Cultural Emergency Response has contributed 25,000 euro to enable work on the Maritime Archaeological Unit in Galle to be resumed immediately. This coastal town in the south of Sri Lanka was seriously affected by the tsunami of 26 December 2004.
The Maritime Archaeological Unit works on scores of underwater archaeological sites including the Dutch East India Company ship 'Avondster'. Twelve years ago, work began to found a maritime archaeological museum in collaboration with institutions including the Amsterdam Historical Museum, with the financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Unit is also a training centre for underwater archaeological divers and curators. The first Sri Lankan team of experts had just completed its training when the tsunami struck and needs to start the recovery of the objects that have been lost, without delay.
Cultural Emergency Response offers worldwide emergency relief in the event of damage to, or destruction of, cultural property arising from man-made or natural disasters . By furnishing speedy cultural assistance, CER also aims to draw attention to the value of cultural heritage and to underline the seriousness of cultural need.
With 25,000 euro provided by Cultural Emergency Response (CER) the team of Sri Lankan underwater archaeological experts in Galle can resume its work. In Galle, 23,000 houses were destroyed and in the context of the current relief effort, it is impossible to provide accommodation for people from out of town, like the experts, in the short term. If the team does not stay together in Galle, the future of the Maritime Archaeological Unit and underwater archaeology in Sri Lanka will be endangered. The discipline is important not just for Dutch-Sri Lankan heritage, but other shared histories too.
CER's donation not only means that the team can be housed, but moreover allows the experts - divers and curators - to commence the professional retrieval of artefacts including the canon and anchor of the 'Avondster'. Appropriate containers with lids will be purchased; recovered objects need to be conserved in fresh water in closed containers to prevent health risks. Open, stagnant fresh water is the habitat of the ' zebra mosquito' that can transfer breakbone fever.
The Galle Fort, the location of the underwater site, is on UNESCO's world heritage list. The Maritime Archaeological Unit there is an alliance between the Mutual Heritage Centre in Colombo and the Amsterdam Historical Museum. The excavation of the 'Avondster' and founding of the Unit receives funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Cultural Fund, among others. The resources contributed by Cultural Emergency Response are an essential addition because they are provided promptly and not reserved for activities directly relating to objects of cultural heritage as such. CER's donation can be used for anything that will mitigate cultural need - including housing for the team of underwater archaeological experts.
The Mutual Heritage Centre is Cultural Emergency Response's partner. The Centre is responsible for the Maritime Archaeological Unit; to date, its founding and running have been supported by the Amsterdam Historical Museum. The Museum is set to withdraw in 2005 which means that the Mutual Heritage Centre will manage Galle's cultural heritage alone from then on. CER's resources will enable the Centre to make a start on all the additional tasks that it is confronted with this year and in the future, as a result of the tsunami.
Conflict and natural disasters damage and destroy not only human lives but also the world's contemporary and historic cultural heritages. When cultural heritage - official or informal - is destroyed people suffer a fundamental loss, one that is often not sufficiently recognised. In situations in which life is little more than survival, culture can be vital in giving people's lives meaning.
Cultural Emergency Response provides resources to relieve acute cultural need, to stabilise situations and make long-term activities like restorations effective and even necessary. CER hopes to act as a trigger and help engage other organisations in providing total solutions for cultural heritage that is at risk.
The Prince Claus Fund founded Cultural Emergency Response in 2003, prompted by thefts from the National Museum in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. See the enclosure for details of previous CER initiatives.
Press Release
'Avondster' project
Maritime Archaeological Unit, Galle, Sri Lanka, 2005. Photo: Avondster Underwater Archeology Project
CER provides emergency relief for cultural heritages that have been affected by man-made or natural disasters.
Cultural Emergency Response
Prince Claus Fund
Hoge Nieuwstraat 30
2514 EL The Hague
Tel. 31 (0)70 4274303
Fax 31 (0)70 4274277
E-mail cer@princeclausfund.nl
www.princeclausfund.nl
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