Underwater artifacts are left in situ in Nova Scotia and archaeology at these sites is only permitted with a Heritage Research Permit
Duane Dauphinee, an underwater archaeologist and treasure salvager, reflects on the state of undersea treasure recovery at home in Williamswood, N.S. on April 1, 2019.Beneath the choppy waves off Nova Scotia’s rugged coast are thousands of shipwreck sites sprinkled with lost treasure: centuries-old coins, canons, and perhaps even historic booty stolen from the White House.
Under the Treasure Trove Act – the only legislation of its kind in North America at that time – commercial underwater explorers would conduct undersea archaeology and remove precious stones and metals from the ocean floor. A key find came in 1965, when divers recovered about $500,000 in gold coins and artifacts from Le Chameau, a French payship that sank near Louisbourg, N.S., in 1725.
MacKinnon, who has not hunted for treasure since the act was repealed, said there’s nothing stopping treasure salvagers from illegally diving because there is no incentive to report any findings and no effective way of policing offshore underwater sites.“By having the province verify what we had, that’s what made it worth your while,” he said.
Sinclair added that the sites are also vulnerable to environmental impacts such as climate change and major storms, and so the artifacts are at risk of being lost forever with the passage of time. He said the province should designate a trained underwater archaeologist to oversee the management of sites.
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