International projects

Between 19 November and 8 December 2023, the UNESCO Foundation Course on Underwater Cultural Heritage Management took place on Tobago. For three weeks, 16 students with different professional backgrounds and living in the countries and islands in and around the Caribbean Sea enhanced their theoretical and practical education in underwater cultural heritage management. The training was financed by the RCE and coordinated by Prof. Martijn Manders (RCE) and Dr. Chris Underwood (ICOMOS-ICUCH). Underwater archaeologists Cimberly Symister from Curacao and Jasinth Simpson from Jamaica served as trainer-trainees.

The Netherlands invests in these capacity building courses, because it believes that the underwater cultural heritage can only be well protected if countries work together in this. In the light of the upcoming ratification of the UNESCO Convention for the protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001) it aims to also bring expertise in this area to help to protect the extended underwater heritage - including some shared heritage with other countries - and the presence of the six islands in the area – Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius - that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

During the summer months of 2022 and 2023, the RCE worked closely together with Leiden University (NL), Rostock University (DE) and Göttingen University) to organize a fieldschool for archaeology students at the Tollense river and the Greyfswald Bay in Germany. At Greifswald, students focus on investigating ship construction, learning the basics of shipwreck archaeology underwater and upgrading their diving skills.

In 1300 BC, a battle took place at the Tollense valley. Over the years, many human skeletons, bronze weapons and wooden structures have been discovered in the valley and in the riverbed as well. Students gather knowledge above and under water, by excavating three locations (two on land, one underwater) and through collecting data about the various threats. With this data, a strategy for conservation and research for the coming years will be set up.

International collaboration during the Field school Tollense Valley

The research is led by State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in collaboration with Leiden University, the University of Rostock and the University of Göttingen. The fieldschool will be organized during the coming years. The RCE participates in this field school to support capacity-building of a younger generation maritime archaeologists and to facilitate international knowledge exchange.

This is the first field school to be carried out within an ERASMUS-collaboration between the universities of Rostock, Leiden and Göttingen. The goal is to further build on and strengthen a European collaboration with a focus on research of climate effects on archaeological sites.

Read more about this fieldschool in the series of weblogs written by students.