Page 254 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage
P. 254
© MMARP. A completed diving operations record from the Montenegrin Maritime Archaeology Research Project (MMARP), documenting the dives and tasks that took place on MR 01 site on 28 August 2010, in Maljevik Bay, Montenegro.
relationships should then be the norm. However, in exploratory archaeology and research projects that are funded independently, there can be great advantages in including interested avocationals.
Avocationals usually do not work in the field of archaeology, but choose to explore or to participate in archaeological work in their free time. In fact, avocationals often are the first to identify sites and report them. They may explore areas where archaeologists who are professionally employed will not have looked. If this leads to further assessment and research, it is often a matter of courtesy to include the interested discoverer in the project. Avocationals are also available to participate in other ways. This can be very fortunate, as in archaeological projects one needs many skills besides strict scientific expertise and a variety of skills and qualifications are available in the non-professional community.
Sometimes avocationals have the same diving qualifications as the archaeologists. It is then relatively straight-forward to develop a consistent
safety policy, along the lines described above, that
will cover the whole operation. It is a bit more complicated if the qualifications vary and are different
for the volunteers and those who are employed professionally, especially where legal requirements
differ for diving at work and recreational diving. Under some codes of practice (see applicable legislation, above) it is then still possible to integrate
the team. As always, specific tasks, such as wielding 253
10
Safety