Sean A. Kingsley - Böcker

This intriguing book is the first to explore the potential of shipwrecks discovered off the Holy Land to rewrite social and economic history. Ancient myths and modern misconceptions about Byzantine Palestine's maritime compatibility are radically reconsidered by discussing cargoes in relation to wine, glass, cloth and dye processing across the Holy Land and by plotting mass exports shipped as far as Britain and the Yemen. A new model for the province's economy is assembled, in which middle-class merchants and entrepreneurs replace the traditional image of oppressive State and Church domination. Shipwreck Archaeology of the Holy Land integrates archaeology, history and early modern travelogues to argue that in isolation shipwrecks are of limited value and must be appreciated as cogs in far broader exchange mechanisms. It sets a new theoretical agenda for the thousands of shipwrecks continuing to appear beneath the Mediterranean Sea and is an invaluable source for students of everyday life in Late Antiquity.

For 250 years encrusted wonders have been turning up in fishermen’s nets: everything imaginable from prehistoric animal bones to priceless Roman statues. Fishing trawlers annually sweep an area equivalent in size to half the world’s continental shelves. Everything in the wake of these bulldozers of the deep is battered. A devastating trail of smashed shipwrecks runs from the North Sea to Malaysia.The profound threat of the global fishing industry remains a black hole in marine archaeology, poorly understood and unmanaged. Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage is the first global analysis of the threat of bottom fishing to underwater cultural heritage, examining the diversity, scale and implications on endangered finds and sites. Throughout, the key questions of whether it is too late to save the planet’s three million wrecks and how sustainable management is achievable are debated.

For 250 years encrusted wonders have been turning up in fishermen’s nets: everything imaginable from prehistoric animal bones to priceless Roman statues. Fishing trawlers annually sweep an area equivalent in size to half the world’s continental shelves. Everything in the wake of these bulldozers of the deep is battered. A devastating trail of smashed shipwrecks runs from the North Sea to Malaysia.The profound threat of the global fishing industry remains a black hole in marine archaeology, poorly understood and unmanaged. Fishing and Shipwreck Heritage is the first global analysis of the threat of bottom fishing to underwater cultural heritage, examining the diversity, scale and implications on endangered finds and sites. Throughout, the key questions of whether it is too late to save the planet’s three million wrecks and how sustainable management is achievable are debated.