Page 80 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

III. Preliminary work
 © F.Tauber / IOW. Composite sonar image of the seabed in Wismar Bay, Germany.
Detailed sonar recording of large stretches in a prelimary survey can not only reveal individual sites, but can reveal patterns
that indicate the presence of eroding Prehistoric landscapes
at the bottom surface. Here, a composite sonar image of the sea-bottom in the Wismar bay in the Baltic shows the presence of trees and their roots, the remains of a forest that drowned 6,000 years ago.
In dealing with any underwater site, it is important not to take any rash action or draw blunt conclusions.
This is true for any previously unknown archaeological site, whether or not it is under water. It is important to stand back, reflect and systematically verify which action ’directed’ at this particular site would be the most appropriate and realistic, and would be most beneficial for the site’s protection, and its role as memory of humankind. The Rules therefore require a project design for any activity as well as a phase of preliminary work to inform
this design. Rule 10 touches on this issue, which is then dealt with more explicitly in Rule 14 and Rule 15.
A site should be evaluated for what it is (Rule 14) and then compared to what is already known from history, archaeology, geology and environmental sciences through background studies (Rule 15).
Whereas Rule 14 concentrates on the preliminary work that relates to field evaluation, Rule 15 con- centrates on the background studies known as ‘desk- based assessment’. Both are intricately related. The background studies feed into the evaluation of sig- nificance and scientific potential. The evaluation of the site per se should be completed by placing its characteristics and promises in the context of what is already known and whatever gaps are perceived in the knowledge that results from previous studies. The two processes should each follow their own logic and then be integrated in the conclusion of the preliminary work. This can result in a text that is similar to the synopsis on the back cover of a book, combining characteristics, promises, uncertain rela- tions, issues that might go wrong and unsolved questions.
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Preliminary work