The aim of the conference was to discuss the contribution of physics and other sciences in archaeological research and in the preservation of cultural heritage. Considering that the mission of ECSAC is to promote the interaction among the diverse cultures of the peoples from the lands on the Adriatic and Ionian seas, it is apt that the major themes were related to the rich history and pre-history of this region — from Greek-Roman archaeology on the eastern Adriatic coasts to the palaeoanthropology of the Neanderthals of the Vindija caves in Croatia, from the Roman city of Aquileia to the pleistocenic cave of Homo heidelbergensis in the Karst of Visogliano (Trieste), from the Roman ship Julia Felix of the Grado lagoon to the ancient bronze Apoxyomenos of the Veli Lošinj waters.A variety of scientific disciplines provide tools and methods that are crucial in reconstructing humanity's past and in preserving material remains that witness the evolution of human culture. Geology reconstructs the history of terrestrial environments, critical for the evolution and dispersal of humans. Chemistry explains reactions that modify materials left by human activities, including the destructive effects of pollution. Biology has a critical role in archaeology, particularly with the recent advance in analysis of DNA in ancient organic materials.

One can argue that academia has always existed in an information age; however, as the general public gains access to ever more advanced systems, it can be claimed that areas of academia require updating to maintain vitality in today’s world. When nautical archaeology produces inspiring reports, they are often at the hand of large budgets, rather than general day-to-day dissemination. This book proposes using state-of-the-art, low-budget digital technology from the outset of surveys, so that data may be recorded, analysed and disseminated, with seamless efficiency and great flair, while employing progressively less decontextualized means. Further, it conveys a simple methodology that allows for data collection by teams of volunteer divers. Big data, rapid analysis, and cross reference requirements have created a shift towards the need for advanced digital means, particularly relating to underwater archaeology, where survey time is limited. This book logs several years of studies, which respect in situ preservation, where the limits of technology were stretched to the cutting edge, using novel collection methods to populate custom-built numerical and visual databases, generating 2D and 3D digital models, and further creating a Virtual Reality “museum”. These advances not only propel the function of academia, but also promote the image of archaeology in an age where visualisation matters.

Examples and strategies for partnering with volunteers in maritime heritage research This volume is the first to address the ways maritime archaeologists have engaged citizen scientists, presenting examples of projects and organizations that have involved volunteers in the important work of gathering and processing data. With a special focus on program development and sustainability, these practical case studies provide reference points for archaeologists looking to design their own citizen science projects. In these essays, contributors describe initiatives such as the Diver-Archaeological Reconnaissance Cooperative (DivARC), which involves combat veterans in meaningful research missions; Diving With a Purpose, which trains adults and youth in documenting and preserving African slave trade shipwrecks; and classroom education that encourages high school students to develop an interest in the field. As volunteers learn the scope, goals, and outcomes of their research, these studies show, they are empowered to become active participants—and true partners—in scientific inquiry. Throughout the wide range of experiences represented here, the chapter authors discuss challenges they encountered as well as ideas for optimizing future projects and strategies for welcoming diverse communities to this work. Arguing that these initiatives will create space for public engagement in heritage research, management, and preservation, Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology serves as a foundation for discussion of this goal. Contributors: Della A. Scott-Ireton | Jennifer E. Jones | Jason T. Raupp | Elizabeth A. Moore | John D. Broadwater | Daniel J. Houlihan | Calvin H. Mires | Stephen D. Nagiewicz | Peter F. Straub | Shannon M. Chiarel | Steve Evert | Jaymes Swain | Ryan J. Bradley | Erik C. Denson | Ayana Omilade Flewellen | Earnest Franklin | Kamau Sadiki | Jay V. Haigler | Laurel Seaborn | Charles E. Wainwright | Victor T. Mastone | Gustav Milne | Danielle Newman | Oliver Hutchinson | Lawrence M. Northall | Andy Viduka | Austin L. Burkhard | Nicole R. Grinnan | Peta Knott | Mark Beattie-Edwards | Kimberly J. Wooten

The marine environment is almost ideal for the preservation of artefacts and, until relatively recently, it also provided complete protection from destruction by man. However, the aqualung has made most shallow underwater sites accessible, leading to widespread plundering. Current deep-sea bed technology now threatens deep water sites. There is a need for immediate international action to preserve the man-made environment, alongside the natural one. The enunciation of legal rules to protect the underwater cultural heritage is a complex issue, involving a matrix of interests and laws, both international and national.

Research into the anthropogenic and taphonomic processes that affect the formation of maritime archaeological resources has grown significantly over the last decade in both theory and the analysis of specific sites and associated material culture. The addition of interdisciplinary inquiry, investigative techniques, and analytical modeling, from fields such as engineering, oceanography, and marine biology have increased our ability to trace the unique pathways through which archaeological sites progress from initial deposition to the present, yet can also link individual sites into an integrated socio-environmental maritime landscape. This edited volume presents a global perspective of current research in maritime archaeological landscape formation processes. In addition to “classically” considered submerged material culture and geography, or those that can be accessed by traditional underwater methodology, case studies include less-often considered sites and landscapes. These landscapes, for example, require archaeologists to use geophysical marine survey equipment to characterize extensive areas of the seafloor or go above the surface to access maritime archaeological resources that have received less scholarly attention.

This book explores the origins of two types of ancient ship connected with the protohistoric eastern Adriatic area: the ‘Liburnian’ and the southern Adriatic ‘lemb’. An extensive overview of written, iconographic and archaeological evidence questions the existing scholarly assumption that the liburna and lemb were closely related.

This book brings together perspectives on maritime and underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) in selected countries around the Indian Ocean rim that are linked by the historic and Arabian maritime trade routes. It explores how selected countries have adapted maritime archaeological and UCH management methodologies rooted in western contexts to their own situations. It assesses how new heritage management burdens have been placed on states by outsiders wishing to conserve their own heritage in foreign waters. It investigates what these new pressures are and asks what the future holds for the region. Each chapter outlines the development of MUCH in the author’s home nation, provides an overview of current frameworks and activities, and looks to the future of research and management. The chapters draw conclusions regarding what has driven the process of developing individual approaches and perspectives and what the results have been. They ask if the focus is on management or research, and if the MUCH vision is focused seaward or towards the hinterland. A common thread that binds the chapters is the adaptation of western management and practice structures to contexts where the binaries such as tangible and intangible, natural and cultural, and submerged and terrestrial become blurred. It examines how states have confronted management and research challenges on sites that are validated primarily by European expansion perspectives.

Proceedings of a conference session held at CIfA 2014. The session focused on ways in which it is possible to engage with a wider audience in the course of maritime archaeological work. Papers offer a series of case studies exhibiting best practice with regard to individual maritime projects and examples of outreach to local communities.

The territories of the Adriatic and the Ionian area were separated from each other both from a political and a cultural point of view. Because of this circumstance, they represent a suitable area for the study of commercial and cultural exchange. This meeting of cultures generated mutual influences and cultural osmosis in various ways and at different times, and was linked to different historical and geographical contexts, which nevertheless sometimes generated similar results. Recent archaeological research allows us to assume that sanctuaries and sacred places are suitable contexts in which these phenomena can be analysed, as they were places in which large amounts of people gathered and centres of cultural mediation that were involved in economic and political interests. The contributions collected in this book consider these issues from different points of view and include studies on historiography, material culture and numismatics. The case studies of the northern Adriatic area are located on the western shore, and in particular in the area of the ager Gallicus and of Picenum, with a particular focus on the period that precedes and witnesses the structuring of the Roman domination of this territory (3 rd / 2 nd century BC). The case studies in the southern Adriatic and Ionian area focus on Apulia and the area of Illyria and Epirus between the Archaic era and the beginning of the Roman age (4 th to 1st century BC).