National Board of Antiquities’ Reports 2 The Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 final report The Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 final report National Board of Antiquities Helsinki 2014 National Board of Antiquities’ Reports 2 ISSN-L 2243-1365, ISSN 2243-1365 Editors: Riikka Alvik, Vesa Hautsalo, Ulla Klemelä, Aki Leinonen, Hannu Matikka, Sallamaria Tikkanen ja Eeva Vakkari. Front cover: Tiina Miettinen, The National Board of Antiquities Layout: Antero Airos ISBN 978-951-616-248-8 Contents 1. The final report on the Vrouw Maria Underwater project in general �������������������������������������������5 2. The Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 in general..........................6 3. The background to and the reasoning behind the Vrouw Maria Underwater project ..........7 4. Basic information about the Vrouw Maria ........................................9 4.1. The Vrouw Maria as a site ....................................................9 4.2. Identifying the Vrouw Maria...................................................9 5. The phases of the Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 ���������������������������������������������11 5.1. Planning phase 1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010 ...................................11 5.2. First research phase 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011 ................................15 5.3. Second research phase 1 April 2011 – 31 December 2011 ...........................18 5.4. Third research phase 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012 ..........................21 6. Summary of the fieldwork carried out in the Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 ....24 6.1. Preconditions and starting points for the fieldwork .................................24 6.2. Documentation and research into the wreck using non-intrusive methods .................25 6.3. Intrusive research methods, handling samples and raising objects.......................28 6.4. Fieldwork results . .29 7. Summary of research into the condition of the Vrouw Maria 2000–2012 ���������������������������������36 7.1. Samples ................................................................36 7.2. Results of research into the condition of the Vrouw Maria .............................37 8. Summary of the environmental conditions of the Vrouw Maria ........................40 9. Summary of the Vrouw Maria’s underwater landscape and soundscape �����������������������������������41 10. Summary of the archival research............................................44 11. Summary of improving access to the Vrouw Maria ...............................46 11.1. Scanning objects.........................................................46 11.2. Blog ..................................................................46 11.3. Website ...............................................................47 11.4. The virtual simulation of the Vrouw Maria .......................................47 11.5. The Vrouw Maria touring exhibition 2012–2013..................................49 11.6. The publication “Lost at Sea, Rediscovered” .....................................50 11.7. The public seminar “From the Vrouw Maria to the Titanic – What to do with intact wrecks?” ...51 12. International and Finnish activities and collaborative bodies .........................52 12.1. Expert meetings with Russians . .52 12.2. Other international operations and cooperative bodies .............................53 12.3. Finnish activities and cooperative bodies........................................54 13. Post-fieldwork activities and analysis after the fieldwork ...........................55 14. Project management .....................................................56 15. The staff of the Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 .......................57 16. Equipment ............................................................58 3 17. Fieldwork safety ........................................................59 18. Environmental issues in fieldwork . 60 19. Reporting .............................................................61 20. Best practice ...........................................................61 21. Archiving and availability of material .........................................62 22. Dissemination and publication policy .........................................63 23. The current situation regarding in situ preservation of the wreck of the Vrouw Maria .......64 24. Summary of the results of the Vrouw Maria Underwater project and their presentation ......66 25. What next after the Vrouw Maria Underwater project? ............................71 25.1. General ...............................................................71 25.2. Regular monitoring of the Vrouw Maria wreck....................................71 25.3. Mercury and madder lucidin on the wreck of the Vrouw Maria .......................71 25.4. MoSS project sample batches in 2013 .........................................72 25.5. Vrouw Maria research subject bank ...........................................72 25.6. How could research into the Vrouw Maria be continued in the field? ....................73 25.7 How can Vrouw Maria research continue on the basis of existing material?...............74 26. Options for the future of the Vrouw Maria wreck in the 2007 report ���������������������������������������76 27. Potentially raising the wreck of the Vrouw Maria .................................78 28. Basic site data .........................................................79 ANNEX 1 Summary of research carried out at the wreck of the Vrouw Maria 1999–2012 ......80 ANNEX 2 The more extensive documents drawn up in the planning phase . 81 The wreck of the Vrouw Maria 2010–2017: The Vrouw Maria Underwater project and the raising project, process diagram .........................................82 4 1. The final report on the Vrouw Maria Underwater project in general This final report on the Vrouw Maria Underwater project describes and brings together the aims and results of the entire project from 2009 to 2012 on a year by year basis and by theme. These aims and results are also presented on the project website and in the publications from the exhibition and seminar associated with the project. Fieldwork has also been reported in more detail in line with the National Board of Antiquities’ guidelines on fieldwork research reports. At the end of this report, views on the future of the Vrouw Maria are presented, particularly from the perspective of the National Board of Antiquities. In its main features, the final report follows the structure and template of the project and research plan for the Vrouw Maria Underwater project drawn up in January 2011. The guidelines in the Annex (Project Design) to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage of 2001 were used as the basis of the plan. For the final report, the headings, content and order of the sections have been adapted to better correspond to the requirements of a final report. All the staff involved in the project have contributed towards writing the final report. 5 2. The Vrouw Maria Underwater project 2009–2012 in general The Vrouw Maria Underwater project comprised a planning phase and three research phases which took place between 1 April 2009 and 31 December 2012. Funding was applied for each year from the Ministry of Education and Culture as special funding via the Maritime Museum of Finland’s support organisation Suomen merimuseon tuki ry. The Vrouw Maria Underwater project, which lasted three years and nine months in total, was divided into phases as follows: • Planning phase 1.4.2009 – 31.3.2010 (budget €170,000), • First research phase 1.4.2010 – 31.3.2011 (budget €270,000), • Second research phase 1.4.2011 – 31.12.2011 (budget €300,000), • Third research phase 1.1.2012 – 31.12.2012 (budget €300,000). The aims of the entire project were • To produce new information about the wreck, its cargo and the landscape, etc. and to interpret and present this information in different ways. Concrete research questions included what the vessel the Vrouw Maria was like, what kind of cargo and art cargo she was carrying and what kind of elements were in the past and present landscape of the wreck site. The project also considered how the wreck should be preserved and whether the wreck could be protected in the location in which it was found (in situ). • To increase access to the wreck, e.g. by means of a virtual simulation, a blog updated from the field, an exhibition and an exhibition publication as well as a seminar. • To produce information for managing the wreck, including documents required in the preliminary Natura impact assessment, on in situ protection, to answer questions about the condition of the wreck and to monitor any changes. The aims and methods of the first, second and third research phases were always defined in more detail on the basis of the results of the preceding research phase. Earlier research and its results were taken into account in the different phases. The project and its results are presented in more detail in sections 5–24. 6 3. The background to and the reasoning behind the Vrouw Maria Underwater project In its report on the Vrouw Maria in 2007, the National Board of Antiquities presented five different options for the future of the Vrouw Maria wreck. After analysing the options, the National Board of Antiquities recommended what it termed a “Vrouw Maria Underwater” project, the aim of which was to ensure that the wreck was preserved at the site where it was found, for the time being, by protecting, managing,