Kategorie: News
New Platform Displays 3D Models of Shipwrecks Off the Coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
More than 3,000 known archaeological sites—shipwrecks, harbor structures, and sunken settlement remains—lie dormant on the seabed off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For most people, they remain invisible, as they are inaccessible without diving equipment. That is exactly what the new FREIWASSERMUSEUM-DIGITAL (FWM-D) aims to change, as volunteer underwater archaeologists and heritage preservationists from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are unveiling today.
The “opening” of the new digital museum coincides with the first International Day of Underwater Cultural Heritage, which UNESCO has proclaimed for the first time this year.
A digital museum accessible to everyone
On the platform www.freiwassermuseum-digital.de, interested visitors will soon be able to view and rotate three-dimensional models of archaeological sites in the state’s waters—without needing a diving certification. This is made possible by modern photogrammetric techniques, which divers use to photographically document wrecks and artifacts, from which digital 3D models are then generated. Already available online are, among other things, a model of a roughly 100-year-old tugboat wreck from Warnemünde Bay, complete with a recovered ship’s compass; a medieval wreck; and the remains of the small frigate Mynden, which sank off Cape Arkona in 1718.
The project is a joint effort between the Landesverband für Unterwasserarchäologie MV e.V. and the Archaeomare e.V. association, funded by the Ministry of Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. “The project is designed to foster collaboration and thrives on the participation of all underwater archaeologists, volunteer archaeological heritage conservators, and recreational divers who create 3D models in our waters,” explains Kai Schaake of the State Association for Underwater Archaeology of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Additional models will be added on an ongoing basis in the coming months and years—and in the long term, there are also plans to provide more detailed background information on the individual sites.
Unresolved Jurisdictional Issues as an Ongoing Problem
The launch date is no coincidence: UNESCO has designated August 21 of this year as the first-ever “International Day of Underwater Cultural Heritage.” This coincides perfectly with the 25th anniversary of the underlying 2001 UNESCO Convention, which has since been ratified by 81 states—though Germany and Austria have not yet done so.
The organizers are using the day to highlight a structural problem: For parts of Germany’s seas and lakes, it remains unclear to this day who is responsible for heritage preservation.
Illegal salvage operations, commercial exploitation of the seabed, tourism, and climate change—with low water levels, droughts, and storms—are placing additional strain on underwater cultural heritage. According to the organizers, ratification of the UNESCO Convention along with the associated implementing laws would establish clear responsibilities and reporting channels, thereby enabling more effective cooperation at both the national and international levels.
Until then, the FREIWASSERMUSEUM-DIGITAL remains, above all, one thing: an invitation to see for yourself what lies beneath the water’s surface. Those who cannot dive to wrecks, port facilities, or settlement sites themselves will now find easy access to them on the platform—and perhaps a starting point for professional exchange between divers and interested laypeople.
Further information:
Digital Museum
https://sketchfab.com/freiwassermuseum-mv
Press Release from the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Association for Underwater Archaeology e.V.
https://www.freiwassermuseum-digital.de
UNESCO, German Bundestag (Parliamentary Document 21/7178)
https://www.unesco.org/en/days/underwater-cultural-heritage