The Geopolitics of the Marine Archaeological Heritage within the Context of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea: The Hellenic Civilization and the Aegean Sea

Abstract

Cultural heritage is inextricably linked to the historical importance of certain areas in the same way that certain civilizations and their historical course, are closely linked to the status and specific importance of certain national states within the international community. There are cases of states that endeavour to create history in order to enhance their stature and prolong their existence. This gives a geopolitical dimension to the study of cultural-historical heritage. A successful attempt, on behalf of the international community, to deal with the issue was the Third Conference for the Law of the Sea (1982). This conference constituted the first successful attempt to institutionalize legal rules regarding the protection of marine archaeological heritage. Herein we define the jurisdictional rights of a coastal state, according to the international law of the sea in terms of the protection of marine archaeology, we will examine separately the sea zones envisaged by the 1982 Convention. We will also attempt a first level conceptual definition of the terms “archaeological and historical objects” and “archaeological and historical objects found at sea”, which are not defined in the 1982 Convention and are extensively used in the ensuing analysis.