The mission of UNESCO's Scientific and Technical Advisory Board will take place from October 17 to 28 in different locations in Paraguayan territory to accompany the country in the study, protection, and enhancement of underwater cultural heritage
On Monday, October 17, the official presentation of the mission in Paraguay of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) to the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage took place at the National Archives in Asunción. The event was attended by the Minister of Culture, Mr. Rubén Capdevila; authorities of the National Secretariat of Culture, including the Director General of Cabinet, Mr. Marcelo Cuenca, the Director General of Cultural Heritage, Ms. Maricarmen Couchonnal, and the Director of National and International Cooperation, Ms. Teresita Silvero; the Programme Specialist of the Secretariat of the 2001 Convention, Ms. Ulrike Guerin, and the Programme Specialist for Culture of the UNESCO Office in Montevideo, Ms. Alcira Sandoval Ruiz; and the team of international experts of the STAB mission.
During the two-week technical mission, the STAB team together with the technical team of the National Secretariat of Culture of Paraguay will visit the locations of three shipwrecks that surfaced during 2019. The mission is intended to provide technical support for the implementation of mitigation and recovery measures for heritage at risk in the country, strengthen capacities, both nationally and locally, for the study, prevention, and decision-making with respect to submerged heritage, in addition to collecting technical information and documentation of the shipwrecks, as well as recommendations and proposals for their conservation and enhancement.
Likewise, during the visits to the shipwrecks, emphasis will be placed on working with local communities and the indigenous population of nearby localities in order to raise awareness of the importance of protecting this type of heritage and encourage the involvement of the communities. To this end, several meetings with the communities and authorities are planned. A workshop will also be held with families in Asunción on October 23 to bring the work of underwater archaeology closer to them and awaken their interest in submerged heritage.
The mission was approved in June 2020 by the Bureau of the Meeting of States Parties to the 2001 Convention in response to Paraguay's request for technical assistance and had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Paraguay, as a State Party to the Convention since 2006, can benefit from STAB technical assistance.
About the international team of experts
The STAB mission is led by Dr. Dolores Elkin, an Argentine archaeologist and researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), who works at the National Institute of Anthropology and Latin American Thought, where she is in charge of the Underwater Archaeology Program, and has directed several research projects on historic shipwrecks, mainly in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. He is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Body for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, participating in numerous training activities, technical assistance, and dissemination of underwater cultural heritage in the Latin American region: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
The team is completed by Mexican archaeologist Helena Barba Meinecke, researcher in charge of the Office of Underwater Archaeology in the Yucatan Peninsula of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), representative of Mexico at the meeting of States Parties to the UNESCO 2001 Convention, member of the STAB, and coordinator of the Scientific Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage of ICOMOS Mexico; Ms. Barbara Davidde, underwater archaeologist of the Italian Ministry of Culture, who serves as Director of the National Directorate for Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, member of the STAB and specialized in in situ conservation and restoration of the underwater cultural heritage; Mr. Christophe Delaere, Belgian archaeologist and researcher at the Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS - Belgium) with experience in Andean and inland water archaeology; and Mr. Jean-Bernard Memet, PhD in materials science, specialized in marine corrosion, professional diver and UNESCO expert with extensive experience in conservation and restoration of cultural property.
About the shipwrecks
The severe droughts that affected the country in 2019 caused a significant decrease in the level of the Paraguay River, which exposed three shipwrecks from the time of the War against the Triple Alliance (1864-1870):
- The Vapor Paraguarí, a steamboat of Paraguayan origin, surfaced near the Remanso Bridge on the Paraguay River and currently located in the National Navy after its partial extraction in 2019;
- The Vapor Eponina, steamboat located in Curuzú, near the municipality of Humaitá (Department of Ñembucú), which would be a hospital ship of Brazilian origin burned during the war;
- The wooden boat, also called "Lanchón", located in the Yhaguy tributary, near the locality of Caaguy Cupé, belonging to the district of Primero de Marzo in the Department of Cordillera, and probably of Paraguayan origin.