Underwater Archaeology on the Internet: A Collaborative Effort

When I descend into cold murky water looking for a shipwreck for historical and archaeological research the quiet and darkness can often make me feel very much alone. But being an underwater archaeologist and the director of an online museum I know I can never do either of those jobs by myself. There is always a team from various sciences there to help raise up the stories of our past from their watery graves.

Since I started the online Museum of Underwater Archaeology and my PhD studies at George Mason University's Center for History and New Media I have been amazed at the power of collaborative effort. I've always known it took a team of folks to properly and ethically investigate a submerged site including historians, archaeologists, conservators, mechanics, and editors to name just a few. What has been an unexpected surprise has been the out pouring of support from the new media field. Videographers, programmers, and IT professionals have all donated their time and expertise to help make our museum a success.

I believe that to a great extent this is because we believe strongly in the open access principal wherein researchers from around the world share their work freely with the public through the Internet. One collaborative effort can inspire many more. In The Access Principal author John Willinsky (2006) discusses the type of beneficial returns experienced by contributing authors and I'd like to add that those rewards can extend to all aspects of an organization associated with such efforts.

Given our experience it seemed that HASTAC would be an interesting organization to get to know. I look forward to learning from its members and to the opportunity to introduce our little area of the cyber ocean.

Best regards,

T Kurt Knoerl - Director - The Museum of Underwater archaeology ( http://www.uri.edu/mua )