Future by the Sea: Engaging with Maritime Archaeological Research during the Climate Emergency

This volume presents global projects documenting and protecting maritime heritage threatened by climate change. Eight case studies show how small, local initiatives—often led by early‑career researchers—advance sustainability, adaptation and resilience, despite sector challenges and funding constraints.

Heritage assets in and around aquatic environments have already been impacted by climate change effects. Coastal erosion, extreme storminess, storm surges, tidal, fluvial and pluvial flooding, sea-level rise, sea-temperature increase, ocean acidification, frequently in combination with droughts and rising temperatures, and other climate change effects threaten and damage archaeological sites, historic landscapes and buildings. Concurrently, the decline of traditional maritime livelihoods, such as fishing and shipbuilding, and the rise of unsustainable tourism, along with the loss of associated local knowledge within communities and their empirical understanding of maritime regions, have isolated people from their surrounding natural environment and increased their vulnerability to environmental and socioeconomic shocks. This edited volume features projects that have taken action to record, monitor and protect maritime heritage in the face of the climate emergency. The eight chapters showcase completed or ongoing initiatives from distinct parts of the world that illustrate how the discipline of maritime archaeology can contribute to climate action, sustainability, adaptation and climate resilience, while also helping to mitigate some of the risks that heritage is experiencing due to the climate breakdown. While recognising the limitations and challenges brought up by climate change and its socio-economic implications, as well as the defunding of the archaeology and heritage sectors, the projects presented in this book show how talented early career scholars and practitioners can make substantial contributions to communities through volunteering work, small grants, and project-specific academic funding. Overall, each chapter proves how small-scale, local initiatives by passionate people can make a large impact.

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

List of Tables

Authors

Introduction – Katerina Velentza, L. Victoria Báez Santos and Brandon Braun

1. Historic Shipwrecks and the Impacts of Climate Change – Deanna Groom

2. Climate Change and Intertidal Archaeology in the Basque Country (Spain): Looking at Possible Research Directions – José Manuel Matés Luque

3. Tracing Climate Change Impacts on Maritime Heritage Resources in Lebanon Through Satellite Imagery – Sirine Saad Eldine Ghiye

4. Contemplating the Future of a Complex Coastal Heritage Asset in the Face of Climate Change: The Case Study of Whitford Point Lighthouse – Bella Romain

5. Transdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Heritage in the Colombian Caribbean: The Case of Cartagena de Indias – L. Victoria Báez Santos, Daniela Acosta Romero, Jesús Aldana Mendoza, Carlos Del Cairo Hurtado, Carla Riera Andreu

6. Co-production and Participatory Approaches in Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Maritime Cultural Heritage in Tierrabomba, Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) – Gabriela Caro León, Liliana Rozo Pinzón, Juan Sarmiento Rodríguez, Fernando Cadena Duque

7. Traditional Watercraft of the Aegean Sea: a Resource of Local Knowledge and Sustainability – Katerina Velentza

8. Crafts of the Sea: Documentation of Insular Material Knowledge in the Aegean Sea – Jacob Moe

• By (author) Katerina Velentza
• By (author) Brandon Braun