1 / 2023 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 7
due to fluctuations in the sea level as well as land uplift and subsidence , and are not that far from the coast . It also covers shipwrecks from the Middle Ages to the last two world wars which must be suitably protected and not be plundered .
A further question is how to deal with this “ Exclusive Economic Zone ” ( EEZ ) beyond the territorial sea . How can cultural assets be protected when building offshore wind farms , or from looting of the excavations ? How can underwater archae ological research be supported , also in cooperation with neighbouring states ? And how can it be linked to marine science research ? How can the rules be better applied , such as the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage of 2001 , which Germany has still not rati fied ? This is the field that we wanted to draw attention to with our proposals . the event of natural disasters , terrorist attacks or war ? Parzinger : The legal aspects are complicated : International law in peace time and in the event of war , European law and the legal situation in Germany . In the discussion paper the writer we engaged for this purpose , Kerstin von der Decken , tries to describe the gaps in the regulations and make suggestions on how to harmonise the legal differences and make improvements . In doing so she clearly illustrates that Germany needs to take action itself , mainly to bring the competences of the federal and state governments more in line with one another .
What other issues are you concerned about ? Parzinger : Climate change also poses a significant threat to archaeological heri tage . In this respect I can refer to my experi ence of the permafrost zone in Siberia , where water deposits in Iron Age burial mounds have preserved deceased persons with all of their organic bur ial items in an ice lens for two and a half thousand years , like a snapshot of the past . Global warming threatens to cause the loss of unique cultural assets not only in this area . Another topic we would like to address is illegal excavations . This is not only a problem in the Middle East or in South America , but is also a very serious threat to our cultural heritage here in Germany . Just think about the Nebra sky disc , one of the most important archaeological finds of recent decades : It comes from a looted excavation in Saxony-Anhalt .
■ THE INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED BY ADELHEID MÜLLER-LISSNER
Another field that you highlighted in a recently published discussion paper is the legal basis of emergency protection for cultural assets . What still needs working on in terms of precautionary measures in
Working group “ Archaeological Cultural Heritage ” Discussion paper “ Legal Basis ” ( German only ) Discussion paper “ Organisational Requirements ” ( German only )
NEW CLASS I MEMBERS – MATHEMATICS , NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
In February the newly elected Class I members of 2019 , 2020 , 2021 and 2022 – Mathematics , Natural Sciences and Engineering – received their certificates . In the image : Leopoldina President Gerald Haug ML ( centre front ) and the new Members – front row ( from the left ): Nicola A . Spaldin ML , Muriel Médard ML , Ulrike von Luxburg ML , Sir Richard Catlow ML , Barbara Wohlmuth ML , Gisela Lanza ML , Ben Feringa ML . In the back row ( from the left ): Thomas Stocker ML , Peter Bühlmann ML , Martin Grosjean ML , Jürgen Janek ML , Donna G . Blackmond ML , Adrian Constantin ML , Michael Kaschke ML .
Image : Markus Scholz | Leopoldina