Page 24 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

© National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. ARQUA. Phoenician shipwreck Mazarrón II near Cartagena, Spain. In the waters of the Mediterra- nean off Spain the timbers of
two 7th century BC Phoenician shipwrecks were discovered
in the Bay of Mazarrón near Cartagena.They are providing important information about how the Phoenicians constructed their ships.The remains of the Mazarrón I wreck are presented at the ARQUA museum in Cartagena, whereas the Mazarrón II is preserved in situ.
These ships are the key to Phoenician colonizing, explaining the way the Phoenicians travelled the Mediterranean. But they
also reveal that the Phoenicians used mortise-and-tenon joints, giving their boats more strength than earlier boats, which were made of planks sewn together. The research team discovered a wooden anchor that had been filled with lead, apparently a novel invention of the Phoenicians. Researchers also found intact Phoenician knots, amphoras the crew used to store trade goods, and mills they used to grind wheat.The hulls of the boats were lined with brush, the Phoenician version of bubble wrap, to keep their cargo of lead ingots from shifting and damaging the hulls.
what would be the most desirable and strategic approach: to research a particular site now or to preserve it for future research and scrutiny. The future holds unimaginable advances in technology, which may lead to far more innovative methods of trace analysis that could profitably be used in archaeology. Even more importantly, research questions develop step-by-step, building on prior knowledge and understanding. In order to address research questions that will arise in the future as a result of this creative scientific process, it is essential that at least a selection of sites remains untouched and researchable. As they are the only repository of primary archaeological information in context, research planning calls for very deliberate and well-considered choices in view of limited heritage resources. Ideally, a selection of each and every conceivable type of archaeological deposit should remain available for future study. These considerations need to be given serious attention for the realistic deployment of research capacity and for the most favourable allotment of research funds. Since, in addition, countless opportunities arise for archaeological field research in the context of planning, development and urbanization, under cir- cumstances where excavation is the best option, it has become the norm to try and keep whatever archaeological evidence can be kept for future scrutiny and enjoyment, rather than to exploit and disturb it as soon as occasion arises. These reasons have led to a wide acceptance of the cautionary approach that first considers in situ preservation, in preference to the recovery of artefacts and in preference to partial or complete excavation of the site.
Authenticity and context
The consideration given to preservation in situ by the Convention and its ANNEX is based on the importance of the interplay between the site, its story and its context. Authenticity and context are therefore the principal arguments that heritage is best preserved in situ. For research and understanding, it goes without saying that context and surroundings provide important clues and indispensable information. Authenticity and context are paramount, both to heritage experience and heritage research.
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General Principles