· Project will provide record of archaelogical sites · Two locations mapped so far with plans for a third

Archaeologists are creating a permanent digital record of shipwrecks around European coasts. By recording the precise 3D arrangement of timbers and cargo from the wrecks the researchers aim to preserve the information they contain about past civilisations even if the wrecks are damaged or destroyed.

Scientists and members of the general public would in future be able to float over the wrecks in a virtual submarine from the comfort of their own desks. For researchers, this would allow them to explore the wreck and make decisions about future excavations without spending large amounts of money going out to sea.

So far the €2.2m Venus (Virtual Exploration of Underwater Sites) project, which involves 11 different institutions across Europe, has created a digital representation of two shipwrecks; one a Roman ship dating from around AD200 off the island of Pianosa near the Tuscan coast and the other, the Barco da Telha, a pre-18th century vessel that sank off the Portuguese coast near Sessimbra. There are already plans to begin mapping another Roman wreck off Marseilles.

Dr Paul Chapman, a computer scientist at the University of Hull, said that it was aimed at creating a permanent record of the wrecks. "Because of activities like trawling, these archaeological sites get destroyed," he said. "What we have been focusing on with the Venus project is how to generate a permanent database or record of these sites."

Underwater archaeological sites have also been damaged by divers taking souvenirs. "Our job has been to develop a virtual reality diving simulator that allows the user to dive down and experience the site first hand," Chapman added.

One advantage of the simulator is that researchers can add in elements that are no longer there, for example even if the wooden frame of the ship is partially or completely destroyed it can be superimposed on the remains of the cargo that are still there.

"We can also animate the disintegration of the wreck over time," said Chapman.

The cargo in the 3D simulator – for example, double-handled ceramic vases called amphorae in the case of the Roman wreck – is in precisely the same arrangement as in the real wreck. To achieve this level of accuracy the researchers conducted sonar surveys from ships on the surface before adding information from a robotic submarine called the Phantom S2. This provided more detailed sonar data plus images of the wreck itself.

The Roman site off Pianosa was first discovered by sport divers in 1989. The ship itself has rotted away, leaving a mixed cargo of amphorae. The archaeological puzzle is why there are vases that date from several different periods of Roman history. Lying at just 36 metres and in excellent visibility, the wreck provided an ideal initial proving ground for developing the 3D mapping techniques. Next the researchers want to investigate another Roman wreck off the coast of Marseilles.

The simulator is on display at the British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool until Thursday and at the Deep aquarium in Hull.

Within two to three months it will also be available for download from the project's website and will run on a standard PC.

The two wrecks surveyed so far:

Pianosa

In Roman times, the island off the Tuscan coast was home to the nephew of Augustus Caesar who was exiled there to the Villa di Agrippa where he was later murdered. Two underwater archaeological sites have been identified around the island. Pianosa 1, the site the Venus team has mapped is at 36 metres depth. The ship's cargo is a collection of amphorae – double handled ceramic vases – in a variety of different styles. The site was discovered by sport divers in 1989 and initially surveyed in 2001.

Sesimbra

The Barco da Telha or Tiles Vessel lies in 55 metres of water in the bay of Sessimbra off the south-west coast of Portugal. The wreck was initially discovered in 2005 by two sport divers. They saw the ships cargo of tiles and bricks spread over an area of 20 metres by 8 metres. Also at the site are several different sized stone bullets indicating that the wreck must date from between the late middle ages and the 18th century. More accurate dating has been difficult to achieve as no wooden structures of the vessels have survived.