The Cost of Sustainability: Archaeology and Maritime Dispossession in the Eastern Mediterranean
When:
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Venue:
Birkbeck Clore Management Centre
Speaker: Georgia Andreou (University of Southampton)
Respondent: Kristin Hopper (Durham University)
Sustainability, commonly presented as a self-evident good, has been a prominent theme in the political and academic spheres. In the Eastern Mediterranean, a region characterised by both rapid heritage deterioration and ongoing conflict, the intentions and impacts of pursuing heritage and environmental sustainability invite us to reconsider the term and its impact on local communities. This paper examines this tension through maritime heritage, using examples from Gaza and Cyprus. In Gaza, 'sustainable' rubble management plans envisioning artificial coastlines and islands built from war debris risk devastating underwater, marine ecosystems, resources, and coastal livelihoods, while perpetuating the sea-grab that severed Palestinians from maritime space and identity. In Cyprus, maritime projects aimed at documenting at-risk underwater heritage promote grey areas in the interpretation of the Hague Convention. This ambiguity can be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, inviting us to reconsider the real cost sustainability.
Georgia Andreou is a Lecturer in Archaeology and Sustainability at the University of Southampton. Her research focuses on the archaeology of coastal landscapes in the Eastern Mediterranean with fieldwork conducted in Cyprus and Palestine. Her upcoming book Critical Heritage Underwater in the Eastern Mediterranean, examines the ethical and political dimensions of maritime archaeology. Her current Leverhulme funded project examines the politics of heritage sustainability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Facilitated by the Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies in partnership with the Palestine Exploration Fund and the Raphael Samuel History Centre.
For information contact Katy (k.pettit@bbk.ac.uk)
Contact name: Katy Pettit
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