‘On the Waterfront’ Conference, Swash Channel Wreck Threatened

Forthcoming English Heritage ‘On the Waterfront’ Conference

This conference is intended to explore port cities and how we can protect the integrity of historic maritime ports and ensure their distinctiveness is retained.

This major international conference will be held in Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture 2008 in November. It will explore the future of port cities from Shanghai to Mumbai.

This is an essential event for all those who believe in the important role heritage plays in regeneration and placemaking. Further conference details can be found here, and a full conference programme can be viewed here.

Booking forms can be downloaded here (Word) and returned to onthewaterfront@sam-culture.com

Swash Channel Wreck Under Threat.

The protected 17^th century Swash Channel wreck is under threat from a warm water shipworm, previously unknown in British waters. The blacktip shipworm (Lyrodus pedicellatus) is particulary destructive as it can bore through wood throughout the year, a trait that could eventually destroy the site’s remarkable carved decorations and surviving hull timbers.

Archaeologists from Bournemouth University, who have been monitoring the wreck for two years, plan to retrieve the wreck’s decorated rudder to save it from damage from the worm. The site will be included on English Heritage’s new Heritage at Risk register, which is due to be published next week. A more detailed article on this story has been published by Maev Kennedy in the Guardian.

Other News

The debate on the UK’s failure to ratify the UNESCO convention, sparked by an article on the wreck of La Vierge, continues to be played out in letters to the Independent. For more background see this previous MAG update.

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology is posting regular updates on the West Florida University field school in underwater archaeology and their experiences on the 16th century Emanuel Point II and the 19th century “Brick” shipwrecks.

The world’s oldest ropes have been found in an Egyptian cave.

Call for Papers AIMA/AHSA/AAMH Conference, La Vierge and UNESCO

Call for Papers AIMA/AHSA/AAMH Conference September 2008

Proposals for papers and posters are requested for this forthcoming conference to be held in Adelaide, South Australia. A list of session abstracts are now on the conference website. The online form should be used to submit paper and poster proposals of no more than 150 words. Papers will be either 15 or 20 minutes long depending on the number of papers proposed. The deadline for paper and poster proposals is 31 July 2008. Early bird registration deadline is 31 July 2008.

Registration for conference workshops should be conducted through the workshop organisers. Workshops on offer include:

• Geophysics for Archaeologists and Heritage Consultants
• Data Management in Maritime Archaeology Using Site Recorder 4
• Don’t Just Dig It - What about the Future of Archaeological Collections?
• Introduction to Conservation Issues Related to Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites

The conference website will continue to provide updates on events and speakers.

Other News

The Independent article on the new treasure controversy surrounding La Vierge du Bon Port- previously mentioned on the MAG updates and blog- has drawn a swift response from an opponent to the UNESCO convention (you will need to scroll down the letters page). MAG members may remember a letter to the Times in 2007 featured by MAG calling for the Government to ratify the convention.

EH comment on Draft Heritage Bill, Poseidon’s Reich 2009, Piers and Jetties Publication, New MSc in Maritime Archaeology, Jobs

English Heritage Comment of Draft Heritage Bill

English Heritage’s comment on the Draft Heritage Protection Bill is now available to download from MAG. For more context EH have also published additional information on the EH website.

Observant MAG members using the blog may have noticed that MAG’s draft response to the consultation is also now available to view/download from the new MAG Consultations page. (as ever comments on the blog or stories/features are welcome!)

In Poseidon’s Reich XIV Call for Papers

The POSEIDONS REICH XIV conference- “Underwater Archaeology in Northern European Rivers and Lakes”to be held at: the University of Kiel on 20th - 22th February 2009 in collaboration between the German Society for the Promotion of Underwater Archaeology (DEGUWA), the Department of Prehistory at the University of Kiel and the Workgroup for Maritime and Limnic Archaeology (AMLA)

In Europe the term ‘underwater archaeology’ is associated with spectacular discoveries, like wrecks in the Mediterranean or in the North and Baltic Seas or also pile-dwellings in the alpine foothills. For solving questions related to settlement archaeology, mainly archaeological research in inland waters is of importance. In the past decades impressive results were achieved - mainly in the Circumbaltic area and on the British Isles through maritime and limnic surveys as well as excavations in rivers and lakes.

The DEGUWA-conference in Kiel aims to illuminate three related subject areas. The first deals with settlements and their locations on lakefronts as well as on natural or artificial islands. The second focusses on infrastructural facilities for crossing or traversing waters in wetlands as well as on fortification and harbour facilities. The third concerns mobile traffic facilities for the transportation of goods and passengers over water.

All interested in underwater archaeological research in northern European rivers and lakes are sincerely invited to attend this conference as auditors, as speakers and/or as contributors to the poster presentation. Paper proposals are to be submitted not later than the 1st October 2008 with an abstract in English, German or French of not more than 200 words.

Further information and registration forms are available on the deguwa website.

New Jetties and Piers of Victoria Publication

In 2003/4 the Heritage Council of Victoria commissioned a historical and archaeological study of maritime infrastructure sites around Victoria’s coast and waterways. The Heritage Council and Heritage Victoria have now published Jill Barnard’s Jetties & Piers: a thematic history of maritime infrastructure in Victoria, the history-focussed partner document to the Maritime Infrastructure Assessment Project which has investigated potential archaeological sites of this type.

The document has been published electronically and is now available to download from the Heritage Victoria website.

Heritage Victoria hopes to have the Maritime Infrastructure Assessment Project Report (Stage 1: Melbourne Region) by Brad Duncan available for downloading from our website later in 2008, so please check the site for updates.

New MSc in Maritime Archaeology

A new masters course in maritime archaeology (MSc School of Conservation Sciences) has been created at Bournemouth University For more details contact Paola Palma (ppalma@bournemouth.ac.uk) or Dave Parham (dparham@bournemouth.ac.uk)

The MSc Maritime Archaeology consists of 5 units plus a Personal Research project. The aim of the programme is to develop the skills and initial experience required to undertake maritime archaeology in the field and/or prepare students for further study. Key skills taught during the programme, such as project management and analytical skills are widely transferable to a range of disciplines.

Jobs

The Newport Medieval Ship Project is advertising for a waterlogged wood conservator. The new post is full time and permanent. Closing date: 20 June 2008 Full details are available here.

The SS Great Britain Trust, in Bristol is looking for a Curator. Requirements: a qualified museum professional with at least 3 years experience and specialist knowledge of maritime history/archaeology. Full details and application forms are available from recruit@ssgreatbritain.org. Closing Date: 20 June 2008.

Other News

Work has recommenced on the Alderney Elisabethan wreck and material including a musket has been retrieved

More treasure controversy, this time over a 17^th century French vessel La Vierge du Bon Port.

A wonderfully preserved Royal Navy ship believed to be the HMS Ontario lost in 1780 has been discovered in approximately 150m of water in Lake Ontario.

Commentators explore the news of an archaeological survey of the lost town of Dunwich in the context of modern coastal erosion and flood defences in the Times.

NEW MAG Spring Bulletin, IKUWA early bird registration, UNESCO Cultural Heritage Database, Heritage at Risk, MoRPHE Courses

Apologies to MAG members for the recent problems with the email updates! Some IT problems meant the mailing list database was lost so we are now working from a backup and hope to replace any missing names from the list soon.

New MAG Spring Bulletin

The latest MAG Bulletin is now available and can be found here!

IKUWA3 Early Bird Discount ends this Friday 6th June!

Under the patronage of UNESCO, the Third International Congress on Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA3), will be held in London this coming July. Organised by the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS), the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA), and the Institute of Archaeology University College London (UCL), and supported by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives of NAS, IFA, UCL, DEGUWA, DAI, HWTMA, GSU, Verband der Landesarchaologen, English Heritage, and Historic Scotland, IKUWA3 will be the largest conference on underwater archaeology ever held in Britain. More than 120 papers will be delivered on topics as diverse as:

• Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology

• Traditional Indian Boat Carpentry

• Acoustic Positioning Systems

• Fresh Water Archaeology

• Shipwreck Collecting Behaviour

• Maritime Landscapes

• Seismic Reconnaissance

• Managing Underwater Cultural Heritage

• Integrated teaching and research

• Ethics and Economics of recovering material from the sea, and much more.

The Congress will take place from the 10th July to 12th July 2008 (official opening evening of the 9th July).

This will be preceded by a 3-day Professional Development Field School from 7th July to 9th July 2008, and followed by a range of optional excursions including a tour of the Mary Rose (13th July 2008).

For more information, please visit the recently updated IKUWA3 website , or to register visit here.

UNESCO Cultural Heritage Database

UNESCO has launched a new online database of cultural heritage laws around the world. Relevant statutes are available for consultation in their original languages and in their official English-language translations.

To date, 757 legislative measures, from 113 UNESCO Member States, have been published on the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Laws Database, which has been created to aid international efforts to stem looting, theft and illicit trafficking in cultural property. UNESCO hopes that the database will ‘make it harder for traffickers to claim to be ignorant of the law and thus of the illegal nature of what they are doing’.

Underwater Cultural Heritage is a searchable field!

Heritage at Risk

English Heritage is creating the first all-encompassing register of the country’s neglected or decaying historic treasures and introducing new ways to save them. Its Heritage at Risk project, to be launched on Tuesday 8 July 2008, will make England the only country in Europe to have a comprehensive knowledge of the state of its protected heritage and the analysis to save this precious and finite resource for the future. An article explaining the project in the Times is also available

For more information on this initiative, visit here.

MoRPHE Courses

Details of this years training courses in the guidelines on Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment are now available . Several places are still available on the Newcastle courses - the 2 hour Familiarisation course on 17th June and the full day Project Managers course on 18th June. MAG members shouldn’t forget: free courses in MoRPHE from English Heritage are only planned for this year and for 2009, and opportunities for future free training are not guaranteed!

Any bookings or enquiries should go to morphe@english-heritage.org.uk

Other News

Sadly, tragedy has struck an archaeological project on the Elizabethan wreck site in Alderney.

What is possibly the oldest representation of Caesar known has been found by Divers in a river in Southern France.

TAG 2008, New EH Conservation Principles Guidance, Wreck found in Namibia

TAG Conference

TAG is to be held on the 15-17^th December 2008 in Southampton. The call for sessions is now open and sessions can be submitted via the website.

New Major English Heritage Guidance

English Heritage has published a major document that sets out for the first time the fundamental propositions that serve as the foundation for the way the organisation engages with every aspect of the historic environment.

Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance is the result of four years of extensive debate and consultation within English Heritage and more than 1,000 external consultees. The recently launched Heritage Protection Bill will provide an improved legislative framework for managing change in historic environment in the 21st century; Conservation Principles will serve as its philosophical foundation.

English Heritage Consultation on Views

English Heritage is also developing a method to help it assess the historical significance of views, systematically and consistently. Seeing the history in the view: assessing heritage significance within views are inviting consultation on the document which closes on the 4^th July 2008.

Other News

The diamond mining company De Beers have discovered the wreckage of a sailing vessel in Namibia with a cargo said to include bronze cannon, Spanish and Portuguese coins and elephant tusks. Details here.

The popular BBC2 programme Coast is looking for dive sites to cover for the 4^th and 5^th series of the programme. Details here.

An Estonian dugout canoe building and use program in the Soomaa National Park is seeking support for its participation in the National Geographic’s Geotourism Challenge. More details here.

IKUWA 3 and SHA 2009 Conferences, Red Bay Wrecks Published

MAG Updates is having some e-mail blips, so apologies for the delay with the email version of this update.

Registrations for IKUWA3 are now open !

Under the patronage of UNESCO, the Third International Congress on Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA3), will be held in London this coming July. Organised by the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS), the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA), and the Institute of Archaeology University College London (UCL), and supported by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives of NAS, IFA, UCL, DEGUWA, DAI, HWTMA, GSU, Verband der Landesarchaologen, English Heritage, and Historic Scotland, IKUWA3 will be the largest conference on underwater archaeology ever held in Britain. More than 120 papers will be delivered on topics as diverse as

• Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology
• Traditional Indian Boat Carpentry
• Acoustic Positioning Systems
• Fresh Water Archaeology
• Shipwreck Collecting Behaviour
• Maritime Landscapes
• Seismic Reconnaissance
• Managing Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Integrated teaching and research
• Ethics and Economics of recovering material from the sea

The Congress will take place from the 10th July to 12th July 2008 (official opening evening of the 9th July).

This will be preceded by a 3-day Professional Development Field School from 7th July to 9th July 2008, and followed by a range of optional excursions including a tour of the Mary Rose (13th July 2008).

For more information, please visit the recently updated IKUWA3 website, or go here to register.

SHA conference 2009

The Society for Historical Archaeology 2009 Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology will take place January 6-11, 2009 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Canada. papers, symposiums and poster displays on underwater, nautical and maritime archaeology subjects are invited for the Underwater Archaeology Program.

The Call for Papers, Submission Guidelines, Forms and contact information can be found at the Society for Historical Archaeology website . Note that the abstract submission deadline is June 15, 2008. Please forward this information to others who might be interested in attending and feel free to add it to websites or newsletters.

Archaeological Report of the Red Bay Wrecks Published

The Canadian Government has just published a major scientific report entitled: The underwater archaeology of Red Bay: Basque shipbuilding and whaling in the 16th century. The report paints a detailed picture of Basque whale hunting techniques, and of the Basque contributions in European shipbuilding and the development of transatlantic trade routes in the mid-16th century.

The report provides details on the four galeones or naos investigated during the project, one of which is believed to be the San Juan that sunk in 1565. Using pioneering techniques, the San Juan was systemically excavated, raised and recorded in pieces on the surface, reburied and monitored ever since in order to ensure its continued preservation

Copies of the Red Bay underwater archaeology report may be obtained through Publishing and Depository Services, Public Works and Government Services Canada; (ISBN 978-0-660-19652-7; Cat. N0.: R62-389/2007E)

Other News

Routine Resurvey Analysis Reports are now available to access on the UK Hydrographic Office website.

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology reports that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the Island of Saipan has brought in underwater archaeologists Jason Burns and Michael Krivor to inventory the submerged cultural resources related to the Battle of Saipan of June 15th 1944. As part of their public outreach program the project archaeologists are posting updates on how the project is proceeding.

You can read their first entry on the MUA here

If your interests lie more with lighthouses then why not look up the Pharos project (an EC project looking at lighthouses)

Draft Marine Bill Published, Landscape and Identity Conference, Changes to Historic Environment Commissions Grant Aid

Draft Marine Bill Published

The Draft Bill, which was published on the 3rd of April, sets out plans for a new network of marine conservation zones around Britain’s coast. Defra’s announcement of the publication also notes plans for

• a new UK-wide marine planning system, which will enable us to set a clear direction for how we are going to manage our seas and make the best use of marine resources;
• the simpler licensing of marine developments, for example, offshore wind farms; and improved management of marine and inland fisheries.
• a new Marine Management Organisation, a centre of marine excellence, to be created to regulate development and activity at sea and enforce environmental protection laws.

Unfortunately there’s no specific mention the historic environment in Defra’s summary announcement- hopefully not a reflection of it status the document itself… MAG Members please note, the consultation deadline for the Marine Bill is the 26th June.

Conference: People & Place: Landscape and Identity through Time

University of Chichester, 13th and 14th September 2008. Call for Posters This collaborative conference brings together researchers from a variety of disciplines (in particular Archaeology, History, Geography, English and Performing Arts) to highlight new approaches to understanding past and present landscapes, and to consider the multifarious ways that cultural landscapes, both physical and psychological, have been created and perceived through time. Further details of the conference programme can be found here.

The Organising Committee is inviting researchers, in particular postgraduate students, to submit proposals for posters based around one, or a combination of, the following themes:

Images, Value and Knowledge; Time, space and narrative; Settlement and movement; Authority and access.

Interested parties can download a Poster Presentation Form and the guidelines for poster production from the website. Abstracts must be submitted to the session organisers by 29th August 2008.

Poster sessions will take place only during the workshop on Saturday 13th September 2008. Please note, registration fees will apply to individuals presenting posters with the exception of students to whom discounted fees apply.

Important Changes to Historic Environment Commissions Grant Aid

Please note that from April 2008 it will be a Condition of Grant that all project applications are:

• MoRPHE compliant: See here for details.
• Aligned with a single primary SHAPE Sub-Programme: See here for details.

Other News

Amos “Casts off”

The John H Amos, Britain’s last surviving steam paddle tug has finally been moved from its slip by the Historic Dockyard in Chatham after 32 years. The Maritime Journal has covered the move.

Prospect Archaeologists Branch

Did you know the union Prospect has an archaeologists’ branch?

Prospect is working closely with our own Institute of Field Archaeologists, the Archaeology Training Forum, employers’ associations and the Cultural Heritage National Training Organisation to build the infrastructure of recognised qualifications and career structures that is needed if archaeologists’ pay and conditions are to be improved significantly. Their most recent initiative is a seven-point manifesto for archaeology, which seeks to raise the status of the profession and improve its terms and conditions.

Heritage Bill Launched Today! 42nd Marine Measurement Forum, Purton Hulks continued

Heritage Bill Launched

The Heritage Bill is launched today.  The Bill and the impact assessment are available from the DCMS website.

42nd  Marine Measurement Forum

The 42nd Marine Measurement Forum will be hosted by Sonardyne International Ltd on Tuesday 15 April 2008 at the DeVere Warbrook House and Grange in Eversley, Hook, Hampshire UK. More details are available here.

Purton Hulks

MAG has been following the story of the hulks and the Times has recently taken up the story.

MAG AGM - Election Results

The election to committes posts was held on Tuesday 18th March prior to the MAG session at the IFA annual conference. The MAG committee is happy to announce the election of Virginia Dellino-Musgrave as Committee Chair and the election of Dave Parham, Mark Littlewood and Julie Satchell as Ordinary Committee Members. The text of the Chair’s and Secretary’s Reports will be distributed with the forthcoming Spring MAG Bulletin.

The MAG Session at the conference “Education and training: what “Maritime Archaeology” are we teaching?” was a great success, and many thanks must go to the session organiser Jesse Ransley and to the speakers and participants in the discussion that followed the session. More details on the session will be included in the forthcoming Spring MAG Bulletin.

Other News

The Royal Society of Chemistry obviously loves a challenge, if maritime needles in haystacks appeal to you you couldn’t ask for more than this.

Interest in the concerns surrounding deep water salvage is maintained in the latest issue of Currrent Archaeology.

If the ongoing salvage and archaeology debate is getting you down, why not recharge your batteries with some good honest digging on a nice dry site? The LAP & T of the University of Siena are advertising for fieldworkers for 2008 PAVA field season and have asked MAG to let members know.

Sustainable Aggregates Project, Aircraft Crash Sites, MAG Bulletin Deadline

Sustainable Aggregates Project

A major overview project funded by Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, Sustainable Aggregates was launched yesterday. The project summarises the knowledge gained from over 360 projects funded by the ALSF through MIRO, CLG and English Heritage between 2002 and 2007.

It provides a summary of the most up to date research and projects illustrating good practice, whether funded by the ALSF or from other sources. A number of reviews have been written by recognised experts in their fields and reviewed by industry representatives and other key stakeholder groups. The reviews have been designed to be easily accessible and to be widely shared.

Wider application of this knowledge will help the quarrying industry achieve continuing improvements in the sustainability of all aspects of its operations. In particular, it will help to raise awareness of the latest thinking on how the aggregates industry can mitigate the effects of quarrying and the substantial benefits that can be realised both during quarry operations and in their restoration and after use.

Aircraft Crash Sites at Sea Update

The Wessex Archaeology ‘Aircraft Crash Sites at Sea’ scoping study report for English Heritage is now available for download from the project blog.

MAG Spring Bulletin 2008- Deadline

Members wishing to contribute please note - the deadline for MAG Bulletin submissions is April 1st.