The Herakles project: Towards a minimum intervention methodology for the of Underwater Cultural Heritage in harbour complex spaces
Dublin Core
Title
The Herakles project: Towards a minimum intervention methodology for the of Underwater Cultural Heritage in harbour complex spaces
Description
In recent years, several researchers are focusing their efforts on the development of documentation methods and
techniques according to the principles of minimal and non-intrusive intervention on underwater cultural heritage
(UCH), as advocated by the UNESCO 2001 Convention. These methods have been used successfully to locate
and document some shipwrecks without excavation. However, few works have succeeded in investigating and
extracting all available information from an underwater archaeological site with the minimum possible
intervention.
Within the framework of the Herakles project, we have developed a working methodology that aims to
apply different non-intrusive techniques for the documentation and research of the UCH. We have developed a
field workflow that has allowed us to document 35 shipwrecks in just one year, identify 151 archaeology sites and
deepen our knowledge of a privileged nautical space such as the Strait of Gibraltar.We have used geophysical
methods with USV survey, magnetometer, sub bottom profiler, photogrammetry either with ROV or scientific
diving, underwater GPS survey and in situ archaeological monitoring and drawing. All data have been processed
in a geographic information system for management and risk analysis of this UCH.
Finally, this work methodology has been useful for generating virtual resources such as 3D models or
3600 videos.
techniques according to the principles of minimal and non-intrusive intervention on underwater cultural heritage
(UCH), as advocated by the UNESCO 2001 Convention. These methods have been used successfully to locate
and document some shipwrecks without excavation. However, few works have succeeded in investigating and
extracting all available information from an underwater archaeological site with the minimum possible
intervention.
Within the framework of the Herakles project, we have developed a working methodology that aims to
apply different non-intrusive techniques for the documentation and research of the UCH. We have developed a
field workflow that has allowed us to document 35 shipwrecks in just one year, identify 151 archaeology sites and
deepen our knowledge of a privileged nautical space such as the Strait of Gibraltar.We have used geophysical
methods with USV survey, magnetometer, sub bottom profiler, photogrammetry either with ROV or scientific
diving, underwater GPS survey and in situ archaeological monitoring and drawing. All data have been processed
in a geographic information system for management and risk analysis of this UCH.
Finally, this work methodology has been useful for generating virtual resources such as 3D models or
3600 videos.
Creator
Felipe Cerezo Andreo
Soledad Solana Rubio
Raúl González Gallero
Alberto Salas Romero
Nicolás C. Ciarlo
Carlota Pérez-Reverte Mañas
José Bettencourt
Elisa Fernández Tudela
Alicia Arévalo González
Source
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Publisher
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Andreo, Felipe Cerezo, Soledad Solana Rubio, Raúl González Gallero, Alberto Salas Romero, Nicolás C. Ciarlo, Carlota Pérez-Reverte Mañas, José Bettencourt, Elisa Fernández Tudela, Alicia Arévalo González. 2023. “The Herakles project: Towards a minimum intervention methodology for the study of Underwater Cultural Heritage in harbour complex spaces.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Carlota Perez-Reverte. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1998
Files
Citation
Felipe Cerezo Andreo
et al., “The Herakles project: Towards a minimum intervention methodology for the of Underwater Cultural Heritage in harbour complex spaces,” APCONF-MUCH Proceedings Recently Added Items, accessed October 24, 2026, https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/items/show/626.