International cultural cooperation on the project to protect the underwater cultural heritage of the Skerki Bank site in Tunisia

In order to ensure the protection of valuable underwater archaeological heritage in international waters, the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage provides a framework for international cooperation on the high seas. At the beginning of 2018 Italy notified UNESCO of the underwater archaeological discovery and looting of underwater find at the Skerki Bank site in the territorial waters of Italy and Tunisia, which initiated the procedure of international cooperation in international waters. It is a very important archaeological site with remains of several shipwrecks from several historical periods (from the beginning of the new era to the World War II). The area is located on the busiest maritime route that has been used since antiquity and was the site of famous naval battles in the World War II as well. This extremely valuable site, both for its archaeological and cultural and biological diversity, is unfortunately threatened today for several reasons - from uncontrolled fishing, unregulated passage of tankers and underwater treasure hunts.

After a long-term attempt to organize the mission, from August 21 to September 6, 2022, it was successfully carried out in two areas - near the Skerki Bank reef (Tunisian continental shelf) and along the path of the Ballard-McCann expedition in the Sicilian Channel (Italian continental shelf ). With Tunisia and Italy as coordinators, and under the auspices of the UNESCO's Secretariat, a mission was organized in cooperation with other countries that joined the project - Algeria, Egypt, France, Morocco, Spain and Croatia. A Coordinating Committee, composed of the involved countries, has been established to support the initiative.

The Alfred Merlin is a state-of-the-art research vessel made available for the mission by France (DRASSM - Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research of the Ministry of Culture). The ship is 46m long, designed specifically for archaeological research in deep waters, equipped with two deep-sae robots (ROV) able to reach areas up to 2500 meters and depth scanning devices (multibeam and side scan sonar). During the mission onboard the ship were about 20 scientists, researches and representatives from each participating countries. Croatia was represented by ICUA Zadar Director Mladen Pešić, PhD, and Roko Surić from the Center's Presentation Department. In addition to the French contribution that covered the costs of the vessel and the crew, the financial support for the mission was provided by Spain, Italy, Tunisia and Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia) in the amount of USD 20,000.

It is the first and most ambitious international mission ever carried out under the auspices of UNESCO for the purpose of research and protection of underwater cultural heritage in the waters of the Mediterranean and, in accordance with UNESCO's mission and values, for the purpose of promoting common heritage between peoples in the Mediterranean countries. Croatia, as one of the Mediterranean states with recognized care and long-term experience in the protection of underwater cultural heritage, has shown by its participation in this important campaign that it can also help other countries in various activities of researching underwater sites. The contribution in this unique international mission is an additional confirmation of the great reputation and role that Croatian underwater archaeologists have on the international scene. ICUA Zadar, as the only category 2 centre under the auspices of UNESCO in the world that deals with the protection of underwater cultural heritage, with its participation in this project has shown that it is ready to be one of the main factors on the scene of world underwater archaeology. ICUA Zadar archaeologists will be able to implement the unique experience gained on this occasion in future projects of a similar nature. Despite the fact that the Skerki Bank mission is over, if there is interest in the future, Croatian archaeologists plan to join further research in the Mediterranean sea, where they could share knowledge and experience in the protection of underwater sites.

The first part of the mission was carried out between August 21 and 27, 2022, in the area of the Italian continental shelf under the Italian coordination, when the condition of several sites was inspected at depths of about 800 meters that were already known in advance, as they were found by the American Ballard-McCann mission during the 1990s.

The second part of the mission was conducted from August 27 to September 6, 2022 in the area of Skerki Bank under the coordination of Tunisia. The outcome of the mission was the creation of a detailed plan of the scanned part of the seabed and the discovery of three new, previously unknown shipwrecks, two shipwrecks from the 19th century and one ancient shipwreck.

During the implementation of this project, an official photographer and the French television crew of Canal+ and Gedeon programs were hired. On June 8, 2023, at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, on the occasion of the project presentation, a documentary film that was shot during the mission was premiered, and along with the presentation of the project's results, a photo exhibition by the renowned Spanish photographer Angelo Fitor was showcased.