The seabed can be considered as the world’s largest museum, and underwater sites ex‐
plored and studied so far provide priceless information on human interaction with the sea. In recog‐
nition of the importance of this cultural resource, UNESCO, in its 2001 Convention on the Protection
of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, determined that objects/sites should be preserved in situ,
whilst also advocating for public access and sharing. The implementation of these principles is not
without difficulties. Some states have opened up underwater sites to the public—mainly through
diving, yet the vast majority of the world’s population does not dive. In Malta, 7000 years of human
occupation is reflected in and on the landscape, and recent offshore surveys show that the islands’
long and complex history has also left an indelible mark on the seabed. Besides difficulties related
to their protection and management, these sites also present a challenge with regard to sharing and
communicating. Recent advances in underwater imaging and processing software have accelerated
the development of 3D photogrammetry of submerged sites and the idea for a virtual museum was
born. The virtual museum, UnderwaterMalta, was created out of a need to share the plethora of
underwater sites located on the seabed of the Maltese Islands. A multitude of digital tools are used
to share and communicate these sites, offering visitors a dry dive into submerged sites that would
otherwise remain invisible to the vast majority of the public. This paper discusses the basic principle
of the sharing of underwater cultural heritage and the difficulties that beset the implementation of
such a principle. A detailed explanation and evaluation of the methods used to gather the raw data
needed is set in the context of the particular and unique working conditions related to deep water
sites. The workings of this paper are based on first‐hand experiences garnered through the record‐
ing of numerous wrecks over the years and the creation and launch of The Virtual Museum‐Under‐
water Malta—a comprehensive virtual museum specifically built for “displaying” underwater ar‐
chaeological sites that are otherwise invisible to the general public.peer-reviewe