This study focuses on illegal excavation as a threat to underwater cultural heritage in the Netherlands. More specifically, it deals with enforcement of legal protection of the Dutch underwater...Show moreThis study focuses on illegal excavation as a threat to underwater cultural heritage in the Netherlands. More specifically, it deals with enforcement of legal protection of the Dutch underwater cultural heritage against the destructive effects of illegal excavation, whether by recreational divers or by professional salvors, to shipwrecks and other archaeological remains underwater. It aims to provide an overview of the enforcement practices currently in operation under the 1988 Monuments and Historical Buildings Act in the inner waters, the terrestrial sea and the contiguous zone of the Netherlands. As a result, Article 45 of the Act, providing a prohibition on illegal excavation, plays a key role. Furthermore, it aims to provide suggestions for improvement of the current enforcement mechanism in a time of turbulent developments within the underwater domain. This is established by means of an analysis of available literature and interviews with governmental stakeholder organizations which are involved in the protection of underwater cultural heritage in daily practice.Show less
