1. Aim of this Guide

The aim of this guide is to address specific issues in the preservation and dissemination of survey data generated as part of marine archaeology projects and to provide guidance on the planning and creation of a digital archive. While reference is made throughout to international approaches and standards it should be acknowledged that this guide pays particular attention to approaches, standards, examples, and organisations from the UK.

The recovery of spectacular finds (e.g. Mary Rose, Wasa) in the 1960s and 1970s led to significant development in underwater excavation and conservation methods. Subsequently through the 1990s and up to the present day, the preservation of archaeological sites in situ has assumed increasing importance, and it is this approach that is embodied in UNESCO’s 2001 Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, aimed at providing accessible underwater archives, managed as well as possible. Hence, non-intrusive site survey methods now form an essential part of an underwater archaeologist’s toolbox with advances in multi-beam echosounder technology, photogrammetry, and 3D data acquisition providing many new opportunities for imaging sites and providing digital access.

Marine survey data collected from the techniques discussed in this guide form part of a long workflow, producing an extensive range of digital products, some of which fall outside the scope of this guide but should, nonetheless, be considered part of the complete digital archive. The total archive of site investigations may include - but is not limited to - 3D models, GIS mapping, imagery, video, geotechnical analysis, scientific dating analysis, the logs of marine instruments recording oceanographic data, ecological surveys, archaeological reports, press releases, and formal publications. Specific challenges arising from marine data come from the potentially large size of data sets coupled with the often complex transformations that are made from acquisition through interpretation to final products (Plets R., Dix J. 2013). The Towards a National Collection Data Matters report (Hawkins & Sichani 2024) discusses more generally the challenges of managing, documenting, and reusing heritage data sets but the recommendations, specifically those advocating robust data management and comprehensive data documentation, are particularly relevant to the complex data flows used in generating marine survey data.

This guide covers only marine survey techniques that generate digital data directly and, with case studies, aims to show where an awareness of the need for archiving and creating metadata maintained throughout the workflow can ease and speed up the preservation process.