News
Divers uncover historical treasure trove in Hong Kong waters
Divers in Hong Kong are on a mission to locate historical treasures they think may have been resting on the sea bed off Sai Kung for centuries.
Seven members of the Hong Kong Underwater Heritage Group completed their 13-day expedition last weekend, retracing their 2010 search in the same area off High Island Reservoir, which turned up some promising finds.
“We identified 313 artefacts [in 2010], mostly porcelain, in a small area of 30 metres by 30 metres,” said Marco Li Li-hen, one of the group’s members.
“Twenty-two of them were intact blue-and-white porcelain bowls and plates.
“That surprised us. Why were there so many artefacts there?”
The group of divers are led by Dr Bill Jeffery, an Australian maritime archaeologist who lives in Hong Kong. Dr Jeffery said the artefacts may date back to the Ming (1368-1644) or early Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, and could have ended up on the ocean floor after a shipwreck.
“Trading was going on in this general area, but how much was going on and are there other shipwrecks there? Quite possibly,” Dr Jeffery said, adding that it was too early to say what else might be found at the site.
“We need to do the excavation, then to get ceramic experts to look at what we have found to see the significance of the materials.”
The group hopes to find the source of the artefacts found in 2010.
Cheng Kai-ming, former chairman of the Archaeological Society, said it was an unusual undertaking for a group of amateurs.
“It’s certainly rare to see people like them using their spare time for underwater archaeology … which is much riskier than on dry land, especially working with shipwrecks.”
Both Cheng and Jeffery are keeping their expectations low about the likelihood of finding anything significant but that has not dampened their enthusiasm.
“I’m not worried about being disappointed. I really want to dive down there – I’m keen to know what happened, where this stuff came from,” said Li, a mechanical engineer. “Even if it turns out to be rubbish dumped from a leisure boat, at least we’ll have figured it out.”
Although the divers come from different backgrounds – maritime archaeology, mechanical engineering, editing, marketing, heritage and tourism – they share a desire to promote and preserve the city’s underwater heritage.
Li noted there were no maritime archaeologists with the Antiquities and Monuments Office.
The group formed in 2009, inspired by Jeffery, who trained them in the basics of maritime archaeology, based on a programme offered by the British Nautical Archaeology Society.
Then the search was on for potential sites. They secured funding from the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, which was set up in 1992 to preserve the city’s heritage.
After scouring the Marine Department’s database of 300 sites in the region and gathering information from elderly villagers in Sai Kung and other divers, they trained their sights on the Sai Kung site.
For now though the group doesn’t want to reveal its exact location.
“Hong Kong has long been a major hub for sea trading. There’s so much heritage on land, so we believe there could be many treasures under the sea waiting to be found,” said Li.
The group hopes to release preliminary results from the latest dive in October or November.
In the meantime, it will continue working on a database of likely underwater historical sites around Hong Kong.
“Archaeology can be romantic, but most of the time it’s boring and academic. But we’re used to that. It’s not like an Indiana Jones movie.
“We’ve dropped any romanticism about what we’re doing – it’s very practical,” said Li.
Source: www.scmp.com
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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