Page 38 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

© H. E. Edgerton /
MIT Museum. Electrical engineer Martin Klein, Cambridge MA, United States of America.
In the 1960s, building on previous experiments, the electrical engineer Martin Klein invented innovative techniques for survey without impact. He improved signal processing and developed the sonar instrument that is still the workhorse of underwater archaeological surveying. In this picture Martin Klein (in boat) and Willard Litchfield are testing it in the Charles River in Cambridge in the 1970s, loading a Klein side scan sonar towfish fish into the boat, at the MIT Sailing Pavilion.
Limiting impact
Activities directed at underwater cultural heritage fall within the wider context of heritage protection and its management. Within this context, there can be plenty of reasons to undertake, fully endorse and authorize activities. While the ANNEX regulates activities directed at underwater cultural heritage, it is important to stress that there are reasons for not disturbing a heritage site at all, including the principle to not disturb sites for the purpose of retrieving finds and selling them.
Unavoidably, any activities directed at a site have an impact. Rules 3, 4, 5 and 6 specify the general principles in view of qualifying impact and regulating activities accordingly.
No more impact than necessary
Rule 3. Activities directed at underwater cul- tural heritage shall not adversely affect the underwater cultural heritage more than is necessary for the objectives of
the project.
Rule 3 is a specific reiteration of the principle addressed under Rule 1. In situ preservation is the first option. Heritage should not be disturbed in the absence of good reason. In addition, Rule 3 emphasizes the relative impact of activities and specifies that a site should
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General Principles