Justine: Hi guys, welcome to the Archaeoventurers
Project.
I’m Justine Benanty…
Katie: And I’m Katie Paul…
Justine: And this is what we’re diving into
today.
Back in the late spring you guys may have
heard about the discovery of the Santa Maria
flagship of Christopher Columbus.
Barry Clifford was reported to have discovered
this shipwreck, but, unfortunately for him,
it actually was a well known shipwreck, but
the Haitian government…
Katie: So is he not an archaeologist?
Wouldn’t he know?
Justine: Well, if he might have done his due
diligence he would have figured out that it
was actually known to the University of Miami
back in the seventies.
And actually, UNESCO has decided that they’re
not going to pursue further study on this
shipwreck because even though Barry Clifford
had applied for a permit, they’ve revoked
it because he’s actually not a maritime
archaeologist, he is a treasure hunter.
Katie: So, what’s the difference?
I mean, I know we’ve kinda discussed treasure
hunting before, but what’s the difference?
This man, he’s done all this science, supposedly…
Justine: Right…
Katie: ...to discover this, this wreck.
Justine: Well, I mean, he claims to be an
underwater archaeologist but he sells artifacts,
which is not what archaeologists do, ethically
or morally.
Katie: He’s like a dealer/stealer?
Justine: Right.
Exactly, and, I mean, we’ve been dealing
with this all over the globe.
“Archaeologists” claim to be working and
conducting proper excavations, but then they
go off and they sell artifacts which is just
not, not proper form in any manner of the
word.
Katie: Well, that’s not the only faux archaeology
that we know of.
Justine: Right, well, it’s everywhere.
Katie: Right, and you have seen over several
years, Noah’s Ark has apparently been discovered
multiple times in multiple countries over
the past few years...
Justine: Atlantis…
Katie: Or maybe not...Atlantis, or the tomb
of Jesus, of which there are apparently several
of them across the country of Israel.
Two in Jerusalem alone and one even in India.
With the number of discoveries of the tomb
of Jesus in the past half century, he’s
popped up on the globe several times.
Justine: The Lost Ark, I mean, everywhere…
Katie: That’s not to say the places being
discovered aren’t historical, but they’re
historical in a different sense than people
are purporting them to be.
Justine: It’s not this fantastical claim,
just because people want attention and that’s
what the media focuses on, that doesn’t
necessarily give any credence to what it actually
is.
Katie: Right, ‘cause I heard about the ship
but I never heard about the Haitian government
revoking his permit.
Interesting Mr. Clifford didn’t really bring
that topic up very much.
Justine: Right, I mean, basically the Haitian
government decided that they didn’t think
that this was worth pursuing because in the
past this wreck has actually been looted,
and there’s been cannons removed, and having
it left in situ and undisturbed at this point
is probably the best course of action.
Katie: Yeah, I think that that’s probably
the best way to protect the site.
Justine: I mean, if you go by the UNESCO 2001
convention for underwater cultural protection,
in situ preservation is the way that we practice,
so…
Katie: Well, maybe some people out there have
some ideas of faux archaeology they’ve encountered.
We know the classics: Atlantis, Noah’s Ark,
Jesus’ tomb, Barry Clifford’s Santa Maria
shipwreck, but I’m sure people have some
great stories about faux archaeology that
they’ve encountered, or just questions about
archaeology, whether it’s faux or not.
Justine: Or maybe they want to do archaeology
and they want to know they can not be a faux
archaeologist.
Katie: Yeah, exactly.
So, if you guys want to send us your info
you can contact us @archaeoventurer or send
us an e-mail by visiting archaeoventurers.com.
Justine: Thank you for joining us today.
I’m Justine Benanty…
Katie: ...and I’m Katie Paul.
Thanks for getting dirty with us.
