Cyprus accuses British company of illegally looting wrecks

The treasure hunt. This is what would have decided to undertake Enigma Recoveries, a private British company, in the Levantine basin which borders Cyprus. However, the modus operandi deemed violent and degrading by the Cypriot authorities poses a problem.

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"The company is well known in Cyprus and other countries, as well as international organizations, including Unesco, for its illicit underwater excavation activities and their intention to sell objects is evident in the documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission , " announced the Cypriot Antiquities Department, reports the Cyprus Mail .

Enigma Recoveries recently announced that it had made extraordinary new finds, including Chinese bowls from the Ming Dynasty found in a dozen wrecks located between Cyprus and Lebanon.

Chinese bowls from the Ming dynasty. Enigma Recoveries.

The company assured that the collection of 588 objects found in a ship dating from 1630 and currently seized by customs, could be placed in a museum. She in turn accuses the Antiquities Department of wanting to sell the finds at auction. "The Cypriot authorities will in no case auction the objects reported in error, as this not only contravenes the code of ethics, but it is also prohibited by Cypriot law on antiquities," said the institution.

The wreck discovered by Enigma is that of a colossal Ottoman ship containing goods from fourteen different cultures and nations. Glass and ceramics from Belgium, Spain, Italy, Yemen and the Persian Gulf, but also Arabian incense.

Tobacco pipe. Enigma Recoveries

“Imagine, it was so large that two full-size ships could have been installed on its deck. Although it is attacked by sea worms, silent assassins of the seas, the ship is richly preserved with a dizzying mix of goods from the end of the world. The 3D photogrammetric mapping of the Ottoman colossus was a first for this technology in the eastern Mediterranean, " said Tim McKechnie, co-director of Enigma Recoveries.

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Last point of friction, the doubts expressed by the company on the good conservation of the artifacts: “Some of the wooden objects are extremely delicate. The enamels of pots and Chinese porcelain left too long in buckets of water are likely to fragment. We are unable to comment on the current state of conservation of the objects or the damage under Cypriot control ” .

"Their conservation was undertaken by a specialized restorer under the supervision of the Department of Antiquities, which always monitors their state of conservation" , retorted the authorities, pointing to "the violent extraction of objects causing the destruction of their context » Thanks to digital recordings.