What the walrus and the carpenter did not talk about: Maritime archaeology and the near future of energy

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the entanglement of energy resources and archaeology over the next 30 years and beyond. It considers the impact of the global energy crisis upon the marine archaeological resource, and by default, it also considers questions of climate change and archaeology. The early-mid twenty-first century is set to become the age of conflict over dwindling resources, especially hydrocarbons, and also (one hopes), the age of the expansion of renewable energy replacements for hydrocarbons. In this conflict, the seas and oceans will become the primary global battleground of both governments and industries, since these are the last great (largely) unexploited areas of the world. Together, such immediate-term, global geopolitical events look likely to present a new challenge to the archaeological community that will confront it with serious questions about cultural heritage research, resource and rescue priorities, public access and communication, and professional ethics.