England's Historic Seascapes: Demonstrating the Method

The HSC: Demonstrating the Method Project, funded by the ALSF, marks the initial implementation of a rigorous, repeatable methodology for Historic Seascape Characterisation, applying the principles already underpinning Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) to the coastal and marine zones. Extending those principles to the coastal and marine zone to produce a Historic Seascape Characterisation (HSC) Method presents challenges due to the inherent differences between marine and terrestrial environments. The methodology was developed through the England's Historic Seascapes Programme involving five pilot method development studies, beginning in 2004, in which each presented different but related approaches to HSC. The results were consolidated into a single nationally-applicable HSC methodology for the area-based characterisation of historic coastal and marine landscapes.