Page 115 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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The working method will have to be:
• Clearly explained. It will need to be understood by the team working under water, often taking turns, which will have to take individual de- cisions.
• Rapid to implement. There is a limit to the time that can be spent under water.
• Straightforward to implement. Working under water is hard enough without the addition of further complications.
A basic rule is that not everything that can be done on land ought to be done on the working platform, and things that can be done on the surface ought not to be done under water. Furthermore, every contingency will need to be exhaustively planned for, so that problems can be resolved under the best possible conditions. If there is anything besides discipline and orderliness that should characterize the operations of an underwater archaeological excavation, it is planning for possible incidents that might affect the safety of individuals and the site itself.
© B.Jeffery.Smoke stack on the Tokai Maru showing where a boat anchor has been dropped onto it, Guam, United States. Underwater archaeological heritage is greatly exposed to physical-mechanical threats such as erosion or deterioration caused by dredging, fishing, anchoring.This deterioration can equally be due to tidal movements or changes in water circulation.
Objective, methodology and techniques