GALLE (Sri Lanka): Marine archeologists spent nine years trawling the seabed of Sri Lanka’s Galle port to collect thousands of centuries-old treasures buried underwater in shipwrecks. But it took just a few seconds for them to be reclaimed by the ocean when a tsunami battered the shores of this island nation on December 26 and swept away everything in its path, including hopes of opening the country’s first maritime museum.
The collection of priceless artefacts — including spoons, jars, jugs, bottles, cannons and leather belts — were to be exhibited to showcase the maritime heritage Sri Lanka shared with European invaders and Arab traders.
But only 20 percent of 3,600 objects salvaged from shipwrecks within the waters of Galle port from about 1996 appeared to have survived the tsunami, said S. M. Nandadasa, the officer in charge of the project.
Authorities are now trying to trace the twice-lost treasures.
“We have found some of the artefacts among the debris ... (and) our main concern right now is to try and conserve what was saved,” said Nandadasa.
He said the long-term plan was to get foreign help to go ahead with its goal of establishing the maritime archaeological museum on the island nation that had been a key transit point in east-west trade centuries ago.
Galle, 112 kilometres south of Colombo and located along the ancient silk sea route, is rich grounds for marine archaeological exploration.
The authorities have identified 26 locations, including 15 shipwrecks, within the small Galle port and its immediate environs.
Nandadasa said Sri Lanka was also seeking foreign help to re-establish the devastated Maritime Archaeology Unit (MAU), which had been housed in a single storied building on a jetty at the old section of the Galle port and was where the artefacts were being stored.
Sri Lanka’s Central Cultural Fund was to take over the running of the MAU from Dutch and Australian experts at the end of December, but after the tsunamis it was left literally picking up the pieces.
“My first reaction was everything is lost — the maritime archaeological unit is gone,” said former director, Robert Parthesius, a Dutch national who has helped the MAU from its inception.
Parthesius has been helping set up the marine archaeological operations since 1992.
“We lost 80 per cent of our collection (of artefacts),” Parthesius said. “Fortunately, not a single life was lost. Buildings were lost, but we have not lost the Sri Lankan expertise we developed over the years.”
The jewel in the proposed maritime archaeological museum was to be artefacts found on the wreck of the Avondster, a Dutch ship which slipped anchor and hit the shore, broke in two and submerged in the soft sand on July 2, 1659, according to historical records.
Blue and white ceramic ware, spoons, jars, jugs, cannons and cannon balls and leather belts were hauled by divers from the Avondster together with some of the areca nut cargo that it was loading 346 years ago.
Marine archaeologist Rasika Muthukumarana last week carried out his first dive after the tsunamis to check if the Avondster, had shifted from its position.
“A bit of the galley was sticking out of the sand and some of the bricks had come off, but there was no major damage,” Muthukumarana said, adding that sand had been dumped on the wreck.—AFP
