During 2005 concerns were raised about aspects of conservation work at the Swedish Antarctic Expedition Hut (1901-03) on Snow Hill Island, Antarctica.
The Snow Hill Island hut (64°22'S, 56°59'W) was built in February 1902 by the main party of the Swedish South Polar Expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld. In 1961 it became one of earliest historic sites in Antarctica to be listed for protection under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty. It is now listed as Antarctic Historic Site number 38.
There are a number major problems at the Snow Hill hut site including the subsidence of the mound on which the hut stands and much shoring has been applied to reduce this. Other work has been required to reinforce the structure and conserve objects inside.
In recent years there have been a series of initiatives led by an Argentine group to protect this building and site from various forms of damage by natural causes and while these initiatives have been commendable they were often conducted without the full oversight of the relevant Argentinean authorities. During the summer of 2004/05 a tourist vessel visiting the site reported that several aspects of the activities there were not consistent with those normally accepted standards and the company involved raised a number of concerns with various authorities including the IPHC.
They pointed out that conservation activities in Antarctica are governed not only by ‘normally accepted conservation standards’ but also by the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty System. Article 8 of Annex 5 of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, notes that : “Listed Historic Sites and Monuments shall not be damaged, removed or destroyed”. These also require that work of any kind undertaken on the continent must have the approval of the national authorities involved. Specific permits must be issued and stringent codes of conduct are normally imposed on those undertaking any such work. It is understood that in this case some approvals had been received but the conduct of the party involved may have been in breach of the normal codes of environmental protection.
Most of the work at the sites of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition over the past 20 years has been by Argentine investigators whose work has included collecting, maintenance, partial restoration, archaeological investigation, deploying signs, and other work. Substantial numbers of artefacts from all the sites are exhibited in museums in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. Several Swedish, and a few Norwegian collaborators, have occasionally worked with the Argentinians, especially around the time of the centenary of the expedition.
In recent times there has also been a degree of controversy about some of the work conducted at a related expedition site at Paulet Island where the remains of a stone shelter was fenced off to keep out penguins that might have conflicted with a planned archaeological programme. The fence was later removed.
The work at the site on Snow Hill Island was also of concern because the hut was being used as accommodation for the work party. This introduced many extra risks and in particular that of fire resulting from the use of cooking stoves and smoking. Reports also indicated that standards of the work undertaken were variable and that a number of breaches of environmental standards had occurred.
Other questions were raised about establishing the hut as a museum as, because of the small size of the hut, it is unsuitable for display of objects, photos and texts which take some time to interpret. With tourists clad in bulky polar clothing only a few can be admitted at one time without unavoidably bumping into things (and each other). The vast majority of visitors to the Snow Hill Island hut are tourists and, assuming ice conditions remain cooperative, this will continue to be the case.
The issues related to work at the Snow Hill and Paulet Island sites have now been raised with the relevant Argentinean authorities and we are pleased to report that assurances on improved work practices and controls have been received.
(Nov. 2005)