Page 206 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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 © INAH / SAS. Underwater archaeologist collects a Mayan skull from cenote Calaveras.The cenote 15 m deep and contains more than 120 Mayan skulls. Divers visiting a site should
leave no trace of their presence, neither in the short- nor long-term. Similarly nothing should be broken, returned or recovered, neither voluntarily nor involuntarily. Human remains should be handled with respect and should not be disturbed unnecessarily.
Certain forms of behaviour such as scraping the bottom with
a control valve or monitoring instrument, giving blows with swim fins, bumping or colliding with obstacles etc. are not admissible.Trampling should be avoided, particularly in areas with coral, grasses and algae. Stones must not be turned over. Finally, the divers, including scientist- divers, must collect all waste they come across while diving.
Other than human interventions such as treasure hunting,
sports diving, fishing, dredging, infrastructural or development works, pollution, ship movements, archaeology, oil drilling and pipeline-laying underwater archaeological heritage is also exposed to physical-mechanical, biological and chemical threats. The site management plan needs to account of these threats and provide measures to protect the site against interference.
and as a consequence, interference is prevented. That is to say, unconscious and unintentional interference will be avoided, whereas intentional interference is of course another matter. Public information also creates consciousness about the site and the valuable work, and people can become involved in keeping a protective watch. Consequently, the on site presence of unidentified individuals in the absence of the project-team will attract suspicion from official radar posts, patrol vessels, local fishermen, and professional or recreational seafarers, who will be proud to defend their heritage. All these stakeholders should be en- couraged to act as allies in protection, and to report if anything suspicious or out of the ordinary occurs, just like they would in the event of an accident or a fire. Nevertheless, it may be necessary to keep watch and ensure that the interruptions of onsite presence for night rest and rest days are as short as possible. Holidays can mean a rest day for a team, but will generally also release many others from their duties, creating extra time and opportunity for intentional or partially intentional mischief.
Informing the public
The public should be informed about an inves- tigation. This should not be postponed until results
have become clear. Public information needs to be addressed from the very beginning and during every activity, pointing to the (potential) significance of the
site, the character of the work to be carried out, the vulnerability of the remains, and the whereabouts
of recovered artefacts. This is a matter of the public having the right to know and of justifying the effort and funding invested in an activity. After all, it is vital for protecting the site and the activities. Public support
and consideration can for instance ensure that speed
of navigation is reduced in the area or that pillaging
is prevented. In total contrast, silence results in indifference. Moreover, silence about activities invites suspicion, especially when artefacts are recovered.
The lack of publicly accessible information, as well
as missing contact with local sailors, politicians and authorities, consequently alienates these stakeholder groups from archaeology, as does the exclusion
of local divers from participation and the lack of technical publications. Unless archaeologists invest 205
Conservation and site management