Atlantic Scuba of Falmouth in Cornwall has become the first English dive-centre to be affiliated with the Nautical Archaeology Society.
Traditionally the NAS, the main UK training agency for underwater archaeologists, organises skills days for its Recorder and Surveyor courses, as well as many other archaeology-related courses.
Such courses are at a set location and a set date, organised up to a year in advance, but Atlantic Scuba says it will be able to hold courses “on demand”, as it does for the range of diving courses it already offers.
The Recorder and Surveyor courses can be taught as underwater courses for qualified divers but also as intertidal courses for non-divers.
“Atlantic Scuba has set up a team of experienced instructors, including a maritime archaeologist,” said NAS CEO Mark Beattie-Edwards. “It is the licensee of four protected wreck-sites in Cornwall, so it has plenty of fieldwork experience too.”
Atlantic Scuba intends to offer taster sessions for anyone interested in nautical archaeology, and will also be offering fieldwork days for those who have already completed the required NAS courses.
