ON-THE-SPOT INTERVENTION

The recreational diver plays a key role and can make a major contribution to underwater archaeology if it acts correctly. The most important thing the diver can do is to strictly record the position of the trace he has found. For this, the ideal would be to climb vertically from the trace found and, reaching the surface, take marks to land (threading or azimuths). If this is not possible, as soon as you climb to board the vessel you must take marks or azimuths ashore, or record the position by GPS. This data should be immediately settled to avoid memory failures.

In addition, when finding traces of submerged cultural heritage, the diver should leave in place and not change the layout of what he discovers.

AFTER DIVING

It is important that the diver registers everything he saw immediately after the dive (or even during the dive itself), never spinning in the memory.

You should always make the official declaration of the finding to the competent authority (even if by phone or e-mail). This is the only way to guarantee both the documentary richness of the find and its conservation, the recognition of the diver’s merit and rights, as well as his status as a future participant and collaborator of the underwater archaeological activities developed in Portugal.