The Freedom of the Seas: Untapping the Archaeological Potential of Marine Debris

The issue of marine debris is of a growing concern to present day society. Nonetheless, the occurrence of garbage on the sea floor is widely ignored by the marine archaeological body. The main purpose of this article is to discuss archaeological aspects of marine debris of the contemporary past. In particular, the article explores the phenomenon of marine dumping, the active use of raised debris for the sake of education and opinion forming and the human footprint of holiday boating. Drawing from this, it is argued that a maritime garbology—a maritime archaeology that intersects both with the archaeology of the contemporary past and the multidisciplinary field of consumption- and garbage studies—is not only possible but also a promising and relevant field of research.     

‘The sea shall have our weapons’: small arms and forced migration across the Baltic Sea during the Second World War

ABSTRACT

During the Second World War, a large number of guns were brought to Sweden by refugees escaping the occupation powers of the eastern Baltic countries. Most people had very limited space for bringing belongings with them, but small arms were apparently highly prioritised when setting out – yet, at the same time, they were usually disposed of in the course of the crossing. Informed by Latours’ thoughts on hybrid actors, this paper explores the relationship between humans and arms during the escape across the Baltic Sea in 1943–45. It is shown that although they were seldom fired, the physical presence of these arms directly affected human action, perception and identities, and that it did so in different ways during different phases of the crossing.