Wrecks on the Seabed / Multibeam Sonar

The Wrecks on the Seabed project tests ways of assessing and evaluating wreck sites to assist with understanding the effects of marine aggregate dredging on shipwrecks. The project is supported by the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund as administered by English Heritage. The project has continued through two rounds of the ALSF funding running from 2002 to 2006. In all, 20 wrecks have been investigated by Wessex Archaeology using a variety of methods of hydrographic survey, remote sensing and diving survey. The overall aim of the project is to provide industry, regulators and contractors with guidance on the archaeological assessment, evaluation and recording of wreck sites. Such a framework is important when considering the time and cost of marine investigations. The framework also promotes effective communication between industry, regulators and contractors by defining comprehensiveness and detail for differing levels of investigations suggesting specifications for surveys at each level.