Introductory course on the conservation and restoration of underwater archaeological finds in 2023

The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar conducted the course on the conservation and restoration of underwater archaeological finds according to the introductory program during the period from March 27 to April 7, 2023.

The Introductory course is a two-week course during which participants are introduced with the basic methods of working with all materials and they spend several days in each of the workshops (for metal, ceramics and organic material).

The participants of the Introductory course of the current year were: Carolina Simeoni (Italy), Raquel Cunha (Portugal), Reem Nader (Lebanon), Sofia Roussou (Greece) and Adelaide Mura (Italy).

The course consisted of a theoretical and practical segment.

During the theoretical part of the course the participants were introduced to all specifics of the conservation and restoration process for each individual type of material from the underwater environment.

During the practical part the participants carried out conservation and restoration work on archaeological objects from various underwater sites. The works included a preliminary inspection of the object, photo documentation, monitoring of the desalination process, cleaning of the object, consolidation of the object, gluing of fragmented objects, reconstruction of missing parts and final protection of the object.

We hereby thank and congratulate our dear participants for their hard work and successful completion of the course. We believe that with the newly acquired knowledge and skills, they will influence the protection and preservation of the underwater cultural heritage in their countries. We wish them the best of luck and success and look forward to their future professional steps.