Page 174 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

The nature of underwater cultural heritage is such that any single intervention will require a wide range of expertise and specialization. This is usually a mixed bag of interdisciplinary specialized skills – ranging from archaeology to artefact conservation, nautical history and ship construction to marine biology to oceanography – and requiring a multifaceted team of people to accomplish. The project director must give careful thought to the team requirements and must ensure that the skills and expertise needed to successfully carry out the project are available within or to the project team.
Any project team must therefore be appropriately sized, qualified and competent for the particular project being undertaken. Individual members’ expertise, knowledge and experience will be com- plementary and as the team works together this should add up to more than the sum of its parts. No team will, however, have all the answers. In addition to their individual and collective experience and knowledge, it is just as important for the project director and team members to know when and where to go for additional advice, information and guidance.
All team members should
• be members of appropriate professional bodies
and subscribe to professional standards and
codes of conduct;
• from the beginning, and throughout the project,
be fully briefed on project goals, research agendas, field methodologies, diving and other operational issues, health and safety arrangements, and in- dividual and team responsibilities. The project director must ensure that each and every team member understands what is required, and how his/her specific expertise or role fits into the work programme and project goals.
The participation of non-
archaeologists in projects
As the requirement for professional direction and control of underwater heritage projects becomes increasingly understood, accepted and possible to 173
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Competence and qualifications