7 January 2009
Tunis — Adopted in 2001 by UNESCO's General Conference, the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage has entered into force on January 2, 2009.
The convention which aims at ensuring effective safeguarding of submerged shipwrecks and ruins, represents the international community's response to increased looting and destruction of underwater cultural heritage, which is becoming ever more accessible to treasure hunters.
It is estimated that there are currently some 3 million underwater shipwrecks, relics or ruins in the world.
Tunisia which is one of the 20 States which ratified the convention in October 2008, is strongly committed to preserve its underwater cultural heritage. A specialized unit within the National Heritage Institute has been tasked with following up preservation and coordination efforts to preserve its rich submerged cultural heritage, testifying to the country's millenary history.
A specially designed pavilion in the Bardo Museum, dubbed "Treasures of the Mediterranean" hosts the famous Mahdia shipwreck, dating back approximately between 70 to 80 BC, and which was carrying a stunning load of marble columns and bronze statues.
The shipwreck was explored in 1948 by the Commandant Cousteau, and was brought up to the surface in 1993, following an operation jointly led by the National Heritage Institute and the Bonn Museum.
Specialists estimate that Tunisia's waters are replete with a rich cultural heritage, only part of which has been discovered.
A rallying point for sailors from throughout the Mediterranean, Tunisia's coastline is still carrying the secret of innumerable shipwrecks dating from the Phoenician, Carthaginian, Byzantine, and Roman times.
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