Underwater Archaeology on the Internet: A Collaborative Effort

When I descend into cold murky water looking for a shipwreck for historicaland archaeological research the quiet and darkness can often make me feel verymuch alone. But being an underwater archaeologist and the director of anonline museum I know I can never do either of those jobs by myself. There isalways a team from various sciences there to help raise up the stories of ourpast from their watery graves.

Since I started the online Museumof Underwater Archaeology and my PhDstudies at GeorgeMason University's Centerfor History and New Media I have been amazed at the power of collaborativeeffort. I've always known it took a team of folks to properly andethically investigate a submerged site including historians, archaeologists,conservators, mechanics, and editors to name just a few. What hasbeen an unexpected surprise has been the out pouring of support from the newmedia field. Videographers, programmers, and IT professionals have alldonated their time and expertise to help make our museum a success.

I believe that to a great extent this is because we believe strongly in theopen access principal wherein researchers from around the world share theirwork freely with the public through the Internet. One collaborative effort can inspire many more. In The Access Principal author JohnWillinsky (2006) discusses the type of beneficial returns experienced by contributing authors and I'd liketo add that those rewards can extend to all aspects of an organization associated with such efforts.

Given our experience it seemed that HASTAC would be an interestingorganization to get to know. I look forward to learning from its membersand to the opportunity to introduce our little area of the cyber ocean.

Best regards,

T Kurt Knoerl - Director -The Museum of Underwater archaeology ( http://www.uri.edu/mua)