ABSTRACT
The potential for access to wrecks has expanded greatly in the past decade, not only with the advent of technology for mixed-gas diving but, more importantly, the development of deep-sea submersibles or remotely operated vehicles (Fenwick 1998: 1-2) and ‘grabs’ (Harrison 1997: 65). Salvage companies employ increasingly sophisticated methods backed heavily by financial sponsors. Commercial companies have been involved for some time now, in developing conservation treatments and disseminating them to others. Developed outside professional conservation, these treatments lack the underpinning of a professional approach or regulation and consequently do not ensure the responsible and safe handling of archaeological material. Many simply ‘reinvent the wheel’ in that they indisputably cause damage and have long since been discarded by professional archaeological conservators for just this reason. Additionally, since these treatments are frequently based on methodology devised by those with no formal conservation training, the ethics concomitant with responsible conservation are not being incorporated and this raises serious issues.
