Maltese archaeologists currently doing training in Villefranche sur Mer are into the third week of an innovative course in underwater archaeology.

The course is a sub-project of the broader UNESCO programme entitled Le Navigation du Savoir, coordinated and directed by the Mediterranean Institute of the University of Malta.

For the past three weeks, the Maltese team led by Timmy Gambin has been diving twice a day on the wreck of the Lomellina which sank in 1516.

During the dives the participants have been instructed on various techniques used in the field of underwater archaeology, including measuring and drawing the wreck. Instruction has also covered theoretical aspects such as the management of submerged cultural heritage as well as the drawing and reconstruction of ancient vessels.

In the coming week, the team which has been accompanied by a number of professional divers and top archaeologists including Martine Scilliano, will be wrapping up the project with more dives and the last lectures.

In the coming two years the experience will be repeated in the next field-schools planned for Tunisia and Malta in 2003 and 2004 respectively.