Chosen Action 3

Organising research projects, organising projects to raise public awareness, and teaching and disseminating knowledge

Description of the activity: The whole project is a research project. The project can be divided in three different research themes or projects. The projects are: the monitoring project, the visualising project and the safeguarding project. The monitoring project will be a pilot research project at three different shipwreck sites and it will produce systematic and standardised environmental information concerning the preservation of shipwreck sites. The visualising project shall test methods for the documentation of shipwreck sites. The safeguarding project will test and develop new ways to manage, conserve, and safeguard underwater cultural heritage. The results will be used to raise public awareness and to teach and disseminate information.

The results of the project will be used

• to produce a general book of the project and its results (for schools / the general public)
• by each of the participating co-organisers to publish both individual and common papers in suitable national nautical archaeological media
• to encourage the national media to participate in raising the public awareness of the aims and objectives of the project
• to make an Internet site with links to the sites of the project organisers
• to display the aims and objectives of the project at suitable exhibitions, festivals, conferences, and seminars
• to produce a series of posters

Objectives: The monitoring project aims at collecting information and producing systematic and standardised environmental information to be used in scientific analyses. The visualising project aims at collecting material to be used to visualise the shipwreck sites for professionals as well as for the general public. The safeguarding project aims at producing written management plans and guidelines to preserve underwater cultural heritage in situ and in other ways. The aim is to have scientific material to help us raise public awareness and to teach and disseminate information. The project aims at encouraging the general public to recognise the value of nautical archaeology and at providing authorities with the reassurance that investing public money in nautical archaeology is better understood.

The target group: Europeans interested in taking care of their historical and archaeological heritage. The authorities responsible for the underwater cultural heritage, all the participants of the project, cultural operators, media and the general public.

An indicative timetable: Throughout the project (1 July 2001 - 30 June 2004). The aim is to continue the monitoring theme even when the Culture 2000 programme ends. It is clear that in order to have more detailed information, the monitoring theme needs a longer period of time.

• The Internet site with its links will be opened in July 2001
• The posters will be available from January 2002
• Media coverage will be encouraged from May 2002
• Academic discussion will take place throughout the project
• Academic papers will be written from October 2003
• The publication for the general public will come out in June 2004

The expected results: We aim to have scientific information that can be used to safeguard, conserve, and manage underwater cultural heritage. We will publish one general publication, one scientific publication, and several scientific articles. There will be written management plans for all the three shipwreck sites of the project and guidelines to preserve underwater cultural heritage in situ and in other ways. Europeans will have better knowledge on what is happening to our cultural heritage beneath our waters.