Beyond Archaeology ? The HMS Swift project, Argentina

D. ELKIN

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; American Barristers Association Section on International Law, Fall Meeting; 2014

American Barristers Association

The presentation will be centered on the case of HMS Swift, a British sloop of war which sank in 1770 in the Deseado Estuary of Patagonia, currently jurisdictional waters of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The main topics addressed will be: - General context of the Swift final voyage and wrecking - Discovery of the archaeological site and early interventions - Main results of the scientific investigation, conducted by the underwater archaeology team of the Argentinean National Institute of Anthropology - Implications of the finding of human remains as an example of bilateral cooperation between the UK and Argentina Various aspects of the presentation on the HMS Swift projectwill be considered in relation with the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001), of which Argentina is a State Party. Such aspects include: - In situ preservation versus excavation and recovery of archaeological materials - The Rules of the Annex of the UNESCO 2001 Convention - Cooperation between Flag State and Coastal State - Preventing the commercial exploitation of underwater cultural heritage