Page 22 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

© Fotodocumentation of the Croatian Conservation Institute. Trapezoid protective cage at Rab Rt Sorinj, Cape north of Rab Island, Croatia.
Consideration for the protection of underwater cultural heritage in Croatia began in the 1960s when it became evident that underwater archaeological sites were very much threatened by pillage and devastation, and that it was necessary that legislation be adopted to protect them. Underwater archaeology in Croatia has yielded a great number of results that pertain to the exploration and protection of underwater archaeological sites.To date over 400 sites
have been registered from all historical periods. About 80
sites can be visited, some with expert guidance. Particular attention has been dedicated
to the preservation of the most threatened sites, protected in
situ. Some hundred underwater archaeological sites have been registered in the Croatian Registry of Cultural Objects, affording them special legal protection and care. 8 sites are protected by steel cages, which allow visitors to see them, but prevent disturbance.
Authorization of activities
The second part of Rule 1 states that “activities directed at underwater cultural heritage shall be authorized...” and stresses two major points. In the first place, it implies that any authorizing entity should consider the first option as pointedly as any operator. Above all, however, it stresses that any prospective activity should be authorized by the
competent authority that exists on the basis of Article 22 of the Convention. This clear reference places any activities directed at submerged archaeological sites within the public domain. Decisions over activities directed at heritage belong to the public domain, as heritage has a unique value for humanity. Competent authorities are entrusted with checking and weighing the considerations involved. Their involvement ensures that any activity is only undertaken for the purpose of making a significant contribution to protection, knowledge or enhancement of underwater cultural heritage, and they impose pertinent quality standards on the envisaged work. The role of the competent authority gains even more importance when the proposed activity involves excavation.
Purpose of activities
Many sites are yet or have long remained unknown because of the simple fact that until discovery they are covered by soil, by water or by both. Evidently it is only through archaeological investigation and research that such newly discovered heritage can be appreciated and investigated. Archaeology has developed through trial and error just like other fields of scientific research. The last part of Rule 1 claims that activities “may be authorized for the purpose of making a significant contribution to protection or knowledge or enhancement of underwater cultural heritage.” Today’s crucial understanding that excavation should not be undertaken unless for good reason, was not yet manifest when archaeology first developed one or two centuries ago.
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General Principles