Scubaverse contributor Mark Pearce discovers that the new PADI Basic Archaeology Diver (BAD) Specialty is a hit with the course’s first attendees…

Over the years PADI instructors have developed and written many great courses. These PADI Distinctive Specialties are carefully engineered to further the knowledge and training for divers in specific aspects and areas of diving. Designed to instruct and improve your abilities in any number of different avenues, the list seems almost endless these days.

If you are like me, some will appeal more to you than others. But working toward my PADI MASTER SCUBA DIVING Rating, I am always on the lookout for something interesting. This course ticked many of the boxes for me!

So, when asked if I would like to attend the inaugural class of the new PADI Basic Archaeology Diver (BAD) my first thoughts were a Time Team style event underwater, with a trowel and instructors in brightly coloured stripy woollen jumpers, looking at shards of pottery, and extrapolating the whole history of an artifact from very little information!

Anyway, the course sounded interesting, and in truth, a course in underwater archaeology has been on my overdue list for some while. And when it was suggested, it was one of those courses that you think ‘why hasn’t PADI written this course before?’ as it is a logical and obvious skill that almost any diver would want to learn. No diver would pass up the opportunity to explore and learn about a wreck if they were to discover it for themselves, and to be able to do so using internationally accepted methods, would be by far the best way. Sadly for most of us, discovery of a new wreck is unlikely, but certainly discovery of artifacts from known wrecks is what we can enjoy. Also, by looking closer at the wrecks we dive, it helps to appreciate the rusting metal or timber frames as more than just an obstacle course for intrepid divers: you begin to learn about the people on board, the ship herself, the event that brought them to rest where they did, and a whole host of other clues to follow and keep you busy during winter evenings when diving is just a wishful dream.

The course has been written by MAST, the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust, a not-for-profit organisation who are ‘dedicated to exploring and studying the many thousands of wrecks that surround the UK waters, and to investigate the maritime past to protect it for the future’. A huge task indeed when you remember there are more wrecks surrounding the UK than any other area of the world!

So the course was held at the Plymouth University’s Diving and Marine Centre by Roger ‘Ginge’ Crook and maritime archaeologist Jessica Berry (both from MAST). It is set over two days, and includes an impressive three dives, all of which are made at the New England Quarry near Plymouth. This allows you to hone the skills you have learnt in a well prepared environment, without the unpredictable conditions that you would have to tackle out at sea. The course is well balanced with not too much theory (not my favourite) and plenty of practical instruction. You learn simple yet effective ways to measure and plot items as you find them, so with clear records you, or anyone else can find their way back to them. You also learn about the laws regarding recovery of objects from the sea which have recently been changed, so you will be able to make sure you don’t fall foul of them either!

Along with the practical side of the course, what came through loud and clear was the way they were enthusing you to look closer at what you see, to ‘dig deeper’ as it were. All of us dive areas regularly, perhaps we have a favourite wreck that we return to often. What we have learnt can be applied to any of them, to build a knowledge base, and perhaps make more of a project than just diving the wreck. We left the course with ideas of how we could apply what we have learnt in our own areas of diving, and a greater appreciation of our underwater heritage.

So where to from here? First, a dive at the Coronation wreck (1685) near Plymouth. The course offers a reduced price opportunity to dive the wreck site with a rare guided tour from one of the licensees. She was a 90-gun second rate British naval vessel. This is a rare and exciting prospect, and for those who want to learn more, there are many good courses in archaeology provided out there by various training agencies. This one is a great starting point to an incredibly interesting aspect of undersea exploration.

To find out more about the Underwater Archaeology courses that MAST offer click here