As there is no underwater archaeological sites database available in Hong Kong, we will begin the work of compiling one through analysing and consolidating data for almost 300 Hong Kong sites in a wrecks database from the United Kingdom’s Hydrographic Office (UKHO). We will also investigate literature, old maps and newspapers, and will seek knowledge about other sites of archaeological interest from divers and members of the community, as well as through interviews with government representatives and scholars of the field. All these sites will be catalogued and presented as a spatial database, using acquired digital maps.

Based on the above research, we will select at least two (more if practical) underwater heritage sites on which to conduct non-disturbance surveys - a shipwreck site and a non-shipwreck site, two main underwater site types in the HKSAR. The surveys will document the nature, extent and condition of the archaeological remains, which will help describe the sites to readers (researchers, the community, industry and government) and provide for a better understanding of their value and need for site preservation and further research.

A licence from the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) has been obtained to conduct this survey, and Dr Jeffery will lead the fieldwork, which is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2010.