Page 40 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

 © Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands /RWS/ Periplus. Multibeam sonar image of wreck-site BZN 8. Detailed survey showed the site to contain a wreck sunk
in the second half of the 17th century. Important finds at this site include a church bell cast by Hemony and a rich assemblage of navigational instruments. The methods and techniques for scientific studies must be as non- destructive as possible. Surveys with non-destructive techniques can address large areas.With multibeam sonars a more detailed and scale-corrected image can be obtained. It can also be used to monitor gradual change through repeated survey of the same area, as happened
in this instance.The site was provisionally protected after its significance had been established. It has been monitored ever since. On-going erosion may be a reason to decide for intrusive excavation after all.
Protective measures and measures facilitating access will by their nature tend to remain as limited as pos- sible. Different technical alternatives may exist. In de- ciding between them, relative pricing will be a factor, as well as the expected durability.
With regard to activities that are motivated by research, Rule 3 calls for a clear focus on the research objectives, in function of research priorities. Some research questions can be answered by limited interventions, while others cannot be isolated without compromising the whole site. This calls for careful consideration of the following questions:
How does the proposed research fit, not just in the management of the site in question, but in a wider context of research and heritage management? Is this the right site for these objectives? Or, can equally valuable scientific information better be gathered elsewhere; perhaps on a site with little potential significance other than for and through research, or little potential for long-term preservation? This issue is taken up again in Chapter III, where the assessment of significance is discussed.
On the basis of the site’s characteristics and con- ditions, it needs to be determined which research questions need addressing first and which research questions are proportionate to their impact, given the present knowledge of the site. A cautious step- by-step approach and phased decision-making may be the best way to avoid disproportional impact. Due to the constraints of proportionality of impact, archaeological research is continually caught between sampling strategies and total excavation. In order for science to progress, a combination of both strategies is needed. Sampling and excavation are complementary. One is not necessarily less radical than the other. Sampling the construction of a ship’s hull for example, is extremely radical. It is perhaps more radical than a total excavation in which a hull is left intact, because that is deemed more ‘consistent with protection’. Such sampling is not necessarily less proportionate or responsible, however, as it also yields other information. In order to facilitate decisions on what is urgent, responsible and proportionate, it is
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General Principles