Page 302 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

these issues, it is not possible to establish universal standards. However, general recommendations can be made. Regarding ownership and copyright, pro forma agreements and specific protocols should be subject to legal advice, while taking account of the public function of the collections as their most im- portant characteristic.
Identification
All elements of the archive should be subject to a uniform identification system referring to the site number and numeration of individual artefacts and documents. In this respect, it is important to align the project design with the repository’s organization. Changing the unique numbers on individual items, especially small ones, needs to be avoided by all means. Renumbering will always introduce untraceable mistakes. As archaeological projects produce large amounts of data, which is diverse and structured in a complex way, it is essential to pay great attention to a master inventory of the project archives, listing all elements of documentation and reporting produced during research. It is equally important to implement schemes for cross- referencing the unique identification numbers.
Copies and backups
Nowadays, all project archives contain both digital and paper-based elements. Celluloid negatives and colour slides, which continue to have their own problems in conservation and curation, have been replaced by ready at hand digital photography, with large digital archives as a consequence. Relational databases, digital plans, and raw measuring data are other types of ‘files’ that one can hardly imagine a project to do without. In archiving, these digital data need extra care. The repository should have a maintenance policy for digital data, including regular back-up. As a safety measure, raw data, and digitally produced documentation, can simultaneously be kept in the form of a complete set of printouts on materials resistant to degradation. Conversely, it is also recommended to scan the entire documentation. Such a policy will prevent irreparable loss if either the paper-based or the digital archives are damaged
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Curation of project archives