The SOS Campaign to protect underwater archaeological heritage

In this fight against plundering, we would like to highlight the pioneering SOS Campaign to protect our underwater archaeological heritage. This campaign aims to prevent the serious problem of plundering and the destruction that underwater archaeological heritage suffers as a result of it. The goal of this campaign is to raise public awareness about the fragility of underwater heritage and of the need for the general public to collaborate with the relevant institutions in this field. They can do this either by alerting these institutions to a chance discovery (they recommend not removing any remains or items found and the need to inform them immediately), and also providing information which may be of interest to protect this kind of property. The public can collaborate by phoning the professionals who work at underwater archaeology centres that are part of this initiative. Informative material has also been distributed to port agencies, nautical associations, divers and tourists, setting out the steps to follow in the case of a chance discovery in the sea. This campaign is aimed at municipalities, institutions, sports and cultural centres, associations and any member of the public who is linked to the sea and that may, at some point, find some kind of archaeological remains in the sea.

Partner centres

• Underwater Archaeological Centre of Catalonia
• Underwater Archaeological Centre of the Valencian Community
• Underwater Archaeological Centre of the Andalusian Institute for Historical Heritage
• National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, ARQUA