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The Freedom of the Seas: Untapping the Archaeological Potential of Marine Debris

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Abstract

The issue of marine debris is of a growing concern to present day society. Nonetheless, the occurrence of garbage on the sea floor is widely ignored by the marine archaeological body. The main purpose of this article is to discuss archaeological aspects of marine debris of the contemporary past. In particular, the article explores the phenomenon of marine dumping, the active use of raised debris for the sake of education and opinion forming and the human footprint of holiday boating. Drawing from this, it is argued that a maritime garbology—a maritime archaeology that intersects both with the archaeology of the contemporary past and the multidisciplinary field of consumption- and garbage studies—is not only possible but also a promising and relevant field of research.

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Acknowledgments

First of all I want to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped improve the manuscript. I also want to thank professor Mats Burström, Stockholm University, professor Libby Robin, Royal Institute of Technology and archaeologist Niklas Eriksson, Södertörn University, for support and comments on the draft. Finally I wish to thank Dr. James Delgado, Deep Sea Production, scuba diver Christian Skauge, archaeologist Jens Lindström and Cecilia Wibjörn, project leader of Surfacing Refuse at The Archipelago Foundation, for sharing pictures and valuable information.

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  1. The National Maritime Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mirja Arnshav

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  1. Mirja Arnshav
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Correspondence to Mirja Arnshav.

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Arnshav, M. The Freedom of the Seas: Untapping the Archaeological Potential of Marine Debris. J Mari Arch 9, 1–25 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-014-9129-5

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