MAG Committee places up for grabs; Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment rapidly progressing; Historic Seascape Characterisation; Cutty Sark latest; Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities; Oldest seafaring?; UNESCO Convention news; Bronze Age mystery stumps museum staff; Shipworm threatens Baltic maritime heritage; Damien Hirst – ‘treasure hunter’

 

MAG Committee places up for grabs

An e-mail will be circulated among MAG members this week asking for nominations for two MAG Committee posts. Elections for these posts will take place at the MAG AGM, to be held at the IfA 2010 Annual Conference in Southport in April.

Mark Dunkley of English Heritage will be standing down from the committee, whilst Paola Palma will be standing for re-election. The committee would like to thank Mark for the contribution he has made to its work during the last few years. Your update editor would also like to thank Mark as the chief contributor of news for the update.

Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment rapidly progressing

A thousand new archaeological sites, including wrecks, are reported to have been identified as a result of the Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment undertaken of the North East coast.

Historic Seascape Characterisation

Following the finalisation of a nationally applicable HSC methodology in 2008, further EH funded characterisation studies are now underway for the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary and for the English Channel between Hastings and Purbeck.

Cutty Sark latest

The final parts of the £46 million funding package are now in place. Repair and conservation of the fire damaged ship is therefore expected to be completed at Greenwich next year.

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities

Candidates for MMO member appointments are now being sought.

Oldest seafaring?

The existence of Lower Palaeolithic seafaring has been inferred from finds made during an archaeological survey in Crete.

UNESCO Convention news

Italy ratified the convention on 8th January, bringing the total number of ratifying nations to 30.

Bronze Age mystery stumps museum staff

The central stump from the Bronze Age oak circle known as ‘Seahenge’ is to go on display with the 55 outer timbers of the circle at Lynn Museum in King’s Lynn, Norfolk this summer. The museum closed in January to enable the installation to be carried out and will re-open in about four months.

Shipworm threatens Baltic maritime heritage

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are reporting that shipworm is spreading into the Baltic, threatening the sea’s rich and well preserved shipwreck heritage.

Damien Hirst – ‘treasure hunter’

One of the world’s most famous contemporary artists is reported to be planning to excavate the wreck of the ‘Unbelievable‘, an imaginary treasure ship.

IfA Conference 2010; British warship wrecks overseas; 17th century Dutch merchant ship found off Brazil; Newport Ship replica model; HSE; Seasearch; Minoan Shipwreck; SWMAG

 

IfA Conference 2010

The maritime session conference abstract on in situ preservation is available to view or download from the IfA website.

British warship wrecks overseas

A summary document of the papers delivered at the “Shared Heritage: Joint Responsibilities in the Management of British Warship Wrecks Overseas” seminar in July 2008 is now available from English Heritage’s website.

17^th century Dutch merchant ship found off Brazil

A Hungarian organisation called Octopus Association for Marine Archaeology is claiming that it has found, in collaboration with the Brazilian navy, the Dutch fluyt (flyboat) Voetboog that sank in 1700 off the coast of Pernambuco State. Various claims are being made with regard to the value of the cargo being carried by the vessel.

Newport Ship replica model

A model of the Newport Ship is being built under the four year ShipShape project led by the University of Wales Lampeter. Innovative engineering support is being provided by Cardiff University.

HSE

The HSE has reviewed diver exposure to noise. The results are available to download online.

MAG also understands that a review of the UK’s diving ACOPs will begin in 2010. The number of ACOPs could be reduced as a result, with one possible outcome being a single document applying to all sectors. The justification for having a separate Archaeological & Scientific ACOP is likely to be the subject of review.

Seasearch

The new Seasearch newsletter is being circulated to members.

Minoan Shipwreck

The current issue of the US magazine Archaeology is reporting on the first Minoan shipwreck found.

SWMAG

The South West Maritime Archaeological Group has launched a website.

Autumn Bulletin; News on maritime archives; End of the line for the City of Adelaide?; New English Heritage Selection Guide; Odyssey continues to press its case; Coastal Handbook launch; Fed up with awful underwater visibility and broken up wrecks?

  

Autumn Bulletin

The MAG Autumn Bulletin has been circulated to members and will shortly be available to download from the MAG Blog.

News on maritime archives

At least two UK archaeological contractors are currently undertaking work in connection with maritime archives.

The third and final report in the Securing a Future for Maritime Archaeological Archives series is now available from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology’s website. This series of reports confirm what maritime archaeologists and curators have known for some time, that there are serious archiving issues. They aim to provide a firm evidential basis for understanding and tackling these issues.

Digital archaeological archives are a particularly thorny and pressing issue. In a separate initiative the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) has commissioned Wessex Archaeology to undertake a demonstration project to assess the practicalities of integrating these archives within MEDIN’s existing system. 

Is your company or organisation undertaking work aimed at improving maritime archaeological archives? If so, let MAG Blog know by posting a comment.

End of the line for the City of Adelaide?

The preserved composite clipper the City of Adelaide may now be broken up. A meeting held on 14 December was due to determine the vessel’s future.

New English Heritage Selection Guide

English Heritage has issued a draft selection guide for pre-industrial vessels which is being circulated to MAG members. It has been drafted to address wreck sites and historic ships, as well as re-used ship timber from the earliest times to about 1840. It is intended that the text will provide guidance on future designation decisions.

The publication of this and other new selection guides is part of EH’s push towards the creation of the unified Register of Historic Buildings and Sites of England announced by the Government in the Heritage Protection White Paper.

You are asked to provide any comments on the document to Mark Dunkley by the 1st March 2010. 

Odyssey continues to press its case 

Current Archaeology has invited Greg Stemm to speak on ‘Underwater Archaeology and the Private Sector: Partners in Preservation or Professionals with Irreconcilable Differences?’ at their conference in London on Saturday 27th February. Dave Parham of Bournemouth University will oppose him with a paper on ‘Maritime Archaeology: what it means’. The session will be moderated by Mike Williams of the University of Wolverhampton.

Coastal Handbook launch 

The launch of the first Coastal Regeneration Handbook will take place in Margate on 27-28 January 2010. A flyer is being circulated to members.

Fed up with awful underwater visibility and broken up wrecks?

Then go to You Tube…

UK Marine Science Strategy consultation; Building Victory; Conserving Marine Cultural Heritage; More OME publicity; NW Passage; Holidaymaker finds ‘lost city’; Maritime Information Association

 

 

UK Marine Science Strategy consultation

DEFRA are consulting on the draft UK Marine Science Strategy. You have until

DEFRA would be particularly interested to have suggestions for the “high impact” issues that could be considered under the proposed “alignment review”, views on what stakeholders might do to assist in the Strategy’s delivery and ideas for further actions for the future. Comments can be e-mailed to the MSCC shared mailbox mscc@defra.gsi.gov.uk .

DEFRA are holding three regional meetings. Contact them asap if you wish to attend.

Building Victory

The Naval Dockyards Society are holding a conference at the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth on 7 November entitled Building Victory: Mid-18^th Century Naval Warfare – Roles of Dockyards and Shipbuilding. See their website for more details.

Conserving Marine Cultural Heritage

The Institute of Archaeology, University College London has announced the publication of a special issue of the journal Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites (Maney) entitled ‘Conserving Marine Cultural Heritage’. The journal is available online.

More OME publicity

Odyssey Marine Exploration continue to push their interest in the Victory with the media.

NW Passage

Robert Grenier, the senior marine archaeologist at the Canadian parks service, has delivered a lecture at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich on his latest discoveries about Franklin’s 1845 expedition to find the North West Passage.

Holidaymaker finds ‘lost city’

Dr Lucy Blue of Southampton University is to investigate a large submerged building with monumental columns found off Montenegro by a young British holidaymaker.

Maritime Information Association

The MIA offers an online forum to promote networking amongst those with an interest in maritime and naval affairs.

New appointments to ACHWS; Marine Communities Fund deadline; Ministerial visit to the Purton hulks; Maritime Archaeological Archives in the UK; UK Ship Preservation Network; Scotland’s marine heritage; Not finding Franklin?; Alexandrian call for papers; Cold War maritime archaeology; Seasearch news; NAS vacancy

 

New appointments to ACHWS 

Ian Panter, Principal Conservator for the York Archaeological Trust and Dave Parham of Bournemouth University have both been appointed to the UK’s Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks.

Marine Communities Fund deadline

The next deadline for applications to The Crown Estate’s Marine Communities Fund will be on Friday 15 January 2010.  This funding round will consider projects due to take place during the 2010/11 financial year. 

Ministerial visit to the Purton hulks

The Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Margaret Hodge MBE visited the important Purton site in Gloucestershire on 13 October

Maritime Archaeological Archives in the UK

A long term archive has been set up on the ADS website for the ongoing maritime archaeological archives project. The second project report entitled Review of Maritime Archaeological Archives and Access is now available to download.

UK Ship Preservation Network

National Historic Ships has issued a new press release on this long term project.

Scotland’s marine heritage

See The Scottish Government website for a news release dated 30 September.

Not finding Franklin?

A privately funded search for the ships of Sir John Franklin’s 19^th century expedition to the North-West Passage has been denied an archaeological permit by the Canadian Nunavut government.

Alexandrian call for papers

A call for papers has been made for The International Seminar on Maritime Cultural Heritage, which will take place in Alexandria from 3-4^th April 2010.

Cold War maritime archaeology

The remains of HMS Volage, a British destroyer sunk by a mine off Albania in 1946 have been located and investigated by a consortium of maritime archaeologists.

Seasearch news

The Seasearch Annual Report for 2008 is now available.

NAS vacancy

The Nautical Archaeology Society is advertising for an office administrator to be based in Portsmouth.

Consultation on the future of the Victory wreck planned; Climate change and heritage; Nautical Archaeology Society

 

 

Consultation on the future of the Victory wreck planned

Baroness Taylor has announced that the MOD and DCMS will be jointly undertaking a consultation on the approach to be taken towards the 1744 wreck of the Victory.

Baroness Taylor said:

“Following a Royal Navy survey vessel’s survey of the site in July, we will be releasing a detailed analysis of the wreck site.  Due to the unique importance of this wreck for naval heritage, the MOD and DCMS will jointly be engaging in a process of consultation on the approaches that should be adopted for this wreck.”

The RN/MOD website states:

“Recognising the Rules to the Annex of the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage as representing best practice in underwater archaeology, we will be encouraging all of those with an interest in British naval heritage and underwater archaeology to contribute.”

The consultation process will start towards the end of the year. It is understood that the Government’s strategy for the wreck does not currently rule out the recovery of more of the ship’s armament.

A salvage award that is reported to have been $160,000 has been made in respect of the two guns previously recovered from the site. The warrant for the arrest of the wreck filed in a US court by the American salvage company OME has been dismissed by agreement. OME are reported to be intending to participate in the consultation process and are apparently still claiming that a huge quantity of bullion may have been on board the ship at the time of its loss.

Climate change and heritage

Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education will be running a one day course in Oxford entitled Climate Change and the Historic Environment: Confronting the Issues on Friday 15 January 2010. Further details can be obtained from the Department’s website.

Nautical Archaeology Society

The NAS will be holding their annual one day conference on 7 November in Portsmouth. Further details from their website.

BS 8478; Recent Explosion!; Archaeology informs flood risk management; New aviation find; Loch Tay Logboat Project; Vacancies at the UK National Commission; ‘Family heirloom’ returned by divers; Recent near miss commercial diving incidents; Clapped in irons; Lyonesse

 

BS 8478

The HSE’s written views on British Standard BS 8478 Breathing Gases for Diving and Hyperbaric Applications are being circulated to MAG members.

Recent Explosion!

Explosion!, The Museum of Naval Firepower in Gosport, Hampshire remains open at weekends. This important museum was threatened by closure due to the withdrawal of local authority funding and the withdrawal of a developer from a waterfront development scheme at Priddy’s Hard. However, it is reported that the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, which owns the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, took over the running of the museum on 1 May.

Archaeology informs flood risk management

Work carried out by the University of Hull on the Hasholme logboat is contributing to the debate on flood risk management on Humberside.

New aviation find

Parks Canada have used an ROV to investigate what is thought to be the wreck of a US Army Air Force Consolidated Catalina flying boat in the estuary of the St. Lawrence in Canada.

Loch Tay Logboat Project

The Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and the Scottish Crannog Centre have been constructing a replica of a Bronze Age logboat on Loch Tay under the guidance of Damian Goodburn. The vessel is based upon the Carpow logboat currently undergoing conservation at National Museums Scotland. Visitors are welcome until 29 August.

Vacancies at the UK National Commission

Committee members are sought for the UK National Commission for UNESCO. Closing date for applications is 7 September.

‘Family heirloom’ returned by divers

The Caernarfon Denbigh Herald reports that a silver pocket watch found on the 19^th century wreck of the Barbara off Pembrokeshire has been returned to the family of the ship’s captain.

Recent near miss commercial diving incidents

The Association of Diving Contractors, the representative body for inshore and inland diving in the UK, has notified its members that there have been a number of incidents recently in which premixed cylinders of nitrox breathing gas have been found to have insufficient oxygen content to sustain safe diving. Association members are therefore being urged to ensure that they are taking appropriate precautions, such as checking the quality assurance procedures of suppliers and analysing the gas supplied before use.

Clapped in irons

A complete 17^th or 18^th century ball, chain and lock believed to have shackled a convict who drowned trying to escape has been found on the Thames foreshore near Rotherhithe.

Lyonesse

Fieldwork for the Lyonesse Project, co-ordinated by Historic Environment Projects of Cornwall County Council and funded by English Heritage, will take place between 28 August and 12 September.

Coastal change consultation; National Small Boat Register; National Historic Ships research; New website; Coastal erosion threatens Scotland’s heritage; Historic ammunition found in garden; ‘Britain’s Atlantis’; Jobs; Call for papers; Naval Dockyards Society

 

Coastal change consultation

A government consultation is inviting views on a new draft policy setting out a planning framework for the continuing economic and social viability of coastal communities. It is part of the wider package of consultations intended to deliver sustainable coastal risk management. An associated conference is to be held on 15 September in London.

National Small Boat Register

Preserved historic vessels under 33 feet in length in the UK are listed under the National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s growing National Small Boat Register.

National Historic Ships

National Historic Ships is undertaking quantitative research to analyse the contribution historic vessels make to the UK’s economy.

New website

The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, Croatia has a new website.

Coastal erosion threatens Scotland’s heritage

The BBC has been reporting on the threat that coastal erosion is posing to archaeological sites around Scotland’s coast, including Skara Brae.

Historic ammunition found in garden

The BBC has also reported the discovery of what may be 18^th century naval ammunition in a garden in Morven in the Scottish Highlands. The far from retired and still very active maritime archaeologist Dr Colin Martin is quoted as saying that the bar shot could have been from HMS Terror or HMS Princess Anne, as they attacked Morven in the run up to the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

‘Britain’s Atlantis’

A Radio 4 documentary chronicling some recent discoveries concerning submerged landscapes is available on the BBC iPlayer. The presenter is Francis Pryor.

Jobs

The International Fieldschool for Maritime Archaeology Flevoland (IFMAF) is reported to be seeking a junior researcher.

Call for papers

The eighteenth New Researchers in Maritime History Conference will take place at the University of Exeter, from 12-13 March 2010. The conference provides an opportunity for those who have recently become engaged in research in maritime history (broadly defined) to present a twenty minute paper.

A call for papers has been issued. For more information contact the organisers.

Naval Dockyards Society

NDS will be holding a conference on 7 November at the RN Museum in Portsmouth on the roles of dockyards and shipbuilding in mid-18^th century warfare.

New books

Contiuum UK has published The English Coast. A History and a Prospect by Peter Murphy. This book, rrp £60 (but very substantially discounted by Amazon and others), examines the interaction between people and the English coast, from 700,000 BP to the present day.

The beautifully illustrated Ships and Shipping in Medieval Manuscripts by Joe Flatman has been published by the British Library at £30. You can listen to Joe talking about his new book on a British Library podcast at http://publishing.bl.uk/podcast-ships-and-shipping-medieval-manuscripts.

ROV field training; Prins Willem; Purton Hulks; Have you read…

 

ROV field training

From 4-11 October 2009, an international interdisciplinary field training project in underwater robotics and applications will take place at Murter, Croatia on the Middle Adriatic. Maritime archaeologists are welcome.

Prins Willem

The reconstruction of Dutch East Indiaman Prins Willem, anchored in the Dutch harbour town Den Helder, has been destroyed by a fire.

Purton Hulks

The Friends of Purton will be excavating the Harriet, the only surviving example of a Kennet barge built at Honeystreet in 1905 and beached in 1964.

Working with Cotswold Archaeology on the 19^th-20^th September 2009, Nautical Archaeology Society members wishing to join the excavation should contact Malcolm Holden of the Friends of Purton.

Have you read…

…Mark Johnson on the historic timber-built coastal piers of Yorkshire in the Spring 2009 edition of Yorkshire Archaeology Today?

…Andrew Burn on the marine transgression threat to the monastic precinct at Cockersand Abbey, Lancashire in the Spring 2009 edition of English Heritage’s Research News?

…Oxford Archaeology North on the excavation of the 1715 Old Dock, the world’s first enclosed commercial wet dock in the latest edition of Current Archaeology?

…Gordon Le Pard on the possible medieval lighthouse or sea mark at The Chantry in Dridport, Dorset in the 2008 Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeology Society?

…Janet MacDonald on the introduction of iron water tanks in the Royal Navy in the current issue of The Mariner’s Mirror

Consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment; 100th Anniversary; Lionel Casson; US Navy diving tables; Purton Hulks; More on the Roman ships found off the island of Ventotene, Italy; Ancient port of Trafalgar; Yes, cannon balls can sink ships

 

 

Consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment

Published last Friday, this consultation invites views on a new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) that will replace Planning Policy Guidance 15: Planning and the Historic Environment (PPG15) and Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning (PPG16).

The government is also inviting comment on the Draft Legislative Programme 2009/10.

100^th Anniversary

This weekend marked the centenary of one of the most famous ‘firsts’ in aviation history – Louis Blériot’s crossing of the English Channel. However it was many years before flying offshore became commonplace.

Lionel Casson

The maritime historian Lionel Casson has died, aged 94. 

US Navy diving tables

For commercial as opposed to sports diving, the US Navy air decompression tables are probably the most widely used diving tables in the world. They are probably the most intensively tested tables and they have an extremely low incidence of failure. 

From 1 July 2009 those using these tables in the UK should be aware that the HSE expect them to use the latest version, Revision 6. The HSE also expect diving contractors to use them as they stand, without the previously commonplace adoption of ‘fudge factors’.

Revision 6 is available as a free download.

Purton Hulks

The hulks at Purton on the River Severn in Gloucestershire are to feature in a new series of the BBC’s ‘Coast’.

More on the Roman ships found off the island of Ventotene, Italy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8168425.stm
http://www.physorg.com/news167720761.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090725/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_roman_shipwrecks
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gshqvuOIMIfGLvRkWELCJKpX5aMAD9\9L1HAG1
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090723/sc_nm/us_italy_shipwrecks_1
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090724/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_roman_shipwrecks
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=8172032
http://www.ansa.it/opencms/export/site/notizie/rubriche/daassociare/visualizza_n\ew.html_1621183992.html (in Italian)
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/24/shipwrecks-italy.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534780,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/25/2636257.htm
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE56M3IW20090723

Ancient port of Trafalgar

The remains of the ancient port of Trafalgar are reported to have been found by Spanish archaeologists at a depth of 50m using aerial radar survey. The results can apparently be seen on Google Maps.

Yes, cannon balls can sink ships

An experiment using scale models and an experimental gun, carried out by the University of Haifa and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., has apparently shown that the “unusually thick” oak hull of a vessel found off Acre, possibly an 18^th century British ‘blockship’, could have been penetrated by the cannon balls found inside it.