MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL > Presentation

1. General information

For 2012, the Ecomuseum of the Cape of Cavalleria offers an underwater course which presents two main parts.

The first one deals with underwater archaeological survey in order to explore the Roman port of Sanitja and the coast of the Cape of Cavalleria, identifying structures of the Roman city of Sanisera as well as Roman shipwrecks. The port of Sanitja was not only occupied by the Romans. There are also ruins of a Muslim mosque and English defense tower which lead us to believe that we will find other vessels from these time periods.

The second part of the course will be focused on Mediterranean shipbuilding techniques, both in theoretical and practical leves. Students will put into practice their conservation skills with a ship that was built around 1850.

The underwater archaeological course will be directed Fernando Contreras, director of the Ecomuseum of the Cape of Cavalleria in collaboration with other archaeologists and specialists in underwater archaeology and conservation.
The course is designed to provide practical experience in underwater archaeological field work, from site discovery to lab analysis.

In the part of the course focused on the underwater survey of the port, students will gain experience in various activities such as surveying methods, site reconnaissance, recording, drawing, mapping, position fixing, photography, and laboratory processing.

In the second part focused on shipbuilding techniques, students will learn the basics about traditional Mediterranean shipbuilding, as well as learning which tools, instruments and methods are the most suitable in order to restore old vessels.

Students will also attend lectures on Roman archaeology.

The course runs six hours per day. The day will be divided between diving in the port of Sanitja, lab work, exercises, lectures, videos and excursions. The course schedule is designed to be flexible because this operation is dependent on conditions at sea.

In addition to the daily research activities, students will learn about the history and culture of Menorca through organized excursions. The course is taught in English and Spanish.

2. Directed at

The course is open to all individuals that would like to learn (or further their knowledge) about underwater archaeology. Previous knowledge or experience in archaeology, or underwater archaeological is not required.

3. Options

To participate in diving activities, it is necessary to have a diving certificate that will allow you to dive up to 18 meters in depth. For this reason, we have designed two groups to choose from in our underwater archaeology course: with or without a diving certificate.

Group 1 Without a diving certificate: Those that do not have their open water diving certificate should choose this group.

Group 2 With certificate: Those that have an open water diving certificate from an internationally recognised organization (i.e. PADI), should choose this group.

4. Medical check

Participants need to present on the first day of the course a medical document stating that he/she is fit for diving activities. Participants that do not have this document on the first day will not be allowed to participate until they are able to present this document.

5. Certificates

At the end of the course, students will receive a certificate of participation that states the hours and actives of the course.
Participants that perform exceedingly well in the course may receive a letter of recommendation from our organization upon request.

6. Spaces avalaible

The course is limited to 14 participants per session. Reservations are only effective when payment of the registration fee is received. If for any reason the  course  is  cancelled,  payment  is  returned  according  to  the  field school refund policy (see the Ecomuseum’s webpage, Archaeology Field School).

7. Sessons and cost: 10 sessions (20 days each)

Airfare not included.

8. Course fee includes:

• Accommodation in the Ecomuseum's Student Residency. Two to six per room. Walking distance to the historic center, port and beaches.
• Course tuition.
• Tanks, tank filling and weights.
• Daily transportation to/from the research site.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Morning snack at the Ecomuseum.
• Accident insurance at the site.
• Included excursion.
• Certificate of participation
• Open water diving certificate (PADI) for those in group # 1.

9. Equipment Needed

We encourage participants to bring their own dive gear, however, a complete set of diving gear (with the exception of mask and snorkel which each participant must bring) can be rented at the reduced cost of 15 Euro per day.
All other equipment needed for conducting underwater research will be provided by the Program in Underwater Archaeology.

10. Information and reservations:

Lana Johnson, Course Coordinator
Email: archaeology@ecomuseodecavalleria.com
Phone: +34 971 35 9999