Nov. 15, Archaeologist to Discuss Oldest Shipwreck Found North of Florida
From 1978 to 1985 marine archaeologists of Parks Canada excavated the wreck of the San Juan, a Spanish Basque galleon, loaded with whale oil, which had been lost in 1565 within the harbor of 16th century Red Bay, Labrador. That exploration is the subject of “The 1565 Wreck of the Basque Galleon San Juan in Labrador and the 2001 UNESCO Convention for Heritage Shipwrecks,” a talk by Dr. Robert Grenier, Parks Canada.
Grenier will speak Sunday Nov. 15, 2009, at 3 p.m. in UWM's Sabin Hall, Room G90, Corner of Downer and Newport Aves. The talk is free and open to the public.
This is the oldest shipwreck ever found in North America, north of Florida. Robert Grenier, Chief of Underwater Archaeology Service, Parks Canada, and Project Director of the San Juan excavation, will describe how the Red Bay Project developed into one of the most comprehensive marine archaeological projects ever undertaken in Canada. The excavation established important policies and precedents in underwater archaeology; and the numerous innovative techniques used to solve acute problems related to this excavation and the inherent significance of the ship itself, linking the New World to the Old World, were the reasons UNESCO put the San Juan on its permanent logo for the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This Convention, finally ratified in January 2009, is of great significance as it is the first legal instrument designed to protect our precious but threatened cultural heritage under the sea.
Dr. Robert Grenier is Chief of Underwater Archaeology Service, Parks Canada, and Project Director of the San Juan excavation from 1978-1985. He holds the Nancy Wilkie Lectureship in Cultural Heritage for the Archaeological Institute of America.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America-Milwaukee Society and the Departments of Anthropology, FLL-Classics, and Art History at UWM. It is free and open to the public and followed by free refreshments.
