Robert Parthesius

Researching shipwrecks can contribute to an understanding of past ways of life. In more recent times, maritime archaeology, or maritime and underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) management, has used a number of approaches and disciplines in researching and managing a broader range of related tangible and intangible heritage. A MUCH programme, as with other heritage programs, can help elucidate the cultural identity of a community. Perhaps less appreciated, but also important, is that sites might have different value for different communities, in other words, each site has a multi-vocal value. Within this context, and pursuant to an international agreement on best practices, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001, this paper will outline how a number of projects and capacity building programs are being implemented. It will provide evidence of the positive outcomes of the capacity building programs run by the Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE), and the benefits in implementing MUCH programs in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and Micronesia. The paper will also provide examples of other types of MUCH projects and the contemporary community benefits that maritime archaeologists can provide through their work. Evidence of the multi-vocal values of some sites, and the implications of these values will also be discussed. The MUCH programs described in this paper have had, and continue to face challenges in the same way as developing countries in Southeast Asia face many challenges in implementing effective programs. An initiative that is hoped will assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa is the formation of a group of ten countries that will work together in pursuing strategies and activities to manage their maritime and underwater cultural heritage. This and other examples of coalitions from the developing world working to safeguard their heritage for the benefit of future generations will be summarised in this paper.

Although for many people the building of historic ships is something new, over the centuries people had the desire to visualise their idea about history. Already in the 16th century a classical Roman ship was built. Since the second half of the 19th century a series of ships have been built, ranging from Viking ships to East Indiamen.

The reconstruction of the V.O.C. ship Batavia from the remains recovered from the archaeological excavation of the wreck site in the 1970s has recently been compared with a modern replica of the Batavia (the New Batavia) based on historical evidence. In 1988 the archaeological director of the Batavia excavation (Green) was invited by the Director of the reconstruction project, Willem Vas, to work in conjunction with the archaeological historian of the project (parthesius) on aspects of the New Batavia, This co-operative project resulted in some surprising research findings which benefitted both projects. It is the intention of this paper to briefly discuss these findings which are to be published in more detail later.

Migration flows in the former Dutch colonial orbit created an intricate web connecting the Netherlands to Africa, Asia and the Americas; Africa to the Americas and to Asia; in the nineteenth century Asia to the Americas, with, in the post-Second World War period, the direction of migration shifting to the Netherlands. Some of these migrations were voluntary, others were forced; they helped to create colonial societies that were never typically Dutch, but did have Dutch characteristics. Power imbalance, ethnic differences and creolization characterized the cultural configuration of these colonial societies. This book, with contributions by a number of Dutch scholars, provides state-of-the-art discussions on these migration histories. In addition, it presents reflections on the ways this past and its repercussions are remembered (or forgotten, or actively silenced) throughout the former colonial empire.

... The core Sri Lankan teams were: archaeology, Rasika Muthucumarana (Muthu), Wijamunige Chandaratne (Chandre), KD Palitha Weerasinghe (Palitha), Abesin Mallawa Arachachchige Dayananda (Daya), SM Nandadasa (Nande) (Officer in charge for the MAU); conservation ...

Although for many people the building of historic ships is something new, over the centuries people had the desire to visualise their idea about history. Already in the 16th century a classical Roman ship was built. Since the second half of the 19th century a series of ships have been built, ranging from Viking ships to East Indiamen.

Researching shipwrecks can contribute to an understanding of past ways of life. In more recent times, maritime archaeology, or maritime and underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) management, has used a number of approaches and disciplines in researching and managing a broader range of related tangible and intangible heritage. A MUCH programme, as with other heritage programs, can help elucidate the cultural identity of a community. Perhaps less appreciated, but also important, is that sites might have different value for different communities, in other words, each site has a multi-vocal value. Within this context, and pursuant to an international agreement on best practices, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001, this paper will outline how a number of projects and capacity building programs are being implemented. It will provide evidence of the positive outcomes of the capacity building programs run by the Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE), and the benefits in implementing MUCH programs in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and Micronesia. The paper will also provide examples of other types of MUCH projects and the contemporary community benefits that maritime archaeologists can provide through their work. Evidence of the multi-vocal values of some sites, and the implications of these values will also be discussed. The MUCH programs described in this paper have had, and continue to face challenges in the same way as developing countries in Southeast Asia face many challenges in implementing effective programs. An initiative that is hoped will assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa is the formation of a group of ten countries that will work together in pursuing strategies and activities to manage their maritime and underwater cultural heritage. This and other examples of coalitions from the developing world working to safeguard their heritage for the benefit of future generations will be summarised in this paper.

The Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE) has been involved in developing Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Programs (MUCH) in Asia and Africa since the 1990s. Although these programs aimed for a general development of capacity and awareness for MUCH in the specific region, often the focal point of the program was international (colonial) heritage sites. Although understandable from the practical implication of funding opportunities and available expertise of the international trainers, our experiences showed that this focus was not ideal for the establishment of a sustainable policy on MUCH management in the post colonial countries. Building on that experience CIE has developed a vision on international cooperation that places MUCH in a broader perspective by including a platform of local and international stakeholders in all stages of the program. Through discussions about the relevance of the MUCH sites for the various stakeholders awareness can be raised for...

Recently there has been a remarkable increase in the use of multimedia and interactive technologies in heritage and archaeology. Haptics technologies allow the operator to interact with the visual representation using the sense of touch. In this paper, we investigate the role of haptic feedback in exploring archaeological objects. In particular, we explore the following questions: the first question addresses the archaeological value degradation due to multimodal recording (3D visual and haptic modeling) by exploring a real archaeological object against its digital (haptic-visual) representation. The second question examines the added-value of haptic feedback while exploring an archaeological object in the digital world that is never seen in the real world. A thorough evaluation is conducted with eight participants (4 archaeologists and 4 novice users) to evaluate the role of haptic feedback in digital archaeology. Results demonstrated that novice users have rated the similarity between the real artifact and its digital representation much higher than expert users. Additionally, haptic feedback provides additional information that is not accessible otherwise (deteriorating engraving on a gravestone were more readable using haptic exploration). Given how promising haptic feedback is in digital archaeology, our future work will focus on developing highly accurate haptic recording techniques with the goal to preserve cultural heritage and archaeology.

The end of the 16th century saw Dutch expansion in Asia, as the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was fast becoming a power in Asia, both political and economic. By 1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen. This landmark study looks at perhaps the most important tool in the Company' trading –its ships. In order to reconstruct the complete shipping activities of the VOC. Parthesius created an unique database of the ship's movements. His research into the routes and the types of ships in service of the VOC proves that it was precisely the wide range  to types and sizes of vessels that gave the VOC the ability to sail –and continue its profitable trade– the year round.

This is the catalogue of the artefacts excavated from the Avondster site between 1993 and 2004. It is not a normal find catalogue of an archaeological excavation, because the majority of the documented artefacts have once again been lost. The tsunami of December 26th, 2004 destroyed not only the building of the Maritime Archaeological Unit (MAU) in Galle, but also caused the loss of two thirds of the excavated artefacts of the Avondster stored within. The significant part of the single body of find documentation was also lost as a result of that tsunami.

Sri Lanka is strategically located between Arabia and East Asia, at a natural crossroads of navigational routes and has been a centre of trade and cultural exchange since ancient times. With Sri Lanka’s significant seafaring history, and the archaeological riches of its land sites, there can be no doubt that study of the underwater sites will reveal a fascinating history.
Underwater surveys carried out in Galle Harbour since 1992 have revealed 26 archaeological sites dating from the 13th century, through the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, to modern times. This history is also reflected in the material remains found on the harbour and artefacts excavated date from the 13th century to 21st century. Several stone anchors of Indo-Arabian pattern have been discovered, including one from the Arabian Peninsula weighing almost a tonne, and an anchor of Mediterranean pattern (Souter, 1998). A celadon bowl of the Southern Song dynasty (13th century) is one of the few relics of early trade with China; while the later 17th century blue-and-white Chinese trade ware is abundant. While Sri Lankan archaeology is rich in cultural treasures from much earlier periods, it is the combination of several United Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or VOC) wrecks and the VOC’s extensive historical archives that make Galle Harbour so interesting. This combination of archaeological and historical resources provides a unique opportunity to explore Sri Lanka’s role in international trade, and to examine the political and cultural affects of this trade.
In 2001 a Maritime Archaeology Unit (MAU) was formed under the Mutual Heritage Centre and managed by the Central Cultural Fund, a Sri Lankan Government agency. The MAU’s first major project was the excavation of the Avondster, one of five Dutch East Indiamen wrecked

The Avondster Project had a number of aims in addition to the survey, excavation and conservation of the site and artefacts. One of the primary goals was to build the capacity of the MAU’s Sri Lankan archaeologists and conservators, and associated infrastructure for the continuation of a permanent maritime archaeology program in Sri Lanka. Another important goal was the development of a maritime museum, to showcase Sri Lanka’s broad maritime history, its sites and the people involved; with the initial displays based on the material recovered and research undertaken during the Avondster Project.