What is Underwater Cultural Heritage?

In 1996, in the International Charter for the protection and management of underwater cultural heritage, ICOMOS defined underwater cultural heritage as the archaeological heritage which is in an underwater environment or which has been removed from it. This concept also includes sites and submerged structures, areas of shipwrecks, wrecks, the remains of shipwrecks, underwater cities, paintings in underwater caves and Neolithic lake settlements.

Currently, according to the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, this heritage refers to all traces of human existence that are cultural, historical or archaeological in character and which have been under water, partially or completely, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years.