Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage

The Antiquities Act protects underwater sites the same way it protects ancient sites on land. Underwater man-made structures, such as fairway obstructions or the remains of bridges or quays, for example, are protected as reminders of Finland's past settlements and history. Regardless of their age, all sites are protected and one must not touch them without permission from the National Board of Antiquities (NBA).

Old shipwrecks are protected by their age. The wrecks of ships and other vessels discovered in the sea or in inland waters that can be considered to have sunk over one hundred years ago, or parts thereof, are seen as ancient sites. A find of this kind must be reported to the National Board of Antiquities without delay. If it is obvious that the owner has abandoned the wreck or a part of it the wreck belongs to the state. Also the artefacts in or from a wreck of this kind belong to the state.

Means of Protection

To be able to protect underwater sites it is essential to instruct recreational divers and to co-operate with them. The aim is to make sports divers understand and respect the value of ancient sites and the information these contain. Divers must see how they themselves can take part in protecting the underwater cultural heritage. NBA co-operates actively with divers when it comes to checking the location of different sites, the documenting of the sites, and general change of information. The underwater park at the wreck site of the Kronprins Gustav Adolf off Helsinki was designed especially to give an idea of what a single underwater site can tell us about the events of past times and why these finds are worth protecting.

According to the Antiquities Act, those responsible for the planning of public waterworks must establish whether the execution of such works will concern ancient monuments. Since there is no exhaustive list of the location of underwater sites in Finland, NBA informs constructors to make an inventory of the bottom in sufficient time beforehand. If a site is about to be harmed or destroyed because of a construction project, the Antiquities Act obliges the constructors to pay for the investigations needed.

NBA is in active co-operation with the Coast Guards; it informs the Guards about its fieldwork sessions, granted research licences and recreational dives at wrecks sites. The Finnish Coast Guards helps with protection of known sites.

The protection of sites is also eased by active co-operation with environmental authorities, forest administration, the Navy, the Finnish Maritime Administration, the Finnish Institute of Marine Research and other public operators. The exchange of information with foreign authorities in the field of cultural heritage is also of great importance.

Protected Areas

On ground of the Antiquities Act, four wreck sites in Finland now have a protected area around them: St. Nikolai outside Kotka, St. Mikael, Vrouw Maria and Gråharun in the Archipelago Sea. The aim is to protect underwater sites for future generations and for forthcoming investigations. Protected areas make a long term means of safeguarding different finds from different times. Ancient sites and the information they have can thus give us a rich picture of the history of navigation also in the future.