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Underwater archaeologists map and document a site before disturbing it, recording where artifacts lie and how they relate to structures, sediment, and nearby finds. The work can combine planned survey, measured drawings, field notes, photographs, sonar, and photogrammetric 3D models. Recovery is not automatic: under the UNESCO framework, preserving a site in place is the first option, and removal must be justified and planned for conservation.
Why documentation comes before recovery
An artifact’s location and relationships are part of its archaeological evidence. A photograph of an object alone cannot show whether it lay inside a vessel, beneath a structural feature, or among a particular group of finds. Recording that context lets researchers interpret the site and preserve a record even if conditions later change.
UNESCO’s 2001 Convention says preservation in place should be considered first. Its Annex Rule 4 prefers nondestructive techniques and survey methods over recovery. Recovery may be justified to produce significant scientific knowledge or protect heritage, but it should minimize harm and be supported by conservation arrangements. These are principles of the Convention framework; applicable permits and legal requirements depend on the country, waters, and site.
How a project is planned
Before fieldwork, a team defines what it wants to learn and assesses the site’s significance, vulnerability, environment, and condition. The project design sets out the methods, qualified personnel, documentation, conservation, safety and environmental policies, reporting, archive arrangements, and site management. Under the Convention framework, the design is submitted to the competent authority for authorization and peer review.
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This planning stage also determines how the team will document the site and care for any material that might be recovered. It is a preservation measure, not just an administrative step: excavation or removal can alter archaeological relationships, while untreated material can deteriorate after leaving its underwater environment.
How teams locate and survey a site
Survey is the process of locating, mapping, and characterizing a site; it need not disturb the seabed or move artifacts. Teams choose tools according to the site’s scale, depth, visibility, currents, equipment, and research questions. NOAA describes several complementary approaches in its shipwreck exploration overview and underwater vehicles overview.
- Sonar: Side-scan or multibeam sonar can help locate and map features over an area, including where direct visibility is limited.
- Magnetometers: These detect magnetic anomalies that may help identify sites or objects containing magnetic material; an anomaly is a survey clue, not by itself an archaeological identification.
- AUVs: Autonomous underwater vehicles can survey larger areas with sonar and other sensors.
- ROVs and divers: Remotely operated vehicles can reach deep or difficult locations and collect close observations or high-definition imagery. Divers may perform close survey where conditions and safety allow.
- Measured mapping and positioning: Traditional measurements and positioning systems can complement digital survey, tying features to a spatial reference.
The goal is not merely to put a coordinate on each object. A useful site map shows how artifacts, structures, debris, and deposits relate to one another. Geographic location answers where a feature is; archaeological context records its relationship to other finds, layers, and structures.
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What archaeologists record before disturbing anything
UNESCO Annex Rule 27 sets a minimum: a comprehensive site record, provenance for heritage moved or removed during the project, and field notes, plans, drawings, sections, and photographs or other recording media. Depending on the research questions, teams may also record an object’s condition, orientation, position, burial or sediment, neighboring features, and environmental setting.
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These records capture different kinds of information. Notes describe observations and decisions; plans show the site from above; sections document vertical relationships; drawings can clarify form or details; photographs preserve visual evidence. Together they help other researchers understand the site and assess what changed during fieldwork.
Documentation does not mean every artifact must be tagged, lifted, or individually moved. When an object remains in place, its position within the site can be more informative than an isolated record of the object itself. If something is moved or removed, its provenance must remain linked to the site record.
How photogrammetry produces a 3D record
Photogrammetry uses overlapping two-dimensional images to approximate a three-dimensional structure. NOAA’s photogrammetry explainer, published June 22, 2020 and last updated October 29, 2024, describes it as a way to build a detailed spatial snapshot from images.
- Plan the image coverage. A diver, ROV, or AUV follows a route designed to capture overlapping views from different angles and distances.
- Capture the site. The camera records many still images while covering the visible area. Coverage and image quality affect what can be reconstructed.
- Align common features. Processing software identifies features shared among images and uses them to estimate camera positions and align the photographs.
- Build the model. Processing can generate a point cloud, surface mesh, and textured 3D model. The same image set may also produce a photomosaic or orthographic views.
- Check the result against controls. Calibration, positioning, image quality, visibility, and completeness of coverage affect the model’s scale and spatial reliability.
A photomosaic is an aligned, map-like composite of photographs. A photogrammetric 3D model adds reconstructed geometry, often as a point cloud or mesh with image texture. Both can support later inspection without physically disturbing the site, and a model may reveal details missed during an initial visit.
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A visually convincing model is not proof of perfect scale, coordinate accuracy, or complete coverage. Those qualities depend on how the images were collected and controlled; visual detail alone does not establish them.
When recovery may be justified
Recovery is a project decision, not the assumed final step of underwater archaeology. The case for removing material may include a significant contribution to knowledge or a need to protect it. The project also needs a credible plan to treat and care for the material during fieldwork, transit, and long-term curation.
UNESCO’s Annex calls for nondestructive methods where possible and conservation planning across those stages. NOAA explains in its conservation overview that submerged materials can deteriorate rapidly if removed without stabilization. Object provenance, treatment records, and the wider site documentation should remain connected.
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UNESCO’s framework calls for interim and final reports covering objectives, methods, results, graphic and photographic documentation, and conservation or curation recommendations. Archive arrangements should be decided before fieldwork. The Convention Annex contains 36 rules covering areas that include project design, qualifications, documentation, conservation, and site management; UNESCO’s overview was last updated August 21, 2024.
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Rule 33 says project archives and supporting documentation should, as far as possible, be kept together and intact, deposited as rapidly as possible, and deposited no later than ten years after project completion, subject to the rule’s other provisions. It is an outer interval in the Annex, not a recommendation to wait. UNESCO also supports professional and public access to archives subject to conservation and authorization.
Sharing research does not require publishing every coordinate. The Convention framework allows location information to remain confidential when disclosure could endanger a site. Researchers and authorities can make findings and documentation accessible while restricting sensitive location data.
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