Paris, Aug 8 (Prensa Latina) UNESCO confirmed today the completion in the next few days of an international diving expedition in the Skerki Banks, in the Mediterranean Sea, where many shipwrecks rest, some of them with treasures.
In a statement, the UN organization specialized in education, science and culture issues specified that on Tuesday of the following week it will offer an online press conference to discuss details of the planned action from August 21 to September 3.
According to the multilateral entity, the initiative is part of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, of 2001, with the aim of documenting the remains of four shipwrecks located in the Skerki Banks dating from antiquity to the 20th century.
The relatively shallow and dangerous area for navigation is located in the central Mediterranean in the Strait of Sicily, between Sicily and Tunisia, and is considered a graveyard of ships formed over centuries.
Along with UNESCO, archaeologists from Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia will participate in the ambitious project, supported in the expedition by remote-controlled underwater vehicles.
The mission will map the area in which each wreck is found, documenting and cataloging the artifacts that remain on the seabed.
From ancient times to World War II, countless ships sank on these dangerous banks, leaving behind a treasure trove of cargo and artifacts, the organization stressed.
For centuries, the Skerki Banks have been the scene of looting and destruction of their heritage wealth by trawling.
mem/wmr