[MassHistPres] Areas of Water on the NR

[Sam Bird]

Mr. Tucker's question, with tongue buried deep in his cheek, no  
doubt, is a valid one. There are really two considerations here,  
perhaps sequential.  The first is whether or not there is any real  
historical significance to the site in question. In fact, it could be  
argued that the entire planet has historical significance to one  
degree or another. So the determination of significance is a question  
of degree. Currently, there appears at most to be only "potential"  
significance (by which I mean physical manifestations, not cultural  
spectres).

IF it is determined there are indeed physical attributes present then  
the societal rational for preservation should be, as it always is,  
what public good is served by preservation. If literally every inch  
of the planet has some cultural/historical significance it has to be  
acknowledged that we cannot drop the entire planet into a jar of  
formaldehyde to preserve it. A balance must be struck between  
providing for the here, now and future and the preservation of the  
past. This is a question society as a whole must measure and weigh,  
but we have to acknowledge that only a small fraction of the cultural  
record can be, and I would argue should be, preserved.

Personally I don't believe 560 square miles of Nantucket Sounds  
"makes the cut" for preservation. Perhaps specific sites, if they are  
ever found, will warrant protection - but 560 SM based on legend and  
probability - I don't think so.

By the way, the place about where in 1775, my fifth-great-grandfather  
(then age 80), shot three British Regulars in Arlington is now a  
Chinese Restaurant, I believe - so be it - you can't save it all, if  
we tried the entire world would look like Grandma's attic....

Sam Bird AIA
Concord
(Member, Concord HDC)


On Nov 18, 2009, at 2:21 PM, Bjdurk at aol.com wrote:

> Your intriguing question, Mr Tucker, should be posed at the  
> presentation by Archeologist & Author, Dr. Thomas F. King.  I hope  
> that you and others will be able to attend.
>
> "King, who has worked in various agencies of the U.S. government  
> and is co-author of the National Park Service’s “Guidelines for  
> Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties,” will  
> address the subject “Is Nantucket Sound a ‘Traditional Cultural  
> Property’?” Monday, November 23, at 7:00 PM at the Tilden Arts  
> Center of Cape Cod Community College."
>
> In the context of past archeological survey conducted in Nantucket  
> Sound:
>
> Victor Mastone, director and chief archaeologist of the  
> Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources:   
> Regarding the Nantucket Sound find that has scientists abuzz with  
> the discovery of a  preserved forest that rests below the sea,  
> maybe artifacts from ancient cultures do, too -- items that could  
> help answer some of the most vexing questions about early people in  
> North America. As more energy projects are proposed off New  
> England, archaeologists say, there will be more opportunity for  
> even bigger finds. ''We've been arguing for years whether there are  
> remnant prehistoric landscapes out there and now we know they can  
> exist," said Victor Mastone.  ''This means there is the potential  
> to go after the big theory of how did people get here and how they  
> lived."
>
> David Robinson, senior underwater archaeologist for The Public  
> Archaeology Laboratory Inc. in Pawtucket, R.I.: ''That's why the  
> Nantucket Sound site is important," said David Robinson who  
> discovered the Nantucket Sound site two years ago.  ''It provides  
> evidence to say these land forms can survive," he said.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Barbara Durkin
>
>
>

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