Page 92 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

link of a ship wreck deposit to the region where it is situated may be of a fortuitous nature. The ship may have aimed to link two or more completely different regions, whose historical and archaeological context is equally important for a well-considered evaluation of the site.
The extent of background studies
Field evaluation and desk-based assessment are complementary. Nevertheless, depending on the con- text, there might be a need to put more emphasis on one or the other.
In a project addressing a particular site, the eva- luation of field data is often the first step. If the observations onsite do not warrant the formulation of an extensive project, no such project should be approved or committed to, whether there are extensive background studies or not.
Under other circumstances, desk-based assessment may be the first step. This is especially true for inventory projects or for impact assessment for projects that will ‘incidentally affect underwater cultural heritage’. According to Article 5 of the Convention, States Parties commit themselves to “use the best practicable means ... to prevent or mitigate any adverse effects that might arise from activities ... incidentally affecting underwater cultural heritage”. It is an obligation that reflects standing practice in many parts of the world and which is also included in other international legal instruments, such as the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage of 1992, or the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context of 1991.
In developing a Project Design for an activity directed at a specific underwater cultural heritage site, the preliminary observations that were made on-site, and that are the subject of Rule 14, are important. The extent to which they can be integrated with the different kinds of background studies depends on the nature and detail of those observations. If they indicate that a site is extended, eroding and unstable
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• Evaluation of field data is the first step in the planning of an excavation.
• Desk-based assessment is the way to start inventory and impact assessment.
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Preliminary work