Guided by the principles expounded in UNESCO's 2001 Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, the Department of Classics and Archaeology, has implemented an archaeological survey of the seafloor around the Maltese Islands. Initially, the equipment used was a dual frequency Edgetech 3900 system (450 kHz and 900 kHz) towed side scan sonar. Since 2018 the Department has deployed an Automated Underwater Vehicle made by GAVIA with a dual frequency Edgetech 3900 system (600 kHz and 1600 kHz). Both systems are interfaced to a precision GPS which ensures that all data captured during our surveys are geo-referenced.
To locate and survey known underwater cultural assets.
To gather, analyse digital/geo-referenced data related to underwater cultural heritage.
To explore areas of the seafloor that are potentially rich in cultural assets.
To train students and other personnel in the use of state of the art marine survey equipment and software.
Over 1000 square km of seabed scanned at high resolution.
Numerous new shipwrecks and submerged aircraft crash sites have been discovered.
High resolution surveys of known shipwrecks conducted.
Collaborative initiatives with personnel from various marine sciences.
This project is funded and supported by: The Malta Planning Authority, SINTEGRAM Project, MTA and the University of Malta.