m.
The firm's main ship for excavations, the Odyssey Explorer, an ex-deep sea trawler, is currently finishing that project off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, and will then head for the Mediterranean. The team will be around 49-people strong, including up to 20 Odyssey staff, the independent conservator, crew and television documentary makers.
Odyssey is a patient company. It has been hunting the Republic for 12 years and the Sussex for 10 years.
But its patience will be well-rewarded.
The deal struck between the US firm and the MoD sees Britain get a share of the spoils on a sliding scale, which initially favours the Americans, who would get 80% of the first £28m. Anything more than this would be shared equally, up to £319m after which the Treasury share rises to 60%.
The UK has most of the rights to any artefacts, such as canon, anchors etc. Odyssey's bargaining position was that it found the wreck, and has borne all the costs - more than £2m so far - and the financial risks, should the project not come off.
With so there much at stake, David Miles, English Heritage's chief archaeologist, has said that the Sussex project amounts to a test case of how professionally firms like Odyssey can retrieve coins and artefacts.
And there will certainly be at least one interested party back in London. A certain Iron Chancellor might well welcome the windfall heading towards Treasury coffers, 300 years after they set sail.
Source: Modoracle (http://www.modoracle.com/)