Page 292 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

documentation, but actually to document every day as if there were no other day.
The mass of collected paper, drawings, photographs, objects and digital data is a resource that enables the reinterpretation of original findings. It also provides, however, the raw material for further research. It informs museum displays and teaching collections and it gives the general public access to the evidence. Project archives are the basis for creating understanding.
The significance of archaeological archives is growing as their value is more widely recognized. At a time when many reports of archaeological projects appear as what is sometimes called ‘grey literature’, such reports are only barely available in the public domain. This is a problem, making reports available on the internet that may be solved by. It also means that the project archives have become an even more vital source of information. There is an increase in requests for consultation of archives, and it is important for archaeological archives to be accessible and comprehensible to all interested parties, archaeologists and others alike.
The archives should reflect every aspect of an archaeological project. They should contain the preliminary documentation, documentation on the aims and methods, collected information, objects and samples, results of analysis, research, interpretation and publication. As such, the archives must be as complete as possible, including all relevant documents, meeting reports, records, data and objects. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that archival collection must be subject to selection procedures. These are determined by the overall research aims of the project and by the requirements of the receiving repository. Selection should follow accepted practice, and aim at preserving a complete and comprehensible record of the project.
It is good practice to prepare and deposit archives efficiently, with the aim of quickly making them available to the widest possible audience. This should not cause a problem when transfer to the repository
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Curation of project archives