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Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites

Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites

The site consists of a group of Georgian-style naval buildings and structures, set within a walled enclosure. The natural environment of this side of the island of Antigua, with its deep, narrow bays surrounded by highlands, offered shelter from hurricanes and was ideal for repairing ships. The construction of the Dockyard by the British navy would not have been possible without the labour of generations of enslaved Africans since the end of the 18th century. Its aim was to protect the interests of sugar cane planters at a time when European powers were competing for control of the Eastern Caribbean.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Chantier naval d’Antigua et sites archéologiques associés

Le site consiste en un ensemble de bâtiments et d’installations portuaires de l’époque géorgienne, bordé d'une enceinte fortifiée. L’environnement naturel de cette partie de l’île d’Antigua, avec ses baies profondes et étroites entourées de hautes terres, offrait un abri contre les ouragans et était propice à la réparation des navires. La construction de ce chantier naval par la Marine britannique, n’aurait pas été possible sans le travail de générations d’esclaves africains, depuis la fin du XVIIIe siècle. L'objectif était de protéger les intérêts des planteurs de canne à sucre, à une époque où les puissances européennes se disputaient le contrôle des Caraïbes orientales.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

حوض بناء السفن في أنتيغوا والمواقع الأثرية المحيطة به
يتألف الموقع من مجموعة من المباني والموانئ تعود للفترة الجورجية ويحيط بهذه المباني والموانئ سور محصن. وتقي البيئة الطبيعيّة في هذا الجزء من الجزيرة وخلجانها العميقة والمرتفعات المحيطة بها من الأعاصير والرياح القوية ما جعل المكان مناسباً لإصلاح وصيانة السفن. ويذكر أن مجموعة من العبيد الأفارقة ساهموا في بناء حوض بناء وصيانة السفن هذا الذي يعود للقرن الثامن عشر. وكان الهدف من بناء هذا الحوض هو حماية مصالح مزارعي قصب السكر في الوقت الذي تصارعت فيه الدول الأوروبية في ما بينها بشأن السيطرة على منطقة البحر الكاريبي.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Верфь Антигуа и связанные с ней археологические объекты
Объект состоит из комплекса зданий и портовых сооружений георгиевской эпохи, обнесённых крепостной стеной. Природная среда этой части острова Антигуа, замечательная глубоководными бухтами, окруженными высокогорьями, служила укрытием от ураганов и прекрасно подходила для стоянки, обслуживания и ремонта судов. Существенный вклад в строительство верфи, возведённой силами британского флота в конце XVIII века, внесли порабощённые африканские рабочие. Верфь была призвана обеспечить флот надежной базой в эпоху, когда европейские державы боролись за доминирующее положение в восточной части Карибского бассейна

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Astillero de Antigua y sitios arqueológicos conexos
Este sitio comprende un recinto fortificado de la época georgiana con instalaciones y edificios portuarios y navales. El medio natural de bahías profundas, rodeadas de terrenos elevados, que caracteriza a este lugar de la isla de Antigua ofrecía un refugio seguro contra los huracanes, propiciando así el mantenimiento y reparación de los navíos. Construido por la Marina Real Británica a finales del siglo XVIII gracias al aporte esencial de la mano de obra esclava africana, el astillero de Antigua tenía por objeto proteger los intereses de los dueños de las plantaciones de caña de azúcar en una época en que las naciones europeas se disputaban con encarnizamiento el control del Caribe Oriental.

source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

アンティグアの海軍造船所と関連考古遺跡群
イギリス海軍の拠点となったカリブ海の造船所跡。城壁で囲まれた中にあるジョージアン様式の海軍関連建造物群。この造船所とその関連施設は、砂糖を求めて西欧諸国が東カリブ海の支配をめぐって競い合っていた時代に、サトウキビ農園主たちの利益を守る目的で建設された。高地に囲まれ、深く狭い入り江をもつアンティグア島の南岸の自然環境は、ハリケーンからの避難所として、あるいは船を修理する場所として理想的だった。イギリス海軍による造船所の建設は、18世紀末以来の数世代にわたるアフリカ系奴隷の労働力があって初めて可能となったものである。

source: NFUAJ

Marinescheepswerf van Antigua en gerelateerde archeologische sites

De site bestaat uit een ommuurde groep marinegebouwen in Georgiaanse stijl en aanverwante structuren. De natuurlijke omgeving van deze kant van Antigua, met zijn diepe smalle baaien omringd door hooglanden, bood bescherming tegen orkanen en was ideaal om schepen te repareren. De bouw van de scheepswerf door de Britse marine zou niet mogelijk zijn geweest zonder de arbeid van generaties Afrikaanse slaven sinds het einde van de 18e eeuw. Doel was om de belangen van de eigenaren van de suikerplantages veilig te stellen in een tijd waarin de Europese grootmachten streden om de controle van het oostelijk Caribisch gebied.

Source: unesco.nl

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Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites © Nicola & Reg Murphy
Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The Antigua Naval Dockyard and its Related Archaeological Sites consists of a group of Georgian Naval structures, set within a walled enclosure, on a naturally-occurring series of deep narrow bays surrounded by highlands on which defensive fortifications were constructed. The Dockyard and its related facilities were built at a time when European nations were battling for supremacy of the seas to obtain control over the lucrative sugar-producing islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Antigua’s location as a front-line naval dockyard facility gave the British navy a strategic advantage over its rivals at a crucial point in history.

The construction and operation of the Antigua Naval Dockyard were made possible through the labour and skills of enslaved Africans, whose contribution was crucial for the establishment of the facility and, more widely, for the development of the British Empire, trade and industrialization.

Criterion (ii): The Antigua Naval Dockyard and its Related Archaeological Sites exhibit an important exchange of human values over a span of time within the Caribbean and between this region and the rest of the Commonwealth, on developments in architecture, technology and exploitation of natural topographical features for strategic military purposes. The enslaved Africans toiling in the service of the British navy and army built and worked the facilities that were critical to the development of the British Empire, trade and industrialization. The Georgian Period buildings and the archaeological structures and remains stand as testimony to their efforts and continue to influence the architectural, social and economic development of their descendants.

The Antigua Naval Dockyard exceptionally shows how British Admiralty building prototypes were adapted to cope with extremes of climate, and the lessons learnt in the Caribbean in erecting such buildings were subsequently successfully applied in other colonies. Among the most prominent witnesses of this interchange, Clarence House demonstrates how English Georgian architecture was modified to suit the hot tropical climate and to counter the threat of disease, and the emergence of a distinctly colonial Caribbean Georgian architecture; and the Officers’ Quarters and the Senior Officer’s House demonstrate how building forms were adapted, by the addition of features such as storm shutters and verandas, to suit the climate of the Caribbean. Few other sites demonstrate this transition from British prototypes to the use of colonial building forms as clearly as the Antigua Naval Dockyard.

Criterion (iv): The ensemble of the Antigua Naval Dockyard and its Related Archaeological Sites were laid down and built exploiting the natural attributes of the area (the deep waters of English Harbour, the series of hills protecting the bay, the jagged contours of the coastline, and the narrow entrance) in a period when European powers were at war to expand their spheres of influence in the Caribbean. Altogether, the property represents an outstanding example of a Georgian naval facility in the Caribbean context.

The Antigua Naval Dockyard and its Related Archaeological Sites demonstrate the process of colonization and the global spread of ideas, building forms and technologies by a leading naval power in the 18th century, as well as the exploitation of favourable geo-morphological features for the construction and defence of a strategic compound.

Integrity

The inscribed area (255 ha) coincides with the former Naval Dockyard installations and its related former supporting/defensive compounds, which have been in continuous use since 1725. The partially-walled Dockyard includes an important number of historical buildings, whereas the related former supporting/defensive compounds comprise several structures nowadays reduced to archaeological remains. The property still retains its visual integrity and the visual relationships and dynamics between the Dockyard complex (down at sea level) and the former military structures (in the surrounding hills) are still recognizable. Most of the buildings at the Dockyard have either been restored/repaired (fairly recently) or are scheduled to undergo restoration in the near future. On the other hand, archaeological structures outside the Dockyard exhibit an uneven state of conservation that will benefit from a comprehensive conservation strategy based on the adoption of a minimal intervention approach.

Authenticity

The Dockyard is located on its original site and continues to be embedded in the same original setting. The buildings within were all originally built between the 18th and 19th centuries and retain their original form and design. Most of them even retain their use and function, and those which do not are used for similar and/or compatible functions. The authenticity of the property in terms of materials, craftsmanship and design will benefit from a continuous cooperation amongst conservation architects, architectural historians and archaeologists in the conception of conservation programmes, projects and works. Archaeological remains are still embedded in a setting which is comparable to the original one; many of the fortifications and supporting facilities retain their original materials and their visual interrelations. Their form and design have not been altered and can be appreciated through archaeology, historical research, consolidation, stabilization and interpretation. The informative potential of archaeological vestiges is overall retained; however, protection and maintenance strategies should be set up in order to avoid further loss of historic substance.

Protection and management requirements

The Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites have been protected as a National Park since 1984 under the National Parks Act and managed by the National Parks Authority (NPA). Further means of legal protection are obtained by the recently approved new ‘Environmental Management Bill’ (2015) the forthcoming new ‘Heritage Act’, the ‘Physical Planning Act’ (2003), and the ‘Land Use or Physical Development Plan for Antigua and Barbuda’, which defines and establishes zones for appropriate land use. Building Guidelines have been designed to orient conservation interventions of historical buildings and archaeological remains and to set standards for new architecture and new guidelines; high standards regarding the Dockyard’s potential Underwater Cultural Heritage are also needed.

The system relies on the National Parks Development and Management Plan, which is specifically prepared under the provisions of sub-section 10 (2) of the Antigua and Barbuda National Parks Act (1984). The Management Plan, with its objectives and its operational instruments (land use zoning plan, action plan, conservation plan, marketing plan, guidelines, etc.) forms an integrated management framework that needs to focus on the Outstanding Universal Value of the Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites so as to ensure its effective management as a World Heritage property.