Page 126 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

 © Archivo del Centre d’Arqueologia Subaquàtica de Catalunya. Excavation of the Greek archaic vessel (end of the 6th century BC) of Cala Sant Vicenç, Pollença,Isla de Mallorca, Spain.
Excavation must be embedded
in a wider context of research questions with which the team
is fully familiar.While carefully documenting and combining evidence as recognised, excavation also destroys the coherence and context of a site that existed in the first place. Although excavation can make the heritage more accessible, it also compromises to a greater or lesser extent the site’s authenticity, the quality that is most respected in experiencing and enjoying a place, in identifying with it, or in terms of commemoration. An ill- considered excavation can neither be undone nor can its results
be amended once the original evidence is destroyed.
Rule 1 indicates that in situ preservation shall be considered as the first option and that
in authorising any activity, this possibility should be considered first as well. But ‘first option’ is not the same as ‘only option’, or ‘preferred option’. Partial or total excavation may be necessary under certain circumstances and preferable for a number
of reasons.The arguments for excavation should be convincing and will mostly include a combination of reasons. In exceptional cases a contribution to knowledge can be enough.
How can it best be enjoyed? Which techniques can or should be employed in this specific case? Can this site provide the answers we seek? Has an assessment been made of all other similar sites? Is it justifiable to partially or wholly sacrifice the site for answering the research question?
The research questions will determine how much of a site needs to be disturbed and the type of excava- tion techniques that will be employed. Investigation of a 19th century ship’s galleys may for instance only require that the area around the galley needs to be disturbed, although at the cost of the general integ- rity of the site. A general principle is that site distur- bance should be kept to the minimum required to answer the identified research questions. This allows the value of a site to be retained for future research or for exhibition for tourism purposes.
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Objective, methodology and techniques