The NERITES project made a notable appearance at the Mondiacult 2025 Conference Webinar Series Session III, held on March 27, 2025. The session, entitled “AI and Underwater Cultural Heritage,” was organized by the UNESCO Cairo Office, highlighting the transformative impact of AI on cultural heritage preservation, including underwater cultural heritage (UCH). This aligns with UNESCO’s 2001 Convention, which aims to enhance the documentation, analysis, and protection of submerged sites such as shipwrecks and ancient settlements.
Dr. Fabio Bruno from Universita della Calabria (Unical) presented the NERITES project online, emphasizing how AI and advanced technologies are revolutionizing our understanding, monitoring, and preserving of Underwater Cultural Heritage in line with UNESCO’s objectives.
More specifically, his presentation highlighted several critical advancements in underwater cultural heritage (UCH) preservation. The session showcased innovative AI techniques used for identifying and characterizing biological colonization on UCH surfaces and assessing the structural integrity of underwater monuments and artifacts over time. He also detailed the project’s systematic approach to autonomous remote surveying, employing non-destructive, cost-effective, and portable digital solutions to study UCH. Additionally, he highlighted practical applications of these technologies at two pilot sites—the Baiae underwater archaeological park and the Fourni island shipwrecks. These examples demonstrated the effectiveness of NERITES solutions in real-world scenarios, effectively monitoring and preserving underwater heritage sites.
Dr. Bruno’s comprehensive presentation at the Mondiacult 2025 conference effectively illustrated how the NERITES project is setting new standards in the field of underwater cultural heritage preservation, utilizing cutting-edge AI technologies to safeguard our submerged cultural legacy.
