Conservation Laboratory for Maritime and Underwater Archaeology at Galle

with a special reference to the Eastern and Northern Provinces 2009-2012 issued by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage in Sri Lanka under the auspices of the Sri Lanka – Netherlands Cultural Cooperation Programme.

Sri Lanka has been a centre of maritime trade for a long time. Archaeological heritage exists in marine environments, but also in internal waters and wetlands. This is because of the wider usage of watercrafts and traditional boat and ship technology. The Maritime Archaeological Unit (MAU) was established in 2000 to undertake maritime archaeology work in Sri Lanka. The MAU discovered several underwater archaeological sites. Many of the artefacts found underwater need to be protected. In 2000 a conservation laboratory was established at MAU and up to now several training programmes have been conducted by the conservators from the Netherlands and Australian. However, expertise to conserve materials such as waterlogged wood is limited.

In 2003 Galle was declared as the Asia-Pacific Regional Centre for underwater archaeology. Presently, the MAU is nominated as an UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence. Therefore, there is a need for a state of the art research and conservation laboratory for research and conservation.

OBJECTIVES
A state of the art research and conservation laboratory for research and conservation.