Managing the Marine Cultural Heritage: Defining, Accessing and Managing the Resource Book

Recent decades have witnessed an expansion of archaeological activity under water and in the coastal zone.There has also been a realisation of the threats to this material from human and natural action. This period of relatively rapid change has increased pressure on governments, heritage groups and agencies, coastal zone managers and sea users to formulate approaches to managing the maritime cultural heritage. This volume presents a range of international initiatives that include examples of management responses to regional, national and international situations. They demonstrate approaches to the quantification of the resource through the collection, recording, interpretation and storage of data, the promotion of the submerged heritage through access and public involvement, and challenges of legislative frameworks, varying national and international priorities, and divergent approaches to funding. In addition to presenting responses to management themes and issues, this volume also discusses the principle challenges facing maritime archaeology, which have relevance not just in the UK but across the globe.