This project is directed by the University of Malta and Unesco, and financed by the European Commission.
This was the second such course following one held in France in September 2002 in the bay of Villefranche sur mer (Alpes Maritimes), and is aimed at training students from various parts of the Mediterranean in various techniques of underwater archaeology.
As with the first, this course was organised by the Groupe de Recherche en Archéologie Navale (GRAN), a non-profit organisation with 20 years’ experience in the field. The course emphasises various aspects, including administration, practices and techniques of preparation as well as post-excavation techniques related to underwater archaeology.
Six Maltese students, three Algerians and one from France participated in this workshop. Besides training the students in archaeology techniques, the course was also aimed at creating contacts and friendships that will serve for future cooperation in the field.
The organisation of this workshop would not have been possible without the cooperation and help of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Malta Maritime Authority, which supplied its survey vessel, Madonna Ta’ Pinu, and the University of Malta. All local logistics were coordinated by archaeologist Timmy Gambin.
Some of the participating students work and/or study at the Malta Centre for Restoration in Kalkara.
Work was carried out in the bays of Ramla Tat-Torri and Gnejna, two areas highlighted for research by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. A magnetometer survey was carried out in Gnejna.
Besides intensive fieldwork, which included over 300 dives, lectures and site visits were organised under the supervision of experts in the field.
Certificates were presented to all participants by Dr Joe Mifsud, head of the European Unit at the University of Malta and took place at the Mediterranean Institute.
Throughout the whole project, GRAN used its website www.archeonavale.org to communicate the progress of the workshop on a daily basis in the form of a log.