Thousands of artefacts have been discovered beneath the seas and rivers of Vietnam. Vietnamese archaeologists are longing for a professional centre for underwater archaeology.

Are you any closer to realising the goal of a centre for underwater archeology?

Not yet. Not because we lack permission, but the fact is that we simply don’t have the capacity to establish such a centre. Our institute was permitted to open a department of underwater archaeology 20 years ago, but we still haven’t either the human resources or financial capacity to set it up.

Researchers from our institute have only been able to carry out on-bank underwater excavations. That means that, as local fishermen or foreign experts work underwater, Vietnamese archaeologists only participate in fixing found objects, doing research and giving conclusions.

You mean that such a centre costs too much to establish?

Yes, it’s beyond Viet Nam’s ability.

To give you an example, in 1988, a Singapore company invested in excavating a wrecked ship near Cham Island in Hoi An. Each day they had to pay US$50,000 for the process. The artefacts gathered then were priced to pay for the excavation. The rest of the money would be paid back to the Vietnamese Government, and Viet Nam, of course, would retain any unique cultural artefacts.

In the meantime, the Government allocates just VND1.3 billion (US$70,000) per year for scientific research at the institute. So the budget for the institute for the whole year would have been enough to pay for two days excavation at Cham Island.

What equipment and human resources would be needed to set up the centre?

Such a centre would require at least three archaeologists and a staff of around 10, plus complex equipment for preservation.

We also need properly trained human resources. For example, in the Cham Island excavation, the investor chose one of the best divers in Southeast Asia, but he was only able to work for two days. He couldn’t bear the pressure underwater work, and the company then had to hire divers from Europe and America.

So, are there real hopes for an underwater archaeology centre in the near future?

Well, I think in order to have an underwater archaeology centre, we will need a real investment strategy, from human resource to capital. Training human resources for conducting underwater archaeology is also many times more complicated than that for normal archaeology. Apart from the demands on the intellectual skills of a researcher, an underwater archaeologist also needs greater physical stamina.