Page 294 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Project archives are composed of the following three categories:
The documentation archive (hard copy / digital), which will contain
- context information and location map,
- site plans showing archaeological, topographic and
environmental features, sections and profiles,
- the project design,
- details on methods and selection strategies,
- records of activities, progress reports, management
reports,
- records of site and features,
- field-notes, sketches, plans and sections,
stratigraphic drawings, structural plans, drawings
and photographs,
- object drawings and photographs,
- find lists, sample lists, drawing lists and photographic
catalogue,
- environmental records and reports,
- records of preliminary results and evaluation,
- preliminary reports, specialized reports and final
reports,
- publications, catalogues and all other records.
The material archive, including
- objects, finds and samples,
- conservation records,
- object drawings, photographs, x-rays, etc.
Inventories and correlation lists, including
- a master inventory of the archive, listing all elements
of documentation and reporting produced during
and after research,
- a description of the method of archiving and
inventory,
- an index, referring to the location where elements
and copies of the archive are stored.
The composition of project archives that derive from activities directed at underwater cultural heritage is normally so varied as to require varied conditions for storage. This may lead to practical solutions in which different categories are kept in different spaces. That, however, does not change the principles. Nor should this prevent the management of the collection to be in the same hands or organization.
Along with the removed artefacts, all elements of documentation created in the course of an ar- chaeological project are irreplaceable. As are
the documents related to its preparation, such 293
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Curation of project archives