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Archaeologists eye building underwater museums in Russia’s south and northwest

The creation of underwater museums and parks will boost the development of science and tourism, archaeologists say

ST. PETERSBURG, November 13. /TASS/. The creation of underwater museums and parks will boost the development of science and tourism, according to archaeologists who work to preserve the submerged monuments.

“If we succeed in turning Akra (an ancient underwater city in eastern Crimea) into a park and if we build a road and a bridge there, this will attract a lot of attention. And we could train underwater archeologists at this site,” said Nadezhda Solovyova, deputy head of the Institute of Material Culture History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The institute’s researchers annually take part in expeditions to explore Akra known as the Crimean Atlantis. They earlier proposed to create an underwater park on the site of the ancient city similar to those in Egypt, Turkey and China.

According to Sergei Solovyov, who led the institute’s Crimean expedition, Akra ruins could be turned into a research and tourist center of global importance.

“The antique city submerged without suffering any serious damage, which makes Akra one of the most important sites for underwater archeology,” he said.

Archaeologists also welcomed the idea of an underwater museum in Kronstadt, St. Petersburg’s main seaport.

The museum could be open on the site of the shipyard built by Peter the Great and its visitors could be shown ships which had sunken in the North Sea and their parts.

Old wooden ships remain well preserved on the seabed but are quickly ruined when raised to the surface. Underwater parks and museums can serve the purpose of preservation, demonstration and exploration of these ships and other sunken objects.