HMS Fantome-to salvage... or not to salvage

May not be the correct spot for this, if so , please move to appropriate place.

I've always been fascinated and intrigued by shipwrecks and treasures but never hear too much about them.

Living in Nova Scotia, its common knowledge to most people here that there are many, many undiscovered shipwrecks off our coast, and this is about one of them.

I heard something the other day regarding recent events in this drama, but was unable to give it my full attention at the time ( Doh! ), and of course when I go looking for it , the latest documentation is from January. So of course, I will have to wait a few days.

The following is regarding the discovery and salvage of a British ship, HMS Fantome, which was believed to be lost off the coast of NS back in 1812.

What some may not know is, that it may have been carry plundered items taken from the White House.

HMS Fantome was laden with loot believed to have been stolen from Washington -- including from the White House and Capitol building -- when it ran aground on a treacherous shoal south of Halifax in November, 1814. The crew of the British naval vessel survived, but its cargo was lost to the stormy sea.

And of course, with todays techno-ease the way it is...

By permitting treasure hunters to scavenge the Fantome site, Mr. Chisholm argued, it's possible that stolen White House valuables could wind up on e-Bay.

cpprot.te.verweg.com...



As I mentioned, it was in the news lately but I don't know what the current status is .


Although I don't believe the items should be sold privately to collectors, I do believe some monetary gain should be had. Not cheap... that treasure hunting business


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Mod Edit
fixed 'ex' tags


[edit on 25-8-2006 by masqua]

I would argue for a protection clause and an archaeological team to do an excavation. Artifacts can be preserved, and thie issue of historical evidence being destroyed in the quest for something to sell on Ebay.

I tend to agree with you.

Although I would like the bounty's to be found, I would not like to see the items damaged or sold on the open market (private collector).

I was surprised to find out that the Canadian government tends to overlook this sort of thing.
With the amount of shipwrecks in my area, I would have thought stronger safe-guards would be in place to prevent this.

edit to add the following:

A number of wrecks in Nova Scotia have also attracted treasure hunters. In Nova Scotia, these treasure hunters must obtain an Treasure Trove license and employ an archaeologist

museum.gov.ns.ca...


[edit on 25-8-2006 by Grailkeeper]

[edit on 25-8-2006 by Grailkeeper]

Here is a link to another news article on the topic. I wondered if this might belong elsewhere on the site also, maybe current events, or a political subject. As for the wreck and salvaging of any loot onboard, I support the protection of it. If it turns out there are items which were removed from the White House when the British and/or Canadians raided Washington D.C., it will be interesting to see where they end up. I hope they are protected in Canada, but if not, I would rather see them returned to the US than sent overseas.

cnews.canoe.ca...

www.canada.com...

[edit on 9/28/2006 by BlackGuardXIII]