Wessex Archaeology Coastal and Marine
Four videos exploring shipwrecks dived by Wessex Archaeology in support of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 are now online. The videos, available on YouTube, explore the sites of the Wheel Wreck, HMS/m Holland V submarine, HMS/m A1 submarine and HMS Drake which lies in Irish waters.
They were made by Jenny Austin and Alex Pope who joined Wessex Archaeology in October 2009 to gain work experience with the Coastal and Marine team.
Wessex Archaeology is contributing to events marking European Maritime Day by holding a workshop in Paris on the archaeology of the Eastern English Channel. The workshop is taking place on 25 May and provides an opportunity for archaeologists and other marine researchers to share knowledge about a key area of sea lying between the UK and France.
The workshop is taking place as part of the Marine ALSF project ‘Use Many Times’ that is re-examining high resolution data acquired for the Eastern English Channel Marine Habitat Map project in 2005-2006. At the time, the data were interpreted for geology, species and habitats; we are re-using this valuable data in 2010 to address archaeological concerns, including wrecks of ships and aircraft and evidence for prehistoric landsurfaces and deposits.
Marine archaeology is intrinsically international in character. The Paris workshop provides an opportunity to share our inital results with colleagues and to gain insights from research from France. In turn, improved understanding will provide greater certainty in assessing the effects of marine aggregate dredging on the archaeological heritage in the Eastern English Channel.
A further workshop will take place in the UK later this year.
It is a busy time for WA’s coastal and marine team and we are expanding our expertise and capability accordingly. Four new staff are joining our C&M archaeology team in Salisbury, three staff are joining our C&M learning and access team also in Salisbury, and three staff are joining WA C&M in Edinburgh. In addition, our two EPPIC staff have appointments to WA C&M running on from their placements. This is a significant increase in our capacity, helped by the appointment of a C&M Business Manager and additional Project Managers in previous months. Our team now numbers 37 with further support from WA staff in other teams – and we have an awful lot of exciting archaeological projects to be getting on with …
Tudor Seafaring Teacher's Pack
Time Travelling by Water, Wessex Archaeology’s coastal outreach programme, has produced three highly appraised teachers packs that are now available to download online. The packs explore the National Curriculum topics of Tudor seafaring, local history and WW2 through the interesting and evocative work of Wessex Archaeology’s coastal and marine team.
The activities and information in the packs are suitable for KS2 and KS3 classes, GAT groups, extra-curricular clubs, home-schoolers, Young Archaeologist’s Clubs and anyone who wants to learn more about our underwater heritage. They can be downloaded for free from the Time Travelling by Water website, from the learning pages of Wessex Archaeology’s website and from popular teacher’s resources websites such as Primary Resources and TES resources.
WA is recruiting for staff to join its coastal and marine team in Salisbury and Edinburgh in response to growing demand for our work from marine developers and public authorities.
As well as strengthening our team of Project Managers and Archaeologists in Salisbury, we have several major new projects for which we would like to recruit additional Learning and Access staff. In particular, we wish to recruit Learning and Access staff with a background in marine science and/or ecology as well as having an interest in archaeology.
Applicants are also invited to join our coastal and marine team at a new office in Edinburgh, serving existing clients in Scotland and further afield.
Further details can be found on WA’s main website.
Wessex Archaeology was very pleased to attend the launch of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), which combines the museums of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Navy Submarines and Fleet Air Arm. The new unified museum is intended to provide a strategic focus and improve the profile of naval heritage and collections, whilst continuing to develop the four sites (Portsmouth, Southsea, Yeovilton and Gosport).
Wessex Archaeology is frequently involved in the investigation of RN heritage – ships, submarines, aircraft and dockyards – so the new NMRN is very welcome. Speeches by the Government Minister and the First Sea Lord emphasised the important role of maritime heritage in today’s society and were followed by a rolling broadside from HMS Victory and a performance by the Royal Marines Band.
There is more information about the NMRN launch at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and a clip of HMS Victory’s broadside at The News.
Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys (RCZAS) aim to determine the nature and extent of archaeological remains within the coastal landscape. The RCZAS programme is particularly important when the effects of coastal erosion and the impact of development, which are causing irreparable damage to the coastal heritage, are considered. This highlights the importance of thoroughly recording each monument or feature and undertaking the associated research prior to this landscape alteration. Furthermore, the assessments aim to serve as a basis for understanding landscape change and development, and contribute towards improved management of the coastal historic environment in the future.
The study area that Wessex Archaeology will investigate is located in the south-east of England, and is one of the last Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys (RCZAS) to be initiated. Along with the other RCZAS completed for other areas of the UK coast, this project has been commissioned by English Heritage, who intend to complete a full archaeological survey of the entire English coast by 2013.
The area that we will investigate covers a distance of over 200 miles of coastline from Redbridge at Totton in Hampshire in the west to White Ness, Kingsgate in Kent in the east. It extends seaward to six nautical miles and inland to either one kilometre or to the five metre contour line (dependent on which has the furthest distance from the coastline).
The project is split into two separate phases. Phase 1 encompasses the desk-based assessment of the area, which includes not only the compilation and analysis of known archaeological sites in the area, but also the analysis of relevant aerial photographs held in the English Heritage archives at the National Monuments Records. The scanning of these photographs and digitising of apparent archaeological features will feed into the National Mapping Programme, providing an extensive amalgamation of the UK’s archaeological/military remains that are visible from the air. Phase 2 consists of the field assessment and aims to ground truth and supplement the results from the initial phase. This phase will also conclude with the compilation of the final report.
Using aerial photographs, historic maps and charts, existing archaeological and historical records, analysis of some ground elevation data called LiDAR, together with a walkover survey of the area, we hope to build up a comprehensive catalogue of the types and extents of archaeological remains that exist along this extremely diverse and culturally interesting coastline.
Several external sources will provide us with existing archaeological, historical, and military information already known to lie within our study area, including the National Monuments Record (and the National Mapping Programme), local Historic Environment Records and Sites and Monuments Records, and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. And in turn, the results that we will generate from the project will be given back to these sources to supplement and enhance their records. This is an excellent means of gathering and sharing locally, nationally and potentially internationally important data that can be accessed by all.
From the 500,000 year old human remains at Boxgrove to the intense military activity in and over the Straits of Dover during World War II, it is likely that all archaeological and historical periods will be represented on the South East coast by a huge variety of archaeological features.
We will be regularly updating the Splash page with news on the project’s progress, so be sure to watch this space!
Wessex Archaeology marked European Maritime Day by attending the Stakeholder Conference organised by DG Maritime Affairs of the European Commission. The conference in Rome included a special workshop on Raising awareness of common maritime heritage as a cultural pillar of the integrated maritime policy.
European Maritime Day shows the importance of the sea and oceans in everyday life throughout Europe. The wide-ranging papers presented at the workshop covered many different aspects of maritime heritage. Key points of discussion concerned the role of heritage in re-connecting society with the maritime industries upon which it depends, and maintaining a broad definition of ‘marine environment’ that encompasses its historic features and landscapes.
Wessex Archaeology has produced a flyer on our role in integrating heritage with marine industry.
The University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education is offering a one-day course on Marine Development-Led Archaeology on Thursday 23 October 2008. The course is presented in association with the Archaeological Training Forum and is supported by English Heritage.
The aim of this course is to provide participants with an overview of marine development-led archaeology and the range of solutions that can be applied to investigating possible impacts.
Staff from WA Coastal and Marine are contributing many of the course components, and discussion will be led by English Heritage and ALGAO.
Follow link to find details of the course, or download the course leaflet: marine-development-led-leaflet-new-jl-v
Wessex Archaeology has just processed and interpreted sidescan and multibeam data from the wreck of the troopship Mendi, which sank with the loss of 649 lives after a collision off the Isle of Wight on 21 February 1917. The project was jointly funded by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and English Heritage.
Geophysical Survey of the Mendi
During the summer of 2007 a Regional Environmental Characterisation (REC) survey was conducted along the south coast of the United Kingdom as part of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Marine Environment Protection Fund (MEPF) programme of regional seabed mapping.
One of the planned survey lines was to pass within a mile or two of the Mendi, and at the request of Wessex Archaeology and English Heritage the REC Steering Group agreed to an adjustment of the line to allow the collection of data over the site of the wreck.
What the Data Shows
The geophysical data shows the wreck oriented approximately east to west – with the bow in the west and the stern in the east. The hull appears fairly coherent, but with a chaotic internal structure and some outlying de
bris. Most of the collapsed wreckage from the superstructure seems to be concentrated within the hull. This confirms diver descriptions which indicate that with the exception of the bow and stern, the wreck has collapsed in many areas. Within the general collapse, the bow and stern remain relatively intact, as does the amidships section where the boilers and engine are clearly visible in the data.
The bow appears to have broken away from the rest of the wreck and a large amount of scattered debris is present in this area. This may be the mark of the fatal damage suffered when the Mendi was rammed by the Darro. The break is in the area where survivors’ accounts describe the bow of the Darro cutting deeply into the Mendi‘s hull – to within a couple of feet of her midline.
What the geophysical data also appears to show is that when compared to diver reports about the condition of the wreck, the bow and stern have seen a marked deterioration in last 3-5 years, and this may be indicative of a more general, rapid degradation of the wreck as a whole.
Previous Work
The geophysical assessment builds on previous work conducted by Wessex Archaeology in 2007. To coincide with the 90th anniversary year of the sinking of the Mendi, funding was provided by English Heritage to undertake a desk-based appraisal of the wreck and its story.
This appraisal drew together a huge amount of information about the events surrounding the loss of the ship. It gathered, for the first time, available information about the wreck itself, and allowed us to start creating a picture of the wreck site – its layout, condition and state of preservation. Perhaps most importantly, the desk-based work showed that the wreck of the Mendi is an important physical focus for investigating a little known and largely forgotten aspect of World War I history – the story of the British and Foreign Labour Corps. Of the men who died when the Mendi sank, most were non-combatant black South African labourers, en route to France to support British operations on the Western Front.
Future Surveys
The recent geophysical assessment has identified a range of target areas for investigation during a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) survey that Wessex Archaeology hopes to carry out on the wreck in the near future.
We would like to gather better evidence of the condition and relative stability of the wreck, the possible impacts of human intervention on the site since its discovery, and the information relevant to its future survival. We’re also interested in a non-intrusive investigation of the artefacts that survive on the wreck which speak for the presence of more than 800 South African servicemen on the Mendi when she sank.
Find out about our Access and Learning programme, Explore the Seafloor.