Enhancing our Understanding: Identifying Shipwrecks of Historic Importance lying within Deposits of Marine Aggregate

The Identifying Shipwrecks of Historic Importance project was undertaken by staff of Bournemouth University and was funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustanability Fund as rebursed by English Heritage. The project builds on the framework developed during the earlier On the Importance of Shipwrecks ALSF project undertaken by Wessex Archaeology. Furthermore, it tests this framework by applying it to wrecks within the National Monuments Record (NMR) using historical sources to identifying archaeologically important sites, particularly within aggregate extraction areas, from amongst the wealth of wreck sites that exist within English territorial waters. This enhanced understanding of the significance of the shipwreck resource will allow regulators, advisors and industry to make informed decisions about how to best manage and mitigate for any impact on sites that lie within aggregate extraction areas