The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

The Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Before and After the 2001 UNESCO Convention

Edited by Roberta Garabello and Tullio Scovazzi

Books

Available
Publication year: 2003


Series:	Publications on Ocean Development, 41
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 41 12203 2
ISBN-10:	90 41 12203 6

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	320 pp.

List price:	€ 129.00 / US$ 181.00

Table of contents

Foreword, Abbreviations, Part I The Regime of Underwater Cultural Heritage Before the 2001 UNESCO Convention, 1. A Contradictory and Counterproductive Regime, Tullio Scovazzi, 2. The Application of 'Salvage Law and Other Rules of Admira1ty' to the Underwater Cultural Heritage: Some Relevant Cases, Tullio Scovazzi, Part II The 2001 UNESCO Convention, 3. Negotiating the Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Myths and Reality, Ariel W. Gonzalez, 4. The Negotiating History of the Provisions of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, Roberta Garabe//o, 5. The Crucial Compromise on Salvage Law and the Law of Finds, Guido Carducci, Documents, Bibliography.

About the author(s)

Tullio Scovazzi is Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Roberta Garabello is Research Assistant in International Law at the same Faculty.
They both participated in the negotiations for the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, as legal experts of the Italian delegation.

The 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage represents a major step forward in the field of international law. New archaeological rules as well as a comprehensive co-operation system among the States concerned are set up by the new Convention. Despite the negative attitude assumed by few States at the moment of voting for the text of the Convention, this new international instrument is welcome by the great majority of States.

This volume focuses on the main aspects of the Convention. It is divided in two parts, to describe the situation before and after the adoption (and the forthcoming into force) of the Convention. In the first part the contradictions resulting from the regime established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are analysed together with the undesirable results of the application of the rules of admiralty (law of salvage and law of finds) to the underwater cultural heritage. In the second part the negotiation process is described, both in its general aspects (the myths surrounding the draft) and in its specific results (the drafting of each single provision).

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