SANTO DOMINGO.- Thousands of artifacts from colonial era shipwrecks now lying on the ocean floor have been stolen from the Dominican coasts for the lack investments to recover them, said a marine archaeologist yesterday.

Pedro Borrel said the country’s submerged cultural patrimony is being sacked and thousands of pieces have been taken from ships which have sank in Dominican territorial waters.

The Archaeology advisor to the Cultural Patrimony Office said the underwater patrimony is being lost “from being stolen” while the country loses an opportunity for not contracting companies specialized in recovering the historically important pieces. “I feel that this subaqueous patrimony is being lost, it’s being diluted, they are stealing it.”

Borrel, speaking in the seminar “Convention on the Protection of the Subaqueous Cultural Patrimony” held in the Museum of Modern Art, said he can cite 20 sackings of ships whose pieces were removed to later sell and were even offered on the Web.

Lack of resources

The expert said the Subaqueous Patrimony Office lacks the resources to conduct an effective program with specialized agencies and noted several cases where services by international universities were contracted but abandoned for lack of funds.