Florida has different laws governing underwater archaeology than other
states- mainly you are allowed to keep what you find (unless it has been
changed).

In Florida, there's a museum- the Mel Fisher Heritage Society in Key West.
Mel Fisher was a scuba diving pioneer who also uncovered shipwrecks (not
sure if one would call him an archaeologist) and extremely controversial in
the underwater archaeology community. Maybe that museum would be a good
starting point? And I'm sure someone on this list would know the full story
of the controversy and various issues. I just remember the above, which I
saw in a travel magazine once.

Pamela



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kathy Clewell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 3:06 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: treasure hunting [student question]
>
>
> The State of Florida has a Bureau of Archaeological Research under the
> Division of Historical Resources.  This is the website:
> http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/bar/
>
> In a past life I was in contact with the department about an
> exhibition
> that had been offered for exhibit that seemed to have questionable
> provenance.  They can probably answer your questions.
> Good luck --
>
> Kathy Clewell
> Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
> 219 S. Palm Canyon Drive
> Palm Springs, CA  92262
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of eireland
> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 11:54 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: treasure hunting [student question]
>
> A friend of mine, a diver, recently approached me about off shore
> treasure
> diving in Florida. Usually as someone in archeaology, I am opposed to
> untrained
> treasure hunting because it destroys historical context, but I am not
> sure how
> to feel about this. Isn't it already out of its historical
> context if it
> is on
> the bottom of the sea? Does anyone know if objects found in
> this manner
> are
> accepted by museums?
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should
> read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . > You may obtain
> detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
> one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The
> body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line
> e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of
> the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).