Exploring Underwater Sites: Virtual Submarine Allows Access to Europe’s Sunken Wrecks

Computer graphics have been used successfully for a number of years to help improve our understanding of both offshore activities and land based archaeological sites. ‘Marine Visualization’ has traditionally been dominated by the oil and gas industries, focusing on activities such as pipeline and debris clear-up operations, with limited work on shipwreck visualization. Previous work by the authors relating to shipwreck visualization has focussed on relatively modern vessels such as the SS Richard Montgomery, which sank in Sheerness, UK, August 1944. This article introduces the reader to the VENUS project (Virtual ExploratioN of Underwater Sites), a multidisciplinary project funded by the European Commission that focuses on procedures for surveying and visualizing maritime archaeological sites.